TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – The future of the multipurpose port in Sept-Iles, Quebec, and the land in Pointe-Noire, Sept-Iles, depended on an agreement with the Innu Takuaikan Uashat mak Mani-utenam (ITUM), which must give free, prior and informed consent for any development project on their lands, the First Nation warned on Friday.
"All involved parties must acknowledge that the Innus of Uashat mak Mani-utenam hold ancestral rights and title to the land. Regardless of the project or the key players, we have a say and we intend to play an active role in any development on our territory," chief Mike McKenzie said.
The First Nation stressed that any developer, whether it be a mining or logistics company, hoping to carry out a project in Pointe-Noire, including any development related to the operations or the acquisition of assets of the Arnaud Railway Company, which were now protected under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act, had to include the First Nation.
"ITUM will no longer tolerate having a private company independently hold interests on Aboriginal land in Pointe-Noire, which would, in the end, jeopardise or harm the economic and political interests of the Innu. Operations in Pointe-Noire must remain public and must be aimed at facilitating the region's economic and political interests, including the economic interests of the Innus,” McKenzie said.
ITUM cautioned that it would vigorously defend and protect its Aboriginal rights, including rights signed under its impact benefit agreement with Cliffs Natural Resources regarding the Bloom Lake iron-ore mine, should a developer seek to acquire Cliffs' assets in Pointe-Noire.
Cliffs, in January, filed for creditor protection for its Canadian arm in an effort to try and isolate losses and protect shareholders from the vast majority of the $650-million to $700-million in closure costs tied to its mothballed Bloom Lake assets.