Ring of Fire road could improve quality of life, but lead to cultural and environmental change: report

A new report on a proposed road to Ontario’s remote Ring of Fire says it could improve quality of life for many people, but also affect cultural traditions and impact the environment and animals — including “permanent loss of habitat” for caribou, a species at risk.

The draft environmental assessment and impact statement for an all-season gravel road to Marten Falls First Nation was published on April 22. The access road is being proposed by the nation and a preferred route has been approved by its band council.

“It is not just a path to progress; it is a testament to our resilience, our vision for the future and our commitment to the well-being of our people,” Chief Bruce Achneepineskum wrote in an introductory message.

Construction on the 184-kilometre road to the remote Anishinaabe community northeast of Thunder Bay, Ont., is expected to cost $1.3 billion, according to the report. Previous estimates have put the cost of two roads to the region at roughly $2 billion cumulatively, suggesting prices are going up. More than 6,000 direct and indirect jobs could be created, though the report found most workers would likely be from outside the region due to lack of local capacity.

This report is part of both federal and provincial environmental and impact assessments for the Marten Falls road. Consulting firm AECOM Canada prepared it, drawing from extensive field surveys, data collection and Indigenous Knowledge gathering. A project team, which included two senior community member advisors, led the effort under the “guidance, direction and input” of the chief, council and the rest of the community.

The draft report includes hundreds of recommendations on how to protect the vast peatlands in the region and the significant carbon they store, as well as fish and land animals. “Through the proper use of mitigation measures, the potential effects from the construction and long-term use of the community access road are expected to be effectively managed, minimized or mitigated,” it states.

The report comes at a moment when both Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Prime Minister Mark Carney have spoken about a need to speed up natural resource projects and associated infrastructure, and “streamline” these kinds of assessments. Ford has repeatedly criticized the length of time an environmental assessment takes. Analysts worry this sentiment could lead to cutting corners.

Ontario premiers have promoted the Ring of Fire mining district for well over a decade, and Ford took up the call when he was first elected in 2018. The province believes the remote, environmentally sensitive area on Treaty 9 territory contains riches in the form of highly valued minerals — although some oft-cited estimates of the value are out of date and have been debunked.

The road is seen by the Progressive Conservatives as one of three key routes — along with a supply road to Webequie First Nation and the Northern Road Link connecting the two — to open these mineral deposits by connecting them to the provincial highway network.

The report’s release also coincides with Ford’s proposed Bill 5, the “Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act,” which removes several layers of oversight for development projects, including rules around endangered species and environmental reviews, and has sparked significant backlash from First Nations organizations, including Ring of Fire nations other than Marten Falls and Webequie.

Ford has framed Bill 5 as being key to fighting U.S. tariffs. At the same time, the province still needs to fulfill its legal duty to consult with Indigenous Peoples.

“If tariffs is pushing this government to take shortcuts, to try and override our communities, our homelands, that’s not the way to go,” Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug’s Chief Donny Morris said this month about Bill 5. “We gotta work together whether you like it or not.”

The office of Indigenous Affairs Minister Greg Rickford, who is also the minister responsible for Ring of Fire economic and community partnerships, did not respond to requests for comment for this story, nor did representatives of Marten Falls First Nation.

According to a mineral claim tracker from the Wildlife Conservation Society, nearly half of all claims staked in Ontario are on Treaty 9 territory — many centred around the Ring of Fire. Under a new bill, the Ford government is proposing one Ring of Fire project, the Eagle’s Nest mine, move ahead without a full environmental assessment.

“I don’t think you can just take a shortcut, skip Indigenous consultation, or skip the assessments, to work out some of these challenges and questions about how to minimize damage,” Connie O’Connor, a freshwater ecologist and conservation biologist and director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Ontario Northern Boreal Program, told The Narwhal.

Across Ontario, environmental oversight and the mechanisms that protect the land and animals are shifting. The Marten Falls report offers a glimpse at what that could mean in practice.

Marten Falls road could bring opportunity and challenges for First Nation

Martin Falls’ ancestral territory, where the Albany and Ogoki rivers meet, has “historically been a place of abundant fish, wildlife and berries that have sustained us since time immemorial,” the First Nation wrote in the assessment.

Its people are called Wegwahjihna Ininiwag, or “End of the Falls People,” according to comments from Elizabeth Achneepineskum, a land-use planner with the First Nation.

The name Marten Falls likely came from a manager of a Hudson’s Bay Company trading post named Humphrey Marten, the report noted. The band became the Marten Falls First Nation in 1905 after the signing of Treaty 9.

The treaty was drawn up without Indigenous consultation, and was not translated from English, so many Indigenous signatories could not read it. According to a lawsuit over the treaty, the government of the day made promises verbally that are not reflected in the treaty’s text.

“Our ancestors lived seasonally, following the natural cycles of hunting, fishing and gathering. Colonization; however, brought drastic changes,” the report read.

