Advice to Exploration Managers

We can expect some spirited discussions as Chiefs debate the future of
bilateral discussions with Ontario (the Northern Table) and how to
respond to the jailing of the KI 6.

What all need to recognize is that the KI struggle help clarify the
legal obligations of the Crown at the early exploration stage. Not that
they are particularly clear.

What is crystal clear is that Ontario's Mining legislation and free
entry have been dealt a fatal blow and there is no simple regulatory
band aid that the province can apply to reconcile the complete failure
of the Act when it comes to First Nation consultation, accommodation
and consent.

The Mining Act is simply unconstitutional.

So far, the bureaucrats have relied on the willingness of companies to
step up to the plate and negotiate deals at the early exploration
stage.

The companies have been bamboozled into carrying water for the Crown
who have a non-delegable( say that while chewing gum) duty to consult.

But what happens when First Nations simply say no to the deal.
"Were not ready."
"We need to plan for our future." Or "Not here. These are culturally
and ecologically sensitive lands where mining doesn't make sense."
Or "Not until our land claim is resolved with Canada and Ontario."

All very reasonable positions and common positions.

If I were an investor or an exploration manager calculating the
political risks of exploration in the Far North I'd simply say not now,
too risky.

Mongolia is starting to look good.

So you exploration managers out there, maybe up in the CVRD Inco tower,
or maybe all you folks who are pouring money into the McFaulds Lake
area play, read over the decisions in the KI/ Platinex case and tell
me: do you really want to spend that money in Ontario?

I don't see Noront announcing any deals with the First Nations. Maybe
they are caught in swamp of overlapping First Nation territories and
unresolved land claims.

Maybe the folks in Webequie weren't impressed with a few free Ipods.

Isn't the law firm that represented KI negotiating these deals at
mcFaulds ?I hear they are in league with Greenpeace. Reminds me of a
joke.
What's the difference between an aboriginal law firm and terrorists?
You can negotiate with terrorists.

Tell me exploration managers: do the MNDM bureaucrats inspire a lot of
confidence? Find out the names of the bright lights that negotiated
with KI. Back to "getting to yes" for them. Hope they are not on your
"file".

Did Platinex Want KI Six Jailed?

Chief Donny Morris Live from T Bay Correctional Centre

Chief Morris will be speaking via telephone to NAN Chiefs in Assembly at 1pm Tuesday.

NAN Chiefs will be visiting the jailed KI leaders on Wednesday and Thursday.

Send Cecelia Begg A Card

>
> Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug Band Councillor Cecelia Begg
> has been transferred to the Kenora Jail . Here is the address to 
> send her cards, postcards, letters of support and solidarity.
>  
> Kenora Jail
> 1430 River St.
> Kenora  Ont
> P9N 1K5
>
>  

Corporate Definition of Consultation-emails, faxes, phone calls, but the Crown has the duty

Note the reference to "death threats". Appears to be inviting a lawsuit
for libel.

http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page66?

oid=49604&sn=Detail

ONTARIO GOVT. FIRST NATIONS CRACKDOWN?
Platinex exploration drilling land battle sends KI band members to jail

A dispute between the Ontario Provincial Government and junior
explorationist Platinex and a remote Ontario First Nations band has
escalated into contempt charges and jail time with no resolution on the
horizon.
Author: Dorothy Kosich
Posted: Wednesday , 19 Mar 2008

RENO, NV -

A dispute over a small exploration company drilling program near
Thunder Bay has escalated into tense confrontations, a jail sentence
for the six members and leaders of a small Ontario First Nation band,
and necessitated the recent intervention of Ontario's provincial
government.

On Monday, six members of the Kitchenuhmayboosib Inniuwug (KI) First
Nation-including Chief Doony Morris and Deputy Chief Jack MacKay-were
sentenced to six months in jail after ignoring a court injunction which
allowed junior exploration company Platinex to start drilling on what
the KI band says is traditional territory.

In an e-mail to Mineweb Tuesday, James Trusler, President and CEO of
Platinex, said his small exploration company, which is operating out of
his basement, "has been overwhelmed by the massive media campaign run
by a vast network of First Nations and eco activist groups."

"We say that KI blockaded the winter road, sabotaged our air strip.
Threatened our men with being cut off from access and egress in minus
40 degree weather and issued death threats," he said.

And, finally, the one party which should have been involved in the
negotiation process-the Province of Ontario-announced Monday that it
has made an offer to resolve the conflict.

In his ruling filed Monday, Justice G.P. Smith of Ontario's Superior
Court of Justice said, "This case highlights the clash of very two
different perspectives and cultures in a struggle over one of Canada's
last remaining frontiers. On the one hand, there is the desire for the
economic development of the rich resources located on a cast tract of
pristine land in a remote portion of Northwestern Ontario. Resisting
this development is an Aboriginal community righting to safeguard and
preserve its traditional land, culture, way of life and core beliefs.
Each party seeks to protect these interests through an order for
injunctive relief."

Platinex hold 221 unpatented mining claims and 81 mining leases
covering 12,880 acres of the Nemeigusabins Lake Arm of the Big Trout
Lake, 580 kilometers north of the city of Thunder Bay. Platinex has
been trying to carry out test drilling for platinum and other miners
since early 2006. However, the KI First Nation has prevented the
company from moving drilling equipment on the property.

KI, formerly known as Big Trout Lake First Nation, is an Ojibwa/Cree
First Nation band living at a reserve on Big Trout Lake.

