After a year and a half of protests against proposed uranium mining north of Sharbot Lake, some aboriginals have struck an agreement with a mining company and the Ontario government to allow exploratory drilling.
Yesterday, representatives for the Shabot Obaadjiwan, the Snimikobi Algonquins, the Algonquins of Ontario, Frontenac Ventures Corporation and the province appeared in Superior Court in Kingston to finalize the details of the deal.
Frontenac Ventures' lawyer, Neal Smitheman, said the agreement means that "some exploration work can be commenced in the future" and that the work "is subject to input from a steering committee being set up as part of the agreement involving both representatives of Frontenac and the Shabot Obaadjiwan."
Another aboriginal group involved in the longstanding protests against the mining proposal is calling the deal a "sellout."
"This is a really good example of how some people sell out," said Bob Lovelace of the Ardoch Algonquins.
The native leader also said people are still concerned about the health and environmental affects of the proposed uranium project and they won't give up efforts to protect the land.
"We'll do what we can to protect our land," Lovelace said.
"We have grave concerns about the environment, health, safety of the people in the area, the local economy, as well as our own uses of that particular land."
Lovelace, a former Ardoch Algonquin First Nation chief and Queen's University lecturer, was jailed for 3 1 /2 months earlier this year for refusing to back down from protesting at the site north of Sharbot Lake.
In June 2007, aboriginal groups, including the Shabot Obaadjiwan and the Ardoch Algonquins, camped outside the gates of an abandoned tremolite mine to protest the fact that Frontenac Ventures had staked claims on an expansive property, located about 90 kilometres north of Kingston.
Frontenac Ventures, an Oakvillebased company, plans to mine uranium from the vast deposits some 200 metres below the surface.
Doreen Davis, chief of the Shabot Obaadjiwan, declined to be interviewed after the conclusion of the court case yesterday. She deferred media questions to her lawyer.
Steve Reynolds, lawyer for the Shabot Obaadjiwan, said Lovelace's assessment of the deal as a sellout is "completely bogus."
"It's not a sellout. In fact ... the consultation that has been undertaken by the parties is a win-win situation for everybody involved," he said.
Reynolds described the agreement as a "balance of rights" and one that takes into account "the interests of everyone."
"There will be drilling permitted on certain specific lands and certain specific lands have been withdrawn [from the designated drilling areas], including some private settler lands," he said.
"There will be a steering committee set up to monitor drilling activities, environment issues, the reclamation and repatriation of the environment and the like."
Furthermore, Reynolds said the agreement protects certain sensitive lands, including those that have aboriginal value, environmental significance and lands that impact upon the local watershed.
"Those lands have been withdrawn from staking, from drilling," he said. "Seventeen claims have been removed from staking and 19 remain for drilling."
Yesterday's deal is the result of negotiations that started last June.
In a statement issued by the government, provincial politicians expressed their support for the agreement.
"I'm pleased all parties were able to find a workable solution that balances the interests of the Algonquin communities and industry while protecting the environment," said Michael Gravelle, minister of Northern Development and Mines.
Brad Duguid, minister of Aboriginal Affairs, said the agreement is "an example of how by working together in a spirit of co-operation and respect" the parties involved were able to "find creative solutions in the face of challenging solutions."