Historic agreement between Ontario and First Nations to share resource revenues

Historic agreements were reached between the Ontario government and First Nations partners on May 3 that will see mining and forestry revenues shared with the communities on whose lands these activities take place.

The agreements to share stumpage fees and mining royalties are the first of their kind in the province, signifying important progress in Ontario’s commitment to reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.

“Resource sharing is something that First Nations communities have been arguing for since we signed treaty and before that,” Jason Batise, Executive Director of Wabun Tribal Council, told the Nation.

“I’m really pleased that Ontario and our First Nations have managed to strike a deal that is so significant in terms of the sharing that you can honestly say that there is a real reconciliation going on in Ontario.”

Agreements were made with 32 First Nations who are members of partner organizations Grand Council Treaty #3, Wabun Tribal Council and Mushkegowuk Council.

The province has committed to sharing 45% of government revenues from forestry stumpage, and 40% of annual mining tax and royalties from active mines at the time of signing. For future mines in the areas covered by the agreements, 45% of revenues will flow to the First Nations partners.

“Resource revenue sharing provides a sustained source of funding for First Nations that will be directed towards local community priorities,” said Michael Gravelle, Minister of Northern Development and Mines. He suggested that these agreements will provide a framework for future deals with other First Nations.

The First Nations will have full control of allocating these funds into key initiatives that support economic development, education, health, community and cultural priorities. Internal discussions about equitable distribution within the communities are still in the preliminary stages.

Jason Gauthier, Chief of Missanabie Cree First Nation, was lead negotiator for Mushkegowuk Council. He had been invited to negotiations by Gravelle and Nathalie Des Rosiers, the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, who were eager to complete an agreement prior to the upcoming provincial election on June 7.

“I think fundamentally you start a relationship with being honest with the government, recognizing what has happened to us over the last 100 years or even longer, even since contact,” said Gauthier. “I think we start from that place but we need to get past that quickly if we’re to be able to properly and respectfully negotiate something.”

With a clear timeline for reaching an agreement, meetings were more frequent in the early stages to establish principles of sharing and ensure that goals were achieved within the nine months before the election. Gauthier credits great teams on both sides of the table for the successful outcome.

News of the agreements has been greeted enthusiastically by the participating communities, and is seen by many as long overdue.

“For far too long, we have seen resources extracted from our territory with no benefits except the IBAs (Impact and Benefit Agreements) with the resource sector,” said Mushkegowuk Grand Chief Jonathan Solomon. He added that the agreements are “a right step in the right direction.”

Canada’s immense wealth of natural resources has always been a significant source of its economic prosperity. However, the failure to adequately compensate First Nations communities for resource development on their lands has resulted in numerous conflicts over the years.

Some progress has been made more recently, with several corporations developing individual agreements with communities. For example, BlackRock Metals signed an agreement with Oujé-Bougoumou in 2013 that guarantees income to the community linked to its project’s profitability in addition to training, education, employment and business opportunities.

Companies have argued, however, that they shouldn’t bear full responsibility for making deals with First Nations communities work. Sharing resource revenues enables governments to finally meet their treaty, legal, constitutional and moral obligations to Canada’s First Nations peoples.

As a result of decades of activism, the country’s Indigenous peoples now have unprecedented power and authority to participate in what happens on their territories, including sharing revenues from mining and forestry.

Chief Gauthier represents a growing willingness within communities to grasp opportunities that balance economic sustainability with community well-being – “anything that’s going to give the First Nations a hand up and not a handout,” as he calls it.

He anticipates that there will remain challenges with some companies that will interpret these agreements as “an out” to not fully negotiate with the communities. “I think that there needs to be some declaration made by the government that there’s a way of doing business with First Nations and it has to continue to be fair,” he said.

Gauthier also believes that every community should establish protocols that clarify how resource development will occur before companies first enter their territories.

The agreements don’t change the First Nations’ continuing ability to create resource development deals with industry, or the necessity for obtaining community consent and meeting regulatory requirements.

“We were clear on that,” said Batise. “We wouldn’t sign away our authority to go in and talk with mining companies about partnering with them on another level.

“The Wabun Tribal Council communities are smack-dab in the world’s largest gold camp,” he continued. “The forests have been utilized around our neck of the woods for 100 years. Our agreement does not make it easier for those things to happen, that’s an absolute fact. But maybe this does open up a better way for our communities to talk to the newcomers about how we work together when they’re contemplating new mines or mills.”

Batise envisions this revenue will support postsecondary education, housing initiatives, healthcare centres and other “capital projects that have been on the backburner for so many years.” In the longer term, he can foresee communities investing some of the money in the larger economy to create wealth for future generations.

As communities become somewhat more prosperous, Batise also wants to see processes created that ensure transparency regarding how they’re using the money. He’s quick to acknowledge that many challenges lie ahead but that this is a big first step.

“If you were to think about what communities might have wanted in a revenue sharing deal, 50/50 would have been nice but we’re almost at 50/50. It’s that close, like if you said to your neighbour that we’re sharing the fence. We’re really pleased – it’s a good deal.”