The property Platinex is exploring, covering 19 square kilometers on
the Nemeigusabins Lake Arm of Big Trout Lake, is located on KI's
traditional lands, encompassing 23,000 square kilometers.

Platinex, which Trusler told Mineweb had spent Cdn$5 million on what
they believe is a major chromium deposit, notified the KI band of their
drilling timetable. When the geologists and drillers flew into the
area, tribal officials prevented them from entering the airport
building, threatening to arrest the explorationists for trespassing.

Platinex then took the KI band to court. "Up to this time there had
been over 200 meetings, phone calls, faxes and emails between the
parties, which from our position, is more than adequate consultation,"
Trusler said. Justice Smith told KI to form a committee to take part in
the discussion with the Ontario Government and Platinex.

However, the parties could not reach agreement on a protocol. Justice
Smith ruled Platinex should have access to the exploration lands, but
should continue to work towards development a Consultation Protocol and
MOU to guide their relationship. By October 25, 2007, KI told the
justice that their legal bills were so steep they could not afford to
continue to participate in the court case.

Justice Smith said he considered the 'public and open declaration" by
the KI members "that the order of this court or of any court will not
be respected or obeyed if it allows the exploration or drilling on its
traditional land" to be the "most significant aggravating factor to be
considered in the cases before the court."

"It is this public and open defiance of the rule of law and order of
this court that is the most disturbing aspect of this case and which
comes perilously close to criminal contempt. I find that incarceration
is the only appropriate sanction. All contemnors lack the ability to
pay a fine," the court ruled.

On Monday, the Ontario Government said it has offered to pay $200,000
to KI for their legal fees and has "secured numerous concession from
Platinex, Inc., which has offered KI training, guaranteed jobs and
share in any mining revenue, plus restrictions on when and how any
exploration takes place."

Aboriginal Affairs Minister Michael Bryant said, "I certainly feel as
if the government did its best to avoid incarceration. ...But I don't
think we should be afraid to insert ourselves to try and facilitate
simply because the result might not be exactly what we want. There is
no way to succeed without trying. I tried and I'm going to keep on
trying."

Nishnawbe Grand Chief Stan Beardy told the news media that "what is
happening here is we've been criminalized for practicing our way of
living. The government wants to make an example of us."

Beardy told the news media that more community members and leaders are
willing to be incarcerated as well.

Ontario New Democratic Party Leader Howard Hampton blamed the court
decision on Premier Dalton McGuinty government's "complete and utter
failure" to consult aboriginal communities about mineral exploration."

KI Six as David vs. Goliath-David Won

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/subscriber/columnists/top3/story/

4151491p-4740599c.html

KI Six is Canada's David and Goliath story
Colleen Simard

Colleen Simard

Updated: March 31 at 12:25 AM CDT

* Print Article
* E-mail Article

Have you heard about the KI Six? It's a David and Goliath story if
there ever was one.

Kitchenuhmayboosib Inninuwug First Nation -- KI First Nation for short
-- in Northern Ontario has been battling with the Platinex mining
exploration company since 2005. But a few weeks ago the dispute reached
new heights, with the community's leadership getting thrown in jail.

On March 17, KI First Nation Chief Donny Morris, Deputy Chief Jack
MacKay and four band councillors were given six-month jail sentences
for ignoring a court order that gave Platinex the OK to begin drilling
on their traditional land.

Platinex, whose website says it's on a "quest for a greener planet,"
wants to dig for platinum on land KI First Nation has a valid claim to.
It seems the quest for a greener planet means stepping all over the
rights of aboriginal people.

The fight has been long and expensive.

Last fall, KI spokesman John Cutfeet told The Canadian Press he
believed the case was dragging through the courts as part of a tactic
used by the company and the Crown to bleed the community financially
dry. Eventually, KI could end up bankrupt, and no longer able to fight
off the mining exploration.

At the time the community had spent about $700,000 on the court battle.

The community isn't against economic development. They just want a say
in what happens to the land. Their rights to the resources were never
signed away with a treaty, and they want to be part of the success,
too.

The KI Six have gained support, both nationally and locally.

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine visited the KI
Six over the Easter weekend. He also spoke with Ontario's Aboriginal
Affairs Minister Michael Bryant. But so far nobody has budged.

Roseau River First Nation Chief Terrance Nelson has also pledged
support to the KI Six, saying he's going to find out who owns shares in
the publicly owned company and call on them to criticize the jailing of
the aboriginal leaders.

Jailing the KI Six is outrageous, but we've got to look at the root
cause of this problem. These people aren't criminals; they're trying to
uphold their rights as First Nations people.

The problem is governments are stalling when it comes to settling
Canada's longstanding debts to aboriginal people.

And the KI Six aren't the only prisoners. All First Nations are
prisoners of poverty because we fail to allow their communities to
prosper by not recognizing their rights to their own resources.

Dudley George -- an Anishinabe activist -- paid the ultimate price for
standing up for his rights. He was shot and killed in 1995 while trying
to protect the territory of his people from Stony Point and Kettle
Point First Nation.

Ontario's Ipperwash Inquiry into George's death concluded last May,
with many recommendations that have not yet been put in place. I
thought I was watching history in the making when I watched the
televised speeches of George's brother and the presiding Judge Linden,
but it seems we've all gone back to sleep again.