“Our children were taken to residential schools, where many suffered abuse, leaving a legacy of intergenerational trauma.” Marten Falls was the home of Chanie Wenjack, an Anishinaabe boy who died of starvation and exposure after escaping a residential school, and whose story was highlighted in the multimedia project The Secret Path.

Currently, the community is only accessible by air or a winter road that’s open for a few weeks, depending on conditions. Marten Falls also faces overcrowding, limited health care and child health services and is in need of updated water treatment facilities. There are no high schools or fire and ambulance services on reserve, the assessment stated.

“Our community is remote, surrounded in silence and the beauty of nature and water. It allows for space and time to meditate in thoughts and spirit,” the First Nation wrote.

“Where we are in contact with nature, with its rhythms, smells and sounds, we can practice our traditional ancestral ways. However, our remote location also poses significant hardship, as it limits access to essential goods and services while limiting economic growth and opportunity.”

Year-round road access could help community members find jobs, access education, health care and mental health services, lower the cost of supplies like food and fuel and make travel safer, the assessment found. Ontario signed a “community development agreement” with both Marten Falls and Webequie First Nations in 2024 that commits the province to supporting “shovel-ready” projects — everything from recreation centres to commercial buildings — meant to help First Nations participate in mining road projects.

But a road could also pose challenges. The construction phase could affect different species and upset the ecological balance, according to the report. Long-term road use could also disrupt traditional activities like food harvesting or lead to “shifting social dynamics” as new waves of people and goods change the character of the region.

“The community access road will not solve all the community’s challenges, but it does represent a step in a positive direction,” the First Nation wrote.

The winter road built every year to access Marten Falls has become less and less dependable due to climate change — as is true across much of the Canadian north. The window in which it’s usable has gone from six weeks historically to as low as two weeks in 2024.

The assessment detailed how Marten Falls First Nation has been consulting since 2019 with many other Indigenous communities, including Aroland First Nation to the south, where the proposed all-season road would begin, and Eabametoong First Nation to the west.

It said Aroland First Nation supports the preferred route. But Attawapiskat First Nation near James Bay wants the provincial environmental assessments for each Ring of Fire road to be put on hold until another assessment, this one by the federal government, is complete.

That regional assessment of the overarching impacts of development in the region is the first of its kind to be planned in partnership with First Nation governments under the federal Impact Assessment Act. It’s unclear if Carney’s pledge to change Trudeau-era federal environmental rules “in order for projects to move forward” could affect it.

Environmental impacts of road include ‘unavoidable’ permanent loss of caribou habitat

Northern Ontario’s vast peatlands, a type of wetland filled with decomposing plant material called peat, make up 63 per cent of the area studied for the Marten Falls road, the assessment noted.

Peatlands are carbon sinks, meaning they take in more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than they release. The road development may disrupt the rate at which carbon is being stored or released.

The assessment recommended things like limiting what vegetation can be cleared, removing sand and gravel pits after reconstruction and keeping environmental monitors on site.

The preferred route for the road runs through a small portion of two remote provincial parks with no campgrounds, Ogoki River Provincial Park and Albany River Provincial Park. As a result, the project is subject to provincial rules about building new roads and water crossings inside provincial parks, as well as resource stewardship on Crown lands and provincial transport facilities.

However, two of these rules were amended last year as part of the province’s shifting approach to environmental assessments, and a third was limited in scope in 2023.

Also in the region of the proposed road, field studies have shown spawning areas for six key fish species and habitat for 37 fish species.

The assessment found construction operations could impact fish habitat through everything from blasting to clearing trees, use of machinery, sediment or dust buildup, changes in groundwater or fuel spills. Road access may also lead to more fishing. Suggested measures to mitigate the harm include avoiding herbicides, restricting activities during spawning, relocating fish, minimizing vehicles and limiting blasting.

The area studied for the road also overlaps four provincial and three federal ranges for caribou, a species at risk. The report said more than half of the study area is “valuable caribou habitat” and that moose populations have been declining. Construction threats to caribou and moose could include clearing trees, altering terrain, equipment use, dust, emissions and “lights, smells, noise and human activity.” Recommendations include avoiding ideal caribou and moose habitat and scheduling construction outside of critical periods like calving. It also suggests avoiding lakes and rivers and keeping habitat connected.

But no matter what, some loss would be “unavoidable,” and would continue after the road is finished. It could allow predators easier access and increase vehicle collisions and hunting.

“Roads and other barriers may reduce caribou movement and disconnect habitats, especially for caribou not used to roads. This can negatively impact their survival,” reads a summary of the report’s section on ungulates.

The assessment also looked at 15 bird species at risk, including the bald eagle, peregrine falcon and short-eared owl, as well as bats, amphibians, reptiles, pollinating insects and furbearers like the wolverine.

There’s a long list of potential effects. But while construction will be disruptive, the assessment said, “overall, wildlife and bird populations and distribution are projected to remain stable and healthy upon the completion of the community access road.”

The final environmental assessment and impact statement for the Marten Falls road is expected this winter. Until then, Marten Falls First Nation plans to keep consulting and engaging with community members and others.