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TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – The grand council of the Crees of Eeyou Istchee, the Cree regional authority and the Cree nation of Mistissini on Friday said they had filed a declaration of intervention in the legal proceedings recently started by uranium explorer Strateco Resources against the Quebec Environment Minister Yves-François Blanchet.
Strateco, who seeks permission to undertake underground exploratory drilling in search of uranium at its Matoush advanced exploration project, early this month asked the Superior Court of Quebec to nullify the minister's decision to refuse to grant a certificate of authorisation for the exploration.
Strateco had also asked the court to force the minister to issue a certificate of authorisation for the project.
In his decision of November 7, Blanchet said that he refused to authorise the Matoush project owing to the absence of social acceptability for the project, particularly among the Crees.
Through the intervention filed today, the Crees sought full rights of participation in the proceedings, and urged the court to dismiss Strateco's request.
"The requirement of social acceptability as a condition for development in Eeyou Istchee is an essential aspect of the successful nation-to-nation relationship between the Crees and Quebec. Strateco's legal action represents a fundamental challenge to the principle of social acceptability, and to our treaty rights. We are committed to protecting our environment and our treaty rights, for current and future generations,” grand chief Dr Matthew Coon Come said.
Located near the Cree community of Mistissini on Cree family hunting lands, the Matoush project is the most advanced uranium project to date in the Cree territory of Eeyou Istchee and in Quebec.
Strateco's advanced exploration project is a critical step in the company's plans to undertake large-scale uranium mining operations at Matoush.
"Mistissini's position is clear: there will be no uranium activities in our territory. The risks associated with uranium mining and uranium waste are enormous. We will continue working with the hundreds of municipalities and civil society groups that oppose uranium in Quebec,” Mistissini chief Richard Shecapio added.
The certificate of authorisation sought by Strateco was the only approval still required to begin the advanced exploration phase of the Matoush project. All the other permits had already been obtained from the other agencies involved in the process, and the Quebec government itself had delivered more than 20 certificates and authorisations of various types allowing the project to be realised.
Strateco said that owing to its high uranium content, the Matoush project had “an extremely rare potential”. Quebec-based Strateco vowed to continue to vigorously defend the interests of its shareholders, who had invested more than $123-million in the project.