By Kanisha Acharya-Patel, Staff Lawyer
This blog post was originally published on February 20, 2025 and last updated on March 10, 2026. We will continue to update this blog post as new information becomes available.
As you may know, on January 20, 2025, the Regional Assessment (RA) in the proposed Ring of Fire (the name mining companies have given to a mineral-rich area in Treaty 9 territory) officially began. RAs are a unique tool and done well, can provide invaluable insights into cumulative impacts of development in a geographic region, recognizing that these impacts would be underestimated and ignored if projects were assessed one-by-one.
About the RA
RAs are extremely rare – only three have been completed under the federal Impact Assessment Act (IAA) and two, including the Ring of Fire RA, are in progress. No RAs, however, have ever occurred in a region where the impacts of the proposed extractive projects are borne nearly exclusively by Indigenous peoples.
The Ring of Fire RA is studying a region that is facing unprecedented impacts from mining developments (see Figure 1 below). The mines, together with exploration activities and related infrastructure to access this remote region threatens the homelands of Indigenous communities who have, since time immemorial, relied on the region for food, water, medicine and sacred spaces for traditional practices, ceremonies and burials. The proposed Ring of Fire area falls within the second largest peatland ecosystem in the world: a type of wetland that stores huge amounts of carbon and provides habitat to countless endemic and threatened plants and animals.
Figure 1: Map of the RA area, taken from page 19 