Do the people of Stony Point and Kettle Point have their land back? Has
Caledonia been settled yet?

Canada has got to create a far speedier system to settle land claims,
instead of the current system that means a decades-long wait, as well
as a waste of money. Then these conflicts and frustrations won't
continue to happen.

Canada has a legal duty to consult with First Nations. The ignorance
has to stop. We've got to stop looking the other way, while progress
continues to leave aboriginal people in the shadows.

colleen.simard@gmail.com

KI Campaign Goes International

On Friday NAN Grand Chief Stan Beardy announced that Chiefs will be taking the KI case to the UN. We can expect a Lubicon style petition.
The United Nations Human Rights Committee first called on Canada to negotiate with the Lubicon Cree in 1990. The call was repeated in 2005, 2006 and most recently in 2007.


I look forward to the naming and shaming of the McGuinty government in this travesty of justice.

Many thanks to the Kenora Friendship folks who provided soup and bannock at the rally.

It's About Consent

Demonstration planned for Saturday
Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug leader being transferred to Kenora Jail

Friday March 28, 2008
By Jon Thompson
Kenora Daily Miner and News
A rally is scheduled for Saturday at the Kenora jail for Head Councillor Cecilia Begg and other jailed leaders of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) First Nation as she is being transferred to Kenora from Thunder Bay.
“It’s about finding workable ways for people to make decisions together,” says Mary Alice Smith, the justice projects coordinator for Grand Council Treaty 3. It’s not just about consultation, it’s about consent. “

One of six community leaders from the First Nation jailed for contempt, the group increasingly known as the “KI Six” was insisting that a relationship between the First Nation and the Platinex mining corporation should be mutually beneficial and follow what they see as established provincial consultation process.
“The Ontario government had an obligation to consult with the First Nation before they handed out the permit to Platinex,” asserts Anita Cameron, a councilor on the Dalles First Nation.
“The simple fact is that they didn’t. We’re in this situation not because KI doesn’t want development but because the province didn’t follow due process. If the province did what they were supposed to do, we wouldn’t be in this position.”
She speaks of the pride she has for Kitchenuhmaykoosib band chief Donny Morris and says that the people understand that their leaders are standing up for them.
As she shares family ties with Morris, her mother was in Big Trout Lake on the day of the sentencing and has been mobilizing mostly women and elders from the region to attend Saturday’s demonstration.
The women of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug will begin their demonstration of support at 2pm.

Bob Lovelace-Canadian Hero

http://www.thewhig.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=963539

Last month, Lovelace, a Queen's University professor and retired chief of the Ardoch Algonquins, was sentenced to six months behind bars for refusing to allow uranium prospectors onto land claimed by the First Nation near Sharbot Lake. A judge found him to be in contempt of an earlier court order to do so.

Lovelace refuses to back down.

"It would have meant voluntarily compromising my liberty to speak freely and to defend the land ... Algonquin land," Lovelace said in an interview at the Central East Correctional Centre, where he'll reside until Aug. 15 or until he decides to obey the court order.

People who know Lovelace well, like his stepdaughters, Lyann Smith and Lesley Merrigan, don't expect him to get out anytime soon.

In his early days with North Frontenac Community Services, Lovelace received a call from Algonquin chief Harold Perry. The provincial government had given a private company a licence to harvest the wild rice in the Ardoch area, the same wild rice the Algonquins had harvested and reseeded for generations.

The natives feared commercial harvesting would destroy the local crop. Perry heard Lovelace had some knowledge of the legal system and called him for help.

The two travelled to Camden East to visit a Harrowsmith magazine writer and they began a campaign that brought national attention to the issue.

Not unlike the controversy surrounding the uranium mine near Sharbot Lake, the Rice War pit the OPP, the provincial government and private business against local Algonquins and settlers.

On Aug. 29, 1980, about 100 protesters led a standoff against dozens of police officers who were trying to escort the wild rice harvester to Mud Lake. Until this point, Lovelace had fought the provincial government on a bureaucratic level. He could read and understand provincial law and policy and he could talk to bureaucrats in their own language, then relay that information to the Algonquins in a way they could understand.

During the standoff, Perry said it was Lovelace who kept tempers in check.

"People listen when he talks," Perry said. "He talks firm and he says in a few words what takes me an hour."

In the end, the harvester couldn't get through because Mud Lake is surrounded by private land and none of the land owners would allow it to cross. No other company since then has managed to get a licence to harvest there.

Perry believes the war wouldn't have been won without Lovelace. "We, as aboriginal people, owe him big time for bringing us through the Rice War," he said.

After this contribution to the local Algonquins, Perry was determined to adopt Lovelace into the Algonquin community. Lovelace eventually relented to Perry's invitation and he became chief of the Ardoch Algonquins.

Honey and Vinegar-Bryant's Latest Offer

The Minister and his minions are out there spinning away on his 3 visits to KI and his various offers to fix this problem. We all know the Minister likes to say early and often that he likes to "fix problems" and we can usually count on him to preface the fixer cliche with the word listen.

Those who read his last letter to KI or his comments in the media might be distracted by the dollars he is now willing to put toward KIs legal costs, bilateral forums and community consultations.I'm not.

We have to ask ourselves: what's the catch?

The catch on all these offers is that the quid pro quo is drilling.

Sometimes the "catch" is all dressed up in the phrase "implementation of the court orders", but all that means is court ordered drilling.

Will a spoonful of legal costs make the drilling medicine go down?

