On the Level (September 16, 1991)

It just gets sillier and sillier — and closer to home. I’m referring to costly hurdles being thrown at mining developments by aboriginal groups.

I recently wrote about a situation in Australia where a small group of natives inveigled that country’s socialist labor government into halting all mining at a rich gold discovery in its Northern Territory. They feared “it might disturb the God Bula who would wreak havoc in the area with earthquakes and disease.”

Now just about as ridiculous, but much closer to home, is the attempt of a local Indian tribe in Wisconsin, close by the Canadian border, to block construction at Rio Tinto Zinc’s Flambeau copper mine, citing the threat to endangered species — purple warty-backed clams in the Flambeau River and a rare dragonfly. What next?

With the awesome powers now being handed to our own aboriginals by both the federal and Ontario governments, perhaps we may see them call for a ban on all mining within the Lake Superior watershed to save those worrisome zebra mussels?

Largely because of its harsh environmental demands, Wisconsin, which holds real mineral potential, hasn’t seen a single new mine in 30 years. Both Kennecott Copper and subsequently Rio have been struggling for years and spending millions of dollars trying to get a green light for this project. They assure the site will be reclaimed and left more beautiful when the deposit is mined out. The water coming out of the mine’s treatment plant will be less polluted than the river now, management maintains.

Because neither this kind of clam nor this particular dragonfly was even found until after approval for the mine was granted, opponents argue that the state’s laborious environmental impact study was flawed and should be rescinded.

Heaven forbid that Ontario, or any other jurisdiction in this land, follows the Wisconsin path. We simply can’t afford it although I do fear that Bob Rae’s New Democratic Party administration is heading down that same trail. From an environmental standpoint, mining in this country has not been all lily-white. But that is the past. Today, it’s an entirely different game. Inco Ltd., with its massive operations at Sudbury, Ont., was long branded “the big bad boy” of the business. But after spending many millions of dollars on environmental cleanup, it’s now approaching the No. 1 top spot. Its Shebandowan operation in northwestern Ontario is an example. Nestled on a pristine lake in the very heart of a summer resort, it lives in harmony with cottagers and fishermen. At the same time, it’s pumping much needed cash into an anemic economy.

We will likely be hearing a lot more from our own natives following Prime Minister Brian Mulroney’s recent appointment of a 7-member royal commission on aboriginal peoples with an aboriginal majority. Its sweeping mandate is geared to transform Canada’s sad relationship with these people. By and large, the Canadian public holds sympathy for the aboriginal peoples, especially for their social problems — poverty, unemployment, alcoholism and substandard housing — which must be addressed. With upwards of a million aboriginals in this country, that’s a pretty tall order.

Even if granted exclusive hunting, fishing and trapping rights over the entire north (the traditional way of life to which they cling), these problems would not go away. They now demand complete control over huge land areas with self-government and large sums of money for economic development. The near-bankrupt federal treasury is already handing over billions of dollars each year, and receiving nothing in return.

In sharp contrast, most immigrants came to Canada with nothing and asked for nothing. They worked hard, helping to build a great country. Native peoples had the same opportunities, held significant land areas, paid no taxes and continue to live on the dole.

Hopefully this royal commission will eliminate Indian reserves, a government experiment that simply didn’t and won’t ever work. Everyone would be better off.