https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1835757/winneway-mine-lithium-sayona-miningAlexia Martel-Desjardins (access to the author's page)Alexia Martel-DesjardinsOctober 31, 2021The Chief of the Long Point First Nation, Steeve Mathias, deplores the fact that in its communications, the Sayona mining company implies that discussions are underway with the community to conclude an agreement for the Tansim project, currently in the exploration phase.Sayona Quebec has begun drilling campaigns for this project to extract lithium, which would be located on the territory of the Winneway community.Read also: Long Point First Nation opposes a mining project on its territory Authier project: a company from Pikogan is doing the drilling workThe company sent an offer of agreement to the Long Point First Nation in February. However, the Band Council wants to consult with the community first before reaching an agreement, says Chief Steeve Mathias."It's not right for them to make announcements, and say that everything was fine and then we were on the verge of making an agreement. It's true that they sent an [offer] of agreement to the director of natural resources in February 2021, but for the council, it's on the shelf. We never bothered to sit down and analyse this proposal," Mathias said. Our way of life is not for sale, regardless of how much money we can be offered. It's not that kind of sacrifice that the community is willing to make. A quote from : Steeve Mathias, Chief of Long Point First Nation, WinnewaySayona Quebec CEO Guy Laliberté says the company has committed to asking the Ministry of the Environment to hold a BAPEif the project goes ahead."For us, this is a process that would seem quite normal in the context of this project. We mentioned this to the community and as a result, they are now considering it. We'll see what happens next, but we're certain that communication and consultation are the key to resolving this impasse," says Laliberté.Two visions of the environmentChief Steeve Mathias says members of his community are concerned that a potential mining project will encroach on their traditional territory.Where the Tansim project is located, it is in the heart of our territory," he says. There is hunting, fishing. It's a lake [Lake Simard] where people go fishing every day, on a regular basis, in the summer as well as the winter."Map with the location of the project coloured in blue and pink.Location of Sayona Quebec's Tansim project.Photo: Sayona Quebec website"The community is very concerned about the impact it could have on the environment, wildlife, water quality and fish," adds Steeve Mathias.For his part, Guy Laliberté believes that we should think about the contribution of metals such as lithium to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions."We will make a major contribution to the fight against climate change. That too is something that must be considered. We're going to make fewer petrol vehicles and more electric batteries. On the whole, it's a gesture for the environment. You have to see the consequences, certainly, it's not negligible, but the benefits are also there," he concluded.Late Friday, the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources said it was not ready to respond to our request for an interview.Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
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