Dream on Mr. Fixer. KI are still in a dialogue with the deaf(no disrespect to those with hearing loss).

NAN Chiefs, National Chief Meet to Discuss KI

Close readers of the recent Ontario budget will have noticed the $30 Million over four years allocated to the bilateral talks ( the so-called Northern Table) between Ontario and NAN. If we are going to have peace in the north the McGuinty government needs to deliver on its promise of land use planning in the far north, changes to the Mining Act and some form of resource revenue sharing with NAN.

Next week the NAN Chiefs will decide the fate and form of the talks.

The talks will go on. What choice do the Chiefs have? They have the gun of poverty pointing at their heads.

The National Chief just back from blasting the feds at the Treaty implementation conference in Saskatoon will share his thoughts ON KI with the Chiefs.

Phil is taking some heat for the MOU he signed with the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada.

Some see mining as the last best hope for First Nations.
Some see communities making deals out of their poverty rather than their strength.
Some see a ruthless industry driven by greed that has ransacked the globe raping and pillaging.

A mine comes, a mine goes. A town booms, a town collapses.Some get rich, most don't.There are a lot of broken bodies and broken homes.Booze, dope, a lot of toys for the boys.
If your lucky, they try to clean up the mess after its over.If your not, you get a toxic legacy for thousands of years.Think Elliot Lake or Sudbury.


Is mining green? Hell no.
Does the mining industry really care about aboriginal and treaty rights?Hell No.

This too will pass. And KI will still be KI.And the mining companies will have changed their names and have left.

This is just business.Nothing personal.Anything for a buck.

Threat of a Hundred KIs Drives Agreement Bonanza

The KI litigation coincided with a commodity boom in the mineral sector.Gold and nickel prices are ridiculously high.

Let's face it mining companies are nothing if not practical. They want to stake, mine the market for some suckers and sometimes they even want to drill.They don't want a hundred KIs.SO they sign deals with communities.

Do they do it on principle? No.But they are quick to cloak their deals with all the right corporate social responsibility buzzwords.Kind of like those Shell oil adds after Ken Saro-WiWa( put his name and ogoni into google) was hanged.

So, are we surprised that there are a lot of deals being signed with mining companies in NAN? No.

What is surprising is the lack of recognition that, "but for KI" and the important legal precedents set in KI 1(the interim interim injunction) and KI 3( the Court imposed MOU at the early exploration stage) we wouldn't be seeing the depth and breadth of these exploration agreements.

Many First Nations had seen their negotiations with resource developers and the Crown stutter and stall in the days before KI said No.But after the first decision in the KI litigation the negotiation climate changed. No one wanted the KI scenario.

And so we have a commodity boom, the KI hammer and a First Nation agreement bonanza.

NIshnawbe Aski Chiefs Meet to Discuss KI

The Nishnawbe Aski Chiefs will meet in an emergency session the week of April 1st to discuss the implications of the KI case. National Chief Phil Fontaine will address the Chiefs.

Two Interesting Pieces on the KI Six

http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096416887

http://auto_sol.tao.ca/node/2993

Is a Mediator Working for Grassy Narrows?

Hard to say. Frank Iaccobucci, a former Canadian Supreme Court justice, was appointed by the Province to negotiate with Grassy Narrows. His mandate is just about to run out and likely will be extended. Sources tell me that it is only a sustained markets campaign by the ENGO community that has the attention of Ontario. The Province continues to choke on the M word-moratorium. Bryant seems to prefer pause. So pause it is.

Bryant Talking Mediator, Hopes 3rd Party Will Make KI Say Uncle

In his latest letters Minister Bryant is talking about a mediator.
The current Ontario offer is basically, we will pay your "reasonable"
legal and consultation costs (which by the way KI incurred because
Ontario failed to show up and discharge the duty to consult) if KI
agrees to the drilling.

Mediation, for Ontario, means deciding things like when you drill and
where you drill and maybe even how many holes you drill.

But mediation doesn't mean agreeing that there will be no drilling.

The word No is kryptonite for Ontario.

As Chief Donny Morris said, "What part of No don't you understand"?

The KI Six Appeal

Rumour has dates for appeal as second or third week of April.
Apparently Platinex is the obstacle on setting a date.

We have yet to test the sincerity Ontario on the jailing of the KI Six.

They now say they want to help out once KI launches an appeal of the sentence. Apparently the irony of their own role in the events that led up to the jailing of the KI Six is lost on them.

True they did call for fines rather than a jail sentence. Of course,
that was rather easy after Bob Lovelace had been sentenced to 6 months
in jail. Bettter to postion yourself to "blame the court" knowing full well that the chances were high for jail time. And we can't discount the government strategists calculating the risk of the dominoes falling and First Nations shutting down mining exploration in large swaths of
Ontario's north.

If Ontario is serious on their offers of help they will support an unconditional release of the
KI Six during the appeal.

Howard Hampton-Ontario Blaming Everyone But Themselves

Howard Hampton, Grand Chief Beardy and Deputy Grand Chief Fiddler
visited Chief Donny Morris and Sam Mckay at the T Bay Correctional
Centre this am.

Chief Morris is calling on Minister Bryant to stop hiding behind press
releases and come have a dialogue with him in the prison-face to face.
Witnessed by the media.

He wants to end this "he said", "she said" game Bryant is playing with
the media when he spins his story about his 3 visits to KI.

