LAC SEUL – During Grand Council Treaty #3’s fall assembly meeting, the Chief of Treaty 3 passed a resolution to renew their relationship agreement with the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO).
The organization, representing 28 First Nations across Northwestern Ontario, shared details of the agreement in a statement Friday, after the document was leaked the day before by Onigaming Chief Jeffrey Copenace, who expressed strong opposition to its signing.
In the statement, Grand Council Treaty #3 (GCT3) underlined that the relationship agreement does not imply consent for potential plans to bury nuclear waste in Northwestern Ontario, and said it continues to oppose the plan.
In 2020, the Anishinaabe Nation in Treaty #3 mandated a renewal of the agreement, which was signed Thursday after a resolution passed by the chiefs in assembly.
According to the statement issued by Grand Council Treaty #3 (GCT3), the $5.8 million, two-year relationship agreement “does not consent or imply any consent to NWMO’s Adaptive Phased Management project or its site selection process."
It also stated the relationship agreement does not constitute a consultation with Grand Council Treaty #3 or the communities in Treaty #3, nor does the agreement imply that GCT3 approves the Revell Lake site near Ignace, one of two under consideration by the NWMO to host to a Deep Geological Repository for spent nuclear fuel.
GCT3 chiefs also said the agreement does not “change [their] policy direction or the procedure by Grand Council Treaty #3 or Treaty #3 Chiefs in Assembly, [it does not] waive, prejudice, limit, amend, abrogate or in any way derogate from the inherent and Treaty #3 rights of the Anishinaabe Nation in Treaty #3 or Treaty #3 Communities, [nor] discourage, inhibit, replace or derogate the negotiation of current and past agreements between the NWMO and First Nations or Municipalities.”
Its statement also emphasized that the GCT3 chiefs in assembly continue to support a 2011 Elders Declaration opposing storage of nuclear waste in Treaty #3 territory.
“This relationship agreement, which is similar to those that many communities also hold, will provide Grand Council Treaty #3 with the capacity to remain engaged and informed to defend and enhance the inherent Treaty rights of the Anishinaabe Nation in Treaty #3 as we have done for over a decade now,” said Ogichidaa Francis Kavanaugh in a statement.
“Our staff at Grand Council and our legal advice spent months ensuring this agreement in no way limited our options in regard to our relationship with the [NWMO]. When the time comes to say ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ and right now all indications are that it will be a firm ‘no,’ the Anishinaabe Nation in Treaty #3 will have taken the time to ensure that it will be an informed decision and therefore a legally enforceable stance.”
The release highlights that the relationship agreement is providing funding for language initiatives, outreach and education relating to the Nuclear 101 Guidebook, the Treaty #3 Stewardship Officer program, youth scholarships and internships, intergenerational knowledge transfer, gathering all voices of the nation, ceremonial and spiritual protocols, legal and sector expertise, and the development of a Treaty #3 project assessment process as a tool to implement Manito Aki Inakonigaawin and the exercise of Anishinaabe jurisdiction.
The first relationship agreement was approved in 2011. The “Learn More Agreement” exercises Anishinaabe jurisdiction through Manito Aki Inakonigaawin, which in turn provided funding initiatives to learn about the NWMO’s Adaptive Phase Management project, environmental monitoring, youth engagement and to support the strategic direction of the Anishinaabe Nation in Treaty 3 in upholding Manito Aki Inakonigaawin jurisdiction over the project.
