- Target:
- The Honourable David Orazietti, Minister of Natural Resources
- Region:
- Canada
This petition is now closed.
Earthroots, an environmental group based in Toronto, has been campaigning to completely protect the Wolf Lake area near Temagami, Ontario, Canada since 2007.
Wolf Lake is currently protected by "Forest Reserve" status, which permits mineral exploration and development but doesn't allow other industrial uses. Earthroots wants the Wolf Lake area to be included in the nearby Chiniguchi River Waterway Provincial Park to protect from mining companies. This is inappropriate in an economic view given the Wolf Lake area has the potential for gold, copper, cobalt and palladium mines. It is not helpful and should not be allowed.
The Temagami area already has enough protection and does not need any more parks. If one needs an example of the economic benefits and impact of a mine near a lake, look at the Temagami/Copperfields Mine on Temagami Island in Lake Temagami. This mine produced without polluting the lake, benefiting the local and provincial economies. Both mining and mineral exploration can be done safely. The potential of the geology of the area could provide economic stimulus for the Temagami First Nations and surrounding communities.
Communities in Northern Ontario are shrinking at an alarming rate and shifting the possibilities of major employment opportunities seems to be the wrong thing to do at this time. We need all the breaks we can get, not another sterilization of prime geology of Ontario's Living Legacy.
This petition is not the intent to lessen the tourism experience and “kick out the canoeists,” but people have a right to earn a living. Temagami has a long history of mining and mineral exploration dating back to at least the early 1900's, with the last productive mine shutting down in 1990. Mining has played a major part in Temagami's existence. The community still wants to promote the area's potential for resource development and encourage exploration and prospecting.
We can and must deliver an overwhelming wave of opposition to Earthroots' campaign. Tell Minister Orazietti and the Canadian federal government to stand up for the promotion of mineral exploration and mining around Wolf Lake and elsewhere in the Temagami area.
Tell your friends on Facebook, Twitter and email.
We call on you to refuse Earthroots' campaign to protect the area of Wolf Lake and Temagami from mining companies. Temagami wants to allow mineral development, which has not had an operating mine since 1990.
We stand with concerned citizens in opposition to Earthroots' self-righteousness and anti-developmental campaign. Temagami is not the place for such acts of opposition. Mining and mineral exploration are part of Temagami's heritage.