ADVENTURE AGENT SUPPORTS A MORITORIUM ON MINING IN POPULATED AREAS, IN PARTICULAR, EASTERN ONTARIO, NORTH FRONTENAC

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OTTAWA PRESBYTERY UNITED CHURCH OFFERS SUPPORT

Excerpts from the meetings minutes…

Ottawa Presbytery met on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 at Barrhaven United Church. The congregation extended warm hospitality to those who gathered. The March meeting is a program meeting at which regular business is suspended so that presbyters can engage in a time of learning together…

…Under other business The Church in Society Committee brought to the floor an open letter to Premier Dalton McGuinty concerning the standoff between Frontenac Ventures and the Ardock and Shabot Obaadjiwan Algonquins. The presbytery supported the letter which asked the following:

1: In recognition of the extraordinary measures taken to draw attention to this potential environmental disaster, grant clemency to the leaders and to the community of the Ardoch and Shabot Obaadjiwan Algonquins, relieving them of any responsibility for fines or jail terms levied under the narrow judgement based on the Ontario Mining Act;
2. Obey the requirement to 'accommodate, consult with and ask for consent' from First Nations peoples before allowing development on any land that is under a land claim by a First Nation;
3. Take urgent action and immediately declare a moratorium on the exploration and development of uranium mining on disputed land in Eastern Ontario;
4. Conduct a complete review and reform of the Ontario Mining Act, taking into account the need for environmental assessments, community consultation, and First Nations Rights under the Constitution and other Canadian laws; and
5. Give serious consideration to the proposal of the Ardoch and Shabot Obaadjiwan Algonquins that a “pilot project”, using the current situation, be established in order to develop a model of constructive consultation which would then become protocol in this and other situations where the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines need to consult with First Nations people.

The meeting concluded with a parable and a hymn.

The information provided above relates to the potential development of a Uranium mine at Robertsville Ontario. The Robertsville uranium mine would be developed at Robertsville, near Sharbot Lake, North Frontenac Township, Frontenac County, in Eastern Ontario. Robertsville was one of several small community stops on the Kingston & Pembroke Railway line. Now reliant on tourism and mineral and timber extraction, the Robertsville mine does not bode well for eco tourism, which the County and the Townships have been trying to promote.

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