Ontario court halts quarry project over lack of consultation with First Nations
An Ontario court has halted a limestone quarry project on the Bruce Peninsula nearly a decade in the making after finding the province failed to properly consult First Nations whose traditional territory encompasses the area.
In a decision released last week, the court says the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry failed in its constitutional duty to hold meaningful consultations with the Saugeen Ojibway Nation before approving the project.
It says the ministry did not properly notify the Nation of the project until three years after the application was filed, and then repeatedly pulled out of the process and funding it had promised.
T & P Hayes Ltd. applied for a licence in 2008 for a limestone quarry on land it owns, which is not part of a reserve or claim by the Nation.