Consultations Update

As part of the Crown’s Duty to Consult, Rama First Nation is regularly engaged with a wide range of proponents, developers, and municipalities. This means that a couple of staff have a neverending cycle of reports to review to ensure that our territory is being protected, or at least, not needlessly destroyed.

There are a couple of consultations which you may have heard of, and they will have major ecological and economical impacts on our region for years to come.

The first project is the Bradford Bypass. Essentially, the Bypass is a 16.2km highway propsed to connect Highway 400 to Highway 404. Ontario and the MTO (Ministry of Transportation) are developing the highway in order to ease traffic congestion, especially with forecasted population growth rates in the province.

Another major consultation project we’re working on is the Innisfil Orbit. The Orbit is a hugely ambitious project. Innisfil was awarded the opportunity to build a GO train station, connecting Innisfil to the GTA via rail. Centered around the GO station will be the “Orbit”, a large-scale development of residential and commercial buildings. Innisfil was granted an MZO (Ministerial Zoning Order) for the project, which essentially removes many checks and balances on developers in order to expedite development.

The Orbit could potentially be home to 150,000 people. Innisfil currently has a population of approximately 40,000 and many of of those calling it home are long-time, rural residents. This is a major shift for Innisfil and the area in general. 150,000 people means an intense strain on infrastructure, especially water and wastewater services. Furthermore, such a development will drastically changed local eco-systems. Due to the proximity to Lake Simcoe, and by extension our (Chippewa Tri-Council) traditional hunting and harvesting territories, we’re concerned.

The proposed route of the Bradford Bypass

There are significant environmental concerns with the Bypass. Most notably, the Bypass crosses over the Holland River and the through the surrounding wetlands. There are archaeological sites scattered along the proposed Bypass route as well. Thus, the Williams Treaties First Nations are involved in the consultation process, with Georgina Island the designated lead, in order to ensure development is happening in a good way. With the Ford government attempting to gut environmental protections through Bill 23, we as First Nations find ourselves as one of the last lines of defence for the environment. It is our duty as Anishinaabe to look after Mother Earth as best as we can, and consultation work is an extension of that responsibility.

The Bradford Bypass is still in the reports and assessments phase, with preliminary design expected in 2023. Visit the Bradford Bypass website for more information: www.bradfordbypass.ca

Above, a conceptual rendering of The Orbit

We are ensuring the developer, Vaughan-based Cortel Group, are consulting with us properly and providing all requested environmental and archaeological reports. We are not anti-development, but we must ensure that development doesn’t harm the next seven generations’ ability to hunt, harvest, and survive.

At the moment, planning is very much in the early stages. More PICs (Public Information Centres) will be planned shortly, and this is an opportunity to learn more as well as contribute your thoughts or concerns regarding the Orbit. This is a huge and long-term project, in which there may be employment opportunities for our members. Please visit www.innisfil.ca/en/building-and-development/orbit.aspx for more information.