Anyone who wants the real flavour of the Bryant visits to KI can check
out the youtubes posted on the KI website.

Toronto Sun Columnist, Land is Everything to KI

http://www.torontosun.com/News/Columnists/Blizzard_Christina/2008/03/28/5128691-sun.php

CONTEMPT OF COURT

On March 16, a court in Thunder Bay found six members of the band -- including Chief Donny Morris, the deputy chief and several band councillors -- in contempt of court and ordered them to jail for six months.

That seems an astonishingly harsh judgment for a group that has been largely gentle in their claims. While the government doesn't direct the courts, this doesn't seem a very auspicious start to what the McGuinty government has said will be a "new relationship" with first nations.

KI is in New Democratic Leader Howard Hampton's Kenora-Rainy River riding. He's outraged by the jail sentence, slamming the McGuinty government for granting a mining permit without fulfilling constitutional requirements to consult with first nations.

"It's that failure to meet their constitutional obligation that has resulted in a confrontation between the first nation and the mining community and resulted eventually in the jailing of first nations leaders," Hampton said in a recent interview.

Contempt and Judicial Abuse

I found a passage that explains the unique characteristics of the use
of the contempt power.

"The Potential for Judicial Abuse

Although the contempt power is of unquestionable importance in
maintaining the authority of the courts and securing the rights of
plaintiffs who have been granted injunctive relief, this broad power is
uniquely """liable to abuse."'" The potential for abuse stems from the
fact that, in this one area, legislative, executive, and judicial
powers are joined. Thus, the judge, rather than the legislature,
defines the offense and sets the penalty; the judge, rather than a
representative of the executive, decides whether to pursue prosecution;
and this same judge, rather than some neutral member of the judiciary,
acts as adjudicator.

Investing so much power in one person would be problematic in any
circumstance, but in the contempt arena, the problem is exacerbated by
the fact that "contemptuous conduct, though a public wrong, often
strikes at the most vulnerable and human qualities of a judge's
temperament." Indeed, at least in cases involving criminal or civil
coercive contempt, imposition of the contempt sanction is so closely
centered on the need for the court - and the individual judge - to
vindicate its own authority that the judge is "obviously incapable of
holding the scales of justice perfectly fair and true and reflecting
impartially on the guilt or innocence of the accused."

Saskatoon Star Phoenix Draws Analogy to 1885 rebellion in KI Six Case

Shame to jail band members for defending rights
Doug Cuthand, The StarPhoenix
Published: Friday, March 28, 2008

It's hard to believe in 2008, but the government in Canada is placing
persons in jail for their political beliefs.

During the past week, six people from the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug
(KI) First Nation -- Chief Donny Morris, four councillors and a band
employee -- were sent to jail for six months for contempt of court.

The KI Six fought against mineral exploration in their traditional
territory, only to be faced with an injunction they refused to
recognize.

We haven't seen anything like this in Canada since the northwest
rebellion of 1885.

he KI First Nation researched its treaty land entitlement and concluded
it was eligible for more land. This claim was before the Department of
Indian Affairs when Platinex, a southern mining company, began to
explore for platinum on the band's traditional lands in an area that
could become part of their land claim.

The treaty land entitlement claim has been stalled in the labyrinthine
Indian Affairs bureaucracy and Platinex continues to explore in their
traditional territory.

The real culprit in this imbroglio is the Ontario government that
issued an exploration permit without consulting properly with the band.

In Haida Nation v British Columbia, the Supreme Court ruled in 2004
that governments have a duty to consult and, where appropriate,
accommodate aboriginal peoples where aboriginal interests have been
asserted but not proven.

This landmark decision means that provincial governments cannot issue
logging or exploration permits on land that is subject to a land claim.
This clearly is the case in the dispute involving KI and Platinex.

In protest, the First Nation's leaders erected a roadblock and Platinex
got a court order to prevent the protesters from blocking the road.
None of the six band members who were jailed received fines because of
their lack of ability to pay.

This action has sparked outrage in Indian Country, with AFN National
Chief Phil Fontaine calling it "shameful" to see a chief and band
councillors being jailed for defending their rights. Anglican
archbishop Fred Hiltz was highly critical calling it a "throwback to
colonialism."

Meanwhile, the KI Six are behind bars at the Thunder Bay Provincial
Jail. Protests and a vigil have been held outside the grounds. A sacred
fire was lit but was doused by the fire department, adding to the
tension.

The Courts and the Line in the Sand Metaphor

Frontenac Ventures Corporation v. Ardoch Algonquin First Nation, 2008 CanLII 8247 (ON S.C.)

14] I am obliged to counsel for the AOO and for Her Majesty in Right of Ontario (Ontario) for their important contributions as intervenors. As earlier noted, the AOO is walking a fine line and so is Ontario. Both believe a negotiated settlement is preferable to litigation and no-one would argue with that position. The problem of course is that in the present case the defendants have shown little interest in consultation and accommodation, and have made it perfectly clear there will be no consultation so long as there is even a potential of uranium mining on this property. As counsel for the AAFN stated at a hearing before Thomson J. August 23, 2007, “so my clients have drawn a line in the sand and said no, there will not be a mine, there will not be a uranium mine, so why should there by any uranium exploration. If we allow exploration it sends a signal that there might be a mine, and there won’t be.”....

Ontario therefore says if I were to be concerned that some of these traditions were at risk, based upon the evidence before me, I should allow more time for the gathering of better evidence in order to properly carry out my responsibility in applying the balance of convenience portion of the test. In other words, Ontario urges me to set certain bench marks, which if not met within a prescribed time would require further decisions by me. This essentially amounts to giving one last chance to determine whether the “lines in the sand” could be moved.

URL:http://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/2008/2008canlii11049/2008canlii11049.html

Platinex Inc. v. Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation, 2008 CanLII 11049 (ON S.C.)

53] While I understand the principles and beliefs that the Respondents hold, the sanctity of the system of justice and of the rule of law are paramount and must be protected at all costs. Simply put, there is a clear line in the sand that no segment of society can be allowed to cross.

Teaching ON Bryant's So Called Offers to KI

People asked the elder: What do you make of Minister Bryant's 3 trips
to KI and his recent "offers"?

The elder said, If you stick a knife in my back 9 inches and then you
pull it back three inches that's not progress.

Progress is healing the wound.

Minister Bryant and Ontario have not even recognized the wound.

Police Disrupt Ceremony

>
>
> Religion Clause
>
> March 24, 2008 Monday 2:18 PM EST
>
> First Nation Says Canadian Officials Violated Religious Rights By
> Dousing Fire
>
> BYLINE: Howard Friedman
>
> LENGTH: 163 words
>
> Mar. 24, 2008 (Religion Clause delivered by Newstex) -- In Thunder
> Bay, Ontario last week, a judge sentenced the Chief and six Council
> members of one of Canada's First Nations, the Kitchenuhmaykoosib
> Inninuwug(KI), to six months in jail for contempt of court. The
> conviction grew out of their staging a demonstration to block a mining
> company from access to Big Trout Lake, access which had been granted
> to the company by a court order. (Anishinabek Nation press release,
> 3/17). Yesterday the situation escalated into a religious freedom
> dispute. The Exchange Morning Postreports that First Nation supporters
> of the arrested leaders showed up outside the Thunder Bay jail where
> they are held and lit a Sacred Fire in their support. The Police and
> Fire Marshall's office extinguished the fire. Now the KI are claiming
> that this was suppression of a First Nation traditional spiritual
> ceremony in violation of Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
>

KNET Space for KI Media

http://meeting.knet.ca/moodle/course/view.php?id=127

KI Appeal Rumours

Rumours swirling around that lawyers on the other side are delaying KI appeal.

NDP Leader Visits Jailed KI Leaders Friday , March 28

NDP Leader Howard Hampton will visit Chief Donny Morris and Sam McKay on Friday, March 28th. He will make himself available for media at the NAN offices after 11 am.

Kenora Rally in Support of Cecilia Begg, Saturday

Rally being planned in Kenora on Saturday.

Hampton Questions Bryant in Legislature

http://hansardindex.ontla.on.ca/hansardeissue/39-1/l015.htm

ABORIGINAL RIGHTS

Mr. Howard Hampton: A question to the Premier: The Premier will know that there are several members of the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation here today, and Ardoch First Nation. Under the McGuinty government, First Nation leaders have been forced to defend their aboriginal rights and traditional lands in court and through peaceful protests. The response of the McGuinty government has been to put the leaders of these First Nation communities in jail. Why? Because the McGuinty government has failed to live up to its constitutional obligation to consult and accommodate these First Nations.

My question to the Premier is this: If there is a new relationship with First Nations, as maintained by your government, why do you continue to put First Nation leaders in jail when they're simply standing up for their constitutional rights?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: I'm going to take the first part of this question and give the supplementary to my colleague. I want to take this because, frankly, I find that what the leader of the NDP is suggesting is offensive. There is an independent judiciary; there is an independent judicial process. The result of that process is not something that is dictated, governed, influenced in any particular way by our government. And he knows better than that.

For him-I mean, especially as the former Attorney General-to continue to insist that somehow we have manipulated the judiciary to result in the incarceration of some particular Ontarians is completely wrong, and he should not continue to make those offensive kinds of allegations. They are unbecoming.

Mr. Howard Hampton: Premier: Today's date, you received a letter from representatives of those First Nations. Here is the point that they make. In both cases, the McGuinty government gave permits to mining companies without consulting and accommodating the First Nations. In both cases, when First Nations were forced to take legal action and peaceful protest-in the face of this-government lawyers representing Ontario supported the mining industry's legal manoeuvres at every stage. It is those legal manoeuvres which have resulted in the incarceration of the leadership.

Now, Premier, the First Nations have put a very reasonable proposal to you: "We call on you to support the unconditional release of our leaders and negotiators. We also call on you to accept the proposal made to you by Ardoch" First Nation "on January 11, 2008, and by KI on January 17, 2008...." Will you do that, Premier? Or is it your intention to continue to support the legal manoeuvres of the mining companies?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: To the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs.

Hon. Michael Bryant: Not only, obviously, did the government not have a hand in their incarceration, but the Attorney General's agent, the crown attorney, opposed their incarceration. We were against the incarceration. You've surely seen the transcript. I know the member has seen the transcript and, as a former Attorney General, he will know that the crown would take a position in court to this effect.

That's why this government doubled the budget for aboriginal affairs in the budget of yesterday. That's why, in fact, since Dalton McGuinty became the Premier of Ontario, the aboriginal affairs ministry budget tripled. That's why this government entered into an agreement that saw $3 billion going to First Nations over the next 25 years. There is a new relationship with First Nations, Metis and Inuit people, and I look forward to working with leaders in the future in order to forge an even better one.

