Red Sucker Lake First Nation (RSLFN) in northeastern Manitoba near the Ontario border is opposed to the provincial government's decision to extend Mega Precious Metal Inc.'s work permits for exploration activities related to its Monument Bay project by six months to Oct. 31, 2014.
RSLFN sent an open letter to Premier Greg Selinger April 30, the date the work permit was set to expire, in response to an April 14 letter informing the First Nation's leadership of the decision to extend the mineral exploration work permits.
"Red Sucker Lake First Nation (RSLFN) has identified many inaccuracies and multiple falsehoods in the letter which disputes that Mega Precious Metals Inc. (Mega) existing work permit conditions have been met," read the letter to Selinger. "Re-issuing of the permit would be a grave injustice to RSLFN under the circumstances that Mega's has not complied with the current work permit. Failure to comply with the work permit requires that the government not issue the permit or authorize the extension of any work permit. Mega is clearly in contravention of their work permit conditions and the lack of recognition in Province's letter of this contravention is a travesty of justice, unless remedied immediately."
The letter contends that Mega has not updated the community about its exploration activities sufficiently, accommodated employees who are members of RSLFN or shared water quality data with the First Nation. RSLFN Chief Les Harper and council are also unhappy that Mega has not sought the removal of a court injunction that bars RSLFN members from interfering with exploration work in the Monument Bay project area.
"The disingenuous and flawed engagement approach taken by Mega is limited in all aspects including their self-promoted English newsletter on-line as a way to fulfil community engagement," says the letter. "Any engagement has to consider access in the fly-in only community of RSLFN, which has very limited physical assets, including a lack of computers and internet bandwidth to allow computers to download newsletter. As well, Mega's community engagement coordinator has not resulted in any community engagement with RSLFN. Although, Mega has employed a person for a position it calls the 'community engagement coordinator', this person, Carl Disbrowe who is not a band member, has had no or extremely limited direct communication to RSLFN. At this point it seems that the position is only to serve the interests of Mega and tricking the public and investors to think they are meaningfully engaging with RSLFN."
"Also it appears that the minimal employment of RSLFN people is being wrongly construed as engagement and as the RSLFN approval of Mega's operations and plans," the letter also says. "The RSLFN community members who work for Mega live approximately 60 km from the camp but are provided no options or transport to go home, which should be arranged given the proximity of their residence. Clearly the work schedules are designed for non-local employees. The hiring policies and work programs clearly do not make any effort to consider peoples' culture and family values of RSLFN. Mega provides insufficient jobs and training while they spend millions for their own profit on RSLFN Traditional Territory. Selective hiring for the benefit of one trapper family cannot be construed as real engagement or approval of Mega's operations."
RSLFN also said that Mega has never directly provided the First Nation with water quality data.
"It would seem Mega has devised a strategy to make it unavailable to the RSLFN community members by making it only available at the camp," says the letter.
RSLFN also issued a press release about its opposition to the extension of work permits, noting that Mega sought and received a court injunction last year barring RSLFN members from hunting in and around the mineral claims area where the company is drilling.
"The court injunction imposed last summer has ordered my people to tip toe around our traditional territory and not to go near Mega's camp and drill sites for fear we may obstruct Mega's operations," said Chief Harper in the press release. "The court injunction has created a 'no go zone' infringing and limiting our Treaty rights that is protected legally. Mega's mineral exploration area is massive and extends to our Ontario traditional area."
RSLFN Coun. Vince Simms said Mega sent out a notice to local airlines telling them that they should not transport people into the exploration area, which is preventing some First Nation members from accessing trapline and harvesting areas.
"We have no official relationship with the Province of Manitoba and Mega because: we demanded to monitor and prevent damage to our land and waters; we demanded job guarantees and training, we demanded accommodation due to infringement to our inherent and treaty rights, and this was all denied to us," said RSLFN Coun. Clifford Harper. "I think we have been too accommodating and I believe it's time we extend our hands to our families in Ontario and other First Nations to give us advice."
Chief Harper and the RSLFN council said Feb. 12 that they would no longer give consent to any further mineral exploration on their ancestral lands and traditional territories.
"The Red Sucker Lake First Nation will oppose mineral exploration and the drilling program in our territory," said Chief Harper in a press release at that time. "This is the decision of the council. We are saying 'no' to the province's proposal to conduct community consultations because they don't work. We will also do whatever we can to stop Mega Precious Metals and to go against the court injunction by implementing the eviction notice of July 1, 2013. Also [Mineral Resources] Minister [Dave] Chomiak has hired Phil Fontaine as a 'mediator.' Mr. Fontaine is paid by the province and he is not independent. The council has rejected his input."
Chief Harper, along with RSLFN councillors and citizens issued a stop work order and eviction notice at Mega Precious Metals Inc.'s Monument Bay Project mineral exploration camp 60 kilometres north of the community last July 1 and also e-mailed a letter terminating the Nov. 20, 2010 memorandum of understanding between Mega Precious Metals Inc. and Red Sucker Lake First Nation to Mega Precious Metals Inc.'s office on the same day it posted the stop work order and eviction notice. "Red Sucker Lake First Nation by the direct order of the citizens of Red Sucker Lake First Nation and by Simon McDougall, the local trapper, hereby demand Mega Precious Metals Inc. cease and desist on all activities at Monument Bay Project," read the letter. "Mega Precious Metals Inc. has been issued unlawful work and camp permits by the Province of Manitoba which is adversely impacting the exercise of Treaty rights and our management of our lands."
Mega Precious Metals was granted a temporary injunction by the Court of Queen's Bench of Manitoba to continue exploration work related to the Monument Bay project last July 3. An indefinite extension of the injunction was granted July 11. The company said in press releases at that time that Mega Precious Metals had had all the necessary permits from the province to operate its camp and conduct mineral exploration activities on Crown land in the area of the Monument Bay project since December 2010 and that those permits provided for "continued engagement with aboriginal communities to ensure that traditional activities and areas of cultural significance are protected and respected."
"Mega remains interested in exploring further opportunities for collaboration with RSLFN to those already in place," said company president and CEO Glen Kuntz at that time.
Mega Precious Metals Inc. signed a financing deal with an Australian-based fund in December that could see it receive as much as $40 million for exploration in the Monument Bay project area, which contains gold and possibly also tungsten deposits.
A Mega Precious Metals community newsletter published in February of this year said the company had begun its 2014 winter drill program in an area north of Red Sucker Lake and that work would continue until April 30. Two drills are in operation on the site testing for gold and tungsten.
According to the newsletter, the Monument Bay project has employed anywhere from 20 to 30 people over the past three years and the number of First Nation and Métis employees has ranged from 12 to 17.
Mega Precious Metals Inc.'s Monument Bay project is 340 kilometres southeast of Thompson, 60 kilometres northeast of Red Sucker Lake and 100 kilometres east of Gods Lake Narrows. It consists of 136 contiguous claims totalling 338 square kilometres and is estimated to contain 2.9 million ounces of gold, according to the company.
"While the Measured and Indicated resource has grown significantly, the average open-pit grade of 1.4 g/t provides high quality ounces with significant potential for resource expansion in a politically safe and mining friendly Canadian jurisdiction giving Monument Bay the potential to become Canada's next great gold mine," said Kuntz last June 17.
