THUNDER BAY – During an open house held in Thunder Bay on Tuesday at the Superior Inn Hotel and Conference Centre, 22 First Nations stakeholders had the opportunity to learn more about the Northern Road Link Project.
Michael Fox, co-lead for the Northern Road Link Project, said the series of in-person open houses provide people with the opportunity to share concerns about the all-season road between Marten Falls First Nation and Webequie First Nation, as well as the province's pathway to prosperity in the Ring of Fire.
One of the concerns Fox cited was the impact the road would have on the environment, particularly on the caribou and peatland.
“Caribou is probably one of the main concerns in the Far North communities. Many do still harvest for food, ceremonies, and other purposes for the communities. So, we're tagging caribou. We're probably looking at three years of study data and then commitments beyond that to continue with the monitoring,” Fox told Newswatch.
“We're studying constituent elements of peatland, which includes a combination of things. It's vegetation, it’s water, it's habitat.”
The Northern Road Link Project is undergoing a significant environmental assessment process under the Ontario Environmental Assessment Act and the federal Impact Assessment Act, but through an Indigenous lens using baseline studies and the Indigenous Knowledge Program.
“For these roads, particularly in Northern Road Link, both the Ontario and the federal environmental impact assessment is being done. We talked about that there were 22 different areas of criteria that determine what are we going to study, how we're going to study it, and when we're going to study it. That includes the birds and the bats and the fish and the fish habitats, the vegetation, the water, the wildlife,” said Fox.
“So that includes the socio-economic, the Indigenous Knowledge studies, the human health impact assessment, and country food studies, etc. Those things all are being studied in tandem with Aboriginal and treaty rights assessments. Then we'll bring all that information back in draft form to the communities for their review.”
Fox noted that these community engagement sessions combined with the assessment are all part of the five-year process.
Day two of the open house is being held today in the Superior Inn Hotel and Conference Centre from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Day three will be held on Thursday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #133 in Geraldton.
The last session will be held on Wednesday, September 11 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Best Western Northwood in Timmins.