Cecilia Begg Moves to Kenora Jail Friday Am.

Cecilia Begg will be transferred to Kenora by the Bailiffs early Friday morning.

National Chief Lashes Out at Feds in Jailing of KI Six

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/story.html?id=0f3672a9-30f0-4e22-b081-626902d733da

Fontaine lashed out at the federal government for jailing Chief Donny Morris and other members of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI), an Aboriginal community in northern Ontario for refusing to allow mineral exploration on their traditional lands by a Toronto-based company.

A court order in October gave the company permission to drill but Morris and his band set up a protest camp at the exploration site. Last week the protesters, including a grandmother of seven, were sentenced to six months in a Thunder Bay jail for contempt.

"This is a shameful and serious matter," Fontaine said. "Quite clearly, this is a case where the federal and provincial governments failed to meet their legal duty to consult and accommodate First Nations interests prior to approving projects that significantly affect the lands and lives of First Nations citizens.

"Yet these same governments will protect private financial interests by jailing our people who defend their right. These decisions . . . criminalize legitimate descent and that reflects a lack of understanding or worse, contempt for aboriginal rights and Canadian law. This is why treaties matter."

Fontaine also berated Ottawa for not being a signatory to the United Nations Declaration on the Right of Indigenous People. Of 192 member states, all but four supported the declaration.

Ontario Helps Get KI into Jail, Now Wants to Get them Out

Minister Bryant is now saying Ontario will bear the legal brunt if KI appeals.

First we help get you in the jail and then we say we will help get you out of jail.

Let's think back to the first decision in the KI litigation

Platinex.
[70] Since 2001, Platinex has received several letters and notices that KI was not consenting to further exploration. It is inconceivable that Platinex did not know that KI was strongly opposing any further drilling on the property.

[71] Platinex decided to gamble that KI would not try to stop them and essentially decided to try to steamroll over the KI community by moving in a drilling crew without notice.

Ontario.

92] The Ontario government was not present during these proceedings, and the evidentiary record indicates that it has been almost entirely absent from the consultation process with KI and has abdicated its responsibility and delegated its duty to consult to Platinex. Yet, at the same time, the Ontario government made several decisions about the environmental impact of Platinex’s exploration programmes, the granting of mining leases and lease extensions, both before and after receiving notice of KI’s TLE Claim.

http://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/2006/2006canlii26171/2006canlii26171.html

On Bryants latest position see

http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5iA9f_Qq5RWUTt_YPYQOpOCnRTO9w

"There's no way that as long as they're incarcerated, we're going to be able to make much progress," Bryant said. "That's why we opposed in court their incarceration.

"I think we'd also be more than willing to bear the brunt of putting together the legal arguments for the appeal - but they have to launch the appeal."

Check Out Latest KI Youtube

http://www.kitchenuhmaykoosib.com/

KI Won 1st Decision but then Ontario Intervened

Backgrounder

Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug’s voice regarding our connection to the land was been heard by the Superior Court of Ontario

In his July 28, 2006 judgment of the case heard June 22 & 23 in Thunder Bay, Justice G. P. Smith stated

∑ “This case highlights the clash of two very different perspectives and cultures in a struggle over one of Canada’s last remaining frontiers. On the one hand, there is the desire for the economic development of the rich resources located on a vast tract of pristine land in a remote portion of Northwestern Ontario. Resisting this development is an Aboriginal community fighting to safeguard and preserve its traditional land, culture, way of life and core beliefs. Each party seeks to protect these interests through an order for injunctive relief.”

∑ “KI has a Resource Development Protocol developed by the community to describe the process for consultation with Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug prior to and during development activities on KI lands.

∑ “KI is not opposed to development on its traditional lands but wishes to be a full partner in any development and to fully consulted at all times. Whether any proposal for development would be accepted depends on the merits of each proposal, and whether the development respects KI’s special connection to the land and its duty, under its own law, to protect the land.”

∑ “The KI Development Protocol sets out the following steps required for Platinex to reach an agreement with KI: 1) initial discussion with Chief and Council; 2) discussions with the community; 3) consultation with individuals affected by the development; 4) follow-up discussion with the community; 5) referendum; and 6) approval in writing.”

∑ “Since 2001, Platinex has received several letters and notices that KI was not consenting to further exploration. It is inconceivable that Platinex did not know that KI was strongly opposing any further drilling on the property.”

∑ “Platinex decided to gamble that KI would not try to stop them and essentially decided to try to steamroll over the KI community by moving in a drilling crew without notice.”

∑ “While I accept the evidence of Platinex that it will face solvency if it cannot complete its drilling by the end of this year or shortly thereafter, Platinex is, to a large degree, the author if [sic] its own misfortune.”

∑ “Irreparable harm may be caused to KI not only because it may lose a valuable tract of land in the resolution of its TLE claim but also, and more importantly, because it may lose land that is important from a cultural and spiritual perspective. No award of damages could possible compensate KI for this loss.”

∑ “It is critical to consider the nature of the potential loss from an Aboriginal perspective. From that perspective, the relationship that aboriginal peoples have with the land cannot be understated. The land is the very essence of their being. It is their very heart and soul. No amount of money can compensate for its loss. Aboriginal identity, spirituality, laws, traditions, culture, and rights are connected to and arise from this relationship to the land. This is a perspective that is foreign to and often difficult to understand from a non-Aboriginal viewpoint.”

