Boreal Action is a grassroots environment and social justice group.

Rights group joining First Nation fight

Canadian Press

Rights group joining First Nation fight

April 16, 2007

WINNIPEG — Researchers from Amnesty International are planning to visit a northwestern Ontario First Nation that has battled industrial development on its traditional land for decades.

They’ll arrive next week to tour the Grassy Narrows First Nation to examine the effects of industrial development on the 1,000-member aboriginal community.

"The Government of Ontario has made decisions impacting the community’s use of the land with little or no meaningful consultation with Grassy Narrows," Amnesty International said in a statement released this week.

"Demonstrations of community opposition to provincial decisions have been ignored."

In a statement last January, Grassy Narrows members called for "a moratorium on further industrial activity in our traditional territory," until the federal and Ontario governments obtained community consent for future projects.

Grassy Narrows is located about 80 kilometres north of Kenora, Ont., and the band’s traditional land covers about 6,500 square kilometres, according to Amnesty International documents.