MMF warns prospectors, developers to consult — or else

In a room filled with government and prospecting industry leads, a Manitoba Métis Federation rep delivered a sharp message: work with us or prepare for legal action.

The Métis government has been having cabinet discussions about litigation, Lorne Pelletier, a MMF senior economic adviser, told the crowd.

“It’s not the path we want to go down, but it’s the path we’ll have to go down based on the actions of industry and the actions of government,” he said.

Pelletier spoke at a Manitoba Prospectors and Developers Association event Monday in Winnipeg. Roughly 50 government, Indigenous and industry officials gathered at the Manitoba Legislative Building, liaising and providing work updates.

“It’s not the path we want to go down, but it’s the path we’ll have to go down based on the actions of industry and the actions of government.”

The theme was “building Manitoba’s critical minerals future together.”

Generally, collaboration has been improving, Pelletier told the Free Press later in the day. However, there’s a “small number” of prospectors and developers who are “just focused on advancing their project,” he said.

“The reality is, if they continue in that way … they’ll find themselves on the wrong side of litigation,” Pelletier said. “The duty to consult — or the lack thereof on a project with the MMF — those are the ones that will end up in litigation.”

The Métis government should be consulted on any project within Manitoba and its protected areas under Section 35 of the Constitution Act, Pelletier said.

During his speech, he encouraged listeners to work proactively with the Métis.

He took the podium right before Sio Silica’s president. The Calgary-based company is aiming to extract silica sand in the Rural Municipality of Springfield.

“Sio Silica could definitely be doing better, in terms of their engagement with the MMF,” Pelletier told a reporter. “They’ve got more work to do with the MMF to ensure that the project is done in a way that is rights-recognizing and responsibly developed.”

“Of course, we want to see exploration and we want to see projects moving forward.”

Carla Devlin, Sio Silica’s president, urged event attendees to work in partnership and avoid litigation.

“We have to support local voices and support each other,” she said, adding stakeholders shouldn’t come to the table with a mindset of litigation.

Sio Silica has spoken with the Métis federation and is working with the Southern Chiefs’ Organization’s grand chief, Devlin said.

The company is partnering with First Nations on several proposed future projects, she said.

Indigenous nations want early consultation and engagement, said Renee Greyeyes, chief executive of the Manitoba Prospectors and Developers Association.

“Of course, we want to see exploration and we want to see projects moving forward,” Greyeyes said. “It’s up to the nations if they’re going to do that, (and) it would go to government and to the nations involved to negotiate that.”

The New Democrats have promised to launch a Crown-Indigenous corporation, which would see Indigenous nations being equally involved in decision-making on large projects, such as the Port of Churchill’s expansion.

Legislation to create the corporation wasn’t introduced in the most recent legislative session.

“I see more collaboration happening … Typically, we’ve never seen this before.”

“I’m just hopeful that we can develop advanced industries, not just basic industries,” said Terry Brown, president of the Manitoba Prospectors and Developers Association’s board.“I see more collaboration happening … Typically, we’ve never seen this before.”

The prospectors association is developing four micro-credential courses for people living in communities affected by potential mining projects.

Through the credentials, students could become geological assistants and community expediters (who’d connect investors with community resources). Courses on land stewardship and the finances of critical mineral exploration are also in the works.

A pilot project — training 20 to 40 members of a First Nation — will occur before a full launch, Greyeyes said.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com

Gabrielle Piché
Reporter

Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle.

Every piece of reporting Gabrielle produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.