∑ “Because the Crown’s duty to consult engages the honour of the Crown and flows from its fiduciary relationship with First Nations peoples, McLachlin C.J. affirmed that it cannot be delegated to third parties.”

∑ “The objective of the consultation process is to foster negotiated settlements and avoid litigation. For this process to have any real meaning it must occur before any activity begins and not afterwards or at a stage where it is rendered meaningless.”

∑ “In this regard, I endorse the comments of the trial judge and the B. C. Court of Appeal in Halfway River. The Crown must first provide the First Nation with notice of and full information on the proposed activity; it must fully inform itself of the practices and views of the First Nation; and it must undertake meaningful and reasonable consultation with the First Nation.”

∑ “Although the Ontario government was not present during these proceedings, the evidentiary record indicates that it has been almost entirely absent from the consultation process with KI and has abdicated its responsibility and delegated its duty to consult to Platinex while, at the same time was making several decisions about the environmental impact of Platinex’s exploration programmes, the granting of mining leases and lease extensions. Both before and after receiving notice of KI’s TLE claim.”

∑ “A decision to grant an injunction to Platinex essentially would make the duties of [sic] owed by the Crown and third parties meaningless and send a message to other resource development companies that they can simply ignore Aboriginal concerns.”

∑ “The grant of an injunction enhances the public interest by making the consultation process meaningful and by compelling the Crown to accept its fiduciary obligations and to act honourably.”

∑ “I do not accept the argument that KI acted improperly or illegally and, as a result, has unclean hands. KI has repeatedly requested that it be consulted. It was Platinex that decided to terminate the consultative process and sent in its drilling crew.”

∑ “It is understandable why the members of KI believed that they had no other viable option but to confront Platinex in order to stop the drilling. Platinex’s decision to send a drilling crew into the site despite KI’s position failed when KI decided to make a last ditch stand.”

∑ “Platinex failed to respect KI’s moratorium, ignored its letters and notices, cancelled a meeting with the community and decided it was going to drill despite being clearly told that KI was not agreeing to any further activity on the land. In the background, while all of this was going on, the federal and provincial Crown were standing on the sidelines as passive observers.”

Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug, a signatory to the 1929 adhesion to the James Bay Treaty #9, is a fly-in community of over 1,500 members, located approximately 600 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay, Ontario. It is accessible by road only for a few weeks in winter, depending on weather.

CBC National News Link To KI Story

Hi, please see http://www.cbc.ca/national/latestbroadcast.html

And fast forward to 23:38 and you’ll see an excellent piece on KI.

KI and Battle over N Development- US Magazine

Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug and the battle over northern development in
Canada

by Todd Gordon
ZNet
March 26, 2008

The recent jailing of six activists from
Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI), a fly-in Cree
community 600 Km. north of Thunder Bay, is an
unambiguous warning to northern First Nation
communities who dare stand in the way of
governments' and resource companies' plans to
develop the north.

On March 17, the six KI members were handed six
month jail sentences for contempt of court by the
Ontario Superior Court in Thunder Bay. The
contempt of court ruling was made after the court
ruled in the fall 2007 that junior mining
exploration company, Platinex, can legally drill
for Platinum deposits on traditional KI
territory, despite the First Nation community's
long-standing opposition to Platinex's plans. KI
activists ignored the ruling, and physically
stopped Platinex workers from commencing drilling
on their land. Activists, including a KI Ontario
Provincial Police Officer (OPP), threatened to
arrest the Platinex workers if they didn't back
off (no doubt presenting to political and OPP
leaders a potentially serious loophole in their
aboriginal self-policing policy).

Unable to fund a legal challenge to the contempt
ruling, KI activists were left at the mercy of
the court, which took the opportunity to send a
clear message to indigenous activists. In his
decision, Justice George Smith declared: "If two
systems of law are allowed to exist - one for the
aboriginals and one for the non-aboriginals - the
rule of law will disappear and be replaced by
chaos." Ontario's Aboriginal Affairs Minister,
Michael Bryant, commented that the government had
tried hard to reason with KI and come to a just
compromise around mining development on their
land, but the First Nation community was simply
too intransigent. Thus he washed his hands of
matter, asserting that "the government did its
best to avoid incarceration."

Judge Smith's and Bryant's comments are designed
to make it appear as if everyone, including KI,
is equal before the law and can therefore get a
fair shake if they're willing to play by the
rules - rules, for good measure, that keep us
from descending into chaos. The reality, however,
is that the one system of law that exists, rooted
in colonialist history and imposed on sovereign
nations by force, is designed to deny equality to
indigenous nations and facilitate the ongoing
appropriation of indigenous land. Equality before
the law can never exist in a colonial context,
and was never intended to. For the "chaos" the
law is protecting us from is really only chaos in
the eyes of big business and government: the
assertion of indigenous self-determination, which
stands as a major obstacle to corporate profits.

Unfortunately, the KI incident is not an isolated
event. In April, Ardoch Algonquin First Nation
leader, Robert Lovelace, was given a six month
jail sentence for refusing to obey a judicial
order to stop blockading Frontenac Ventures'
proposed uranium mine on his community's land.
The 550-person community, which has no government
status and so receives no government funds, was
also fined $10,000. Behind both of these events
lies a major push to radically expand the
frontiers of Canadian capitalism northwards.

KI Seek Support at Treaty Conference