Any new commercial developments in the regions around Moose Lake, Grand Rapids, Norway House, and Cross Lake will now have to make their case to a group composed of all four area First Nations, as the result of an accord signed between the four leaders on July 2.

“There’s going to be a paradigm shift on how we are dealt with as First Nations communities,” explained Pimicikamak Chief Garrison Settee. The accord was struck initially to deal with Toronto-based Victory Nickel’s plans to mine the nickel deposit at the Minago River – a press release says that the accord’s aim is to “obtain the maximum benefits from the proposed Minago mining program,” – but also pledges that the four will work together on any project that may impact their resources, including the forestry, mining, hydro, and agriculture industries.

“We felt the best way to maximize the benefits to the people was to work together,” Norway House Chief Eric Apetagon said. All four leaders believed that speaking as a unified voice representing 20,000 people would be more effective than as four voices on behalf of smaller population groups.

In addition to Settee and Apetagon, the agreement was signed by Mosakahiken Chief Jim Tobacco and Misipawistik Chief Ovide Mercredi.

“These are mutual concerns with mutual benefits,” Apetagon explained.

Apetagon noted that he was worried about potential environmental or health-related problems caused by the mining. “There are a lot of unknowns with mining projects,” he explained, particularly concerned about pollution in the Nelson River that could flow northward and threaten communities further into the North. Apetagon also expressed concern about the health of fish and animals in the area, noting that healthy animals are needed for First Nations people to maintain their traditional way of life.

Despite his concerns, Apetagon – a 38-year-old who was first elected as chief in March after eight years as a councillor – is in favour of the mining project going ahead, as long as he is satisfied that the impact on the environment is acceptable. He is happy about the possibility that it could create jobs for his people, as well as Cree in the other areas governed by this accord, and potentially ease the overcrowding problems they have experienced. However, he again expresses frustration at the lack of clarity in his negotiations with Victory Nickel, who he says have given him “no guarantees on employment, no guarantees on revenue sharing, no guarantees period.”

“We’ve all been impacted by hydroelectric projects,” said Settee, who remembers similar projects from his youth, carried out with little regard for the effects they would have on nearby First Nations. However, Settee notes that “we now know how much of an influence we are,” and that he doesn’t have to allow companies to do whatever they want in Cross Lake.

Victory Nickel, a Toronto junior miner, says its Minago sulphide nickel project, 225 kilometres south of Thompson, could produce 11,000 tons per year of high-grade nickel in concentrate over a seven-year operating life, but capital costs to build the mine are estimated at $596 million and the break-even price for nickel is estimated at $5.06 per pound.

Victory owns 100 per cent of the Minago sulphide nickel deposits in the Thompson Nickel Belt.

Regardless of the feasibility of mining Minago, Apetagon just wants to make sure that First Nations voices are heard with regards to the project. “We’re in the heartbeat of Manitoba,” he says, “all we’re asking for is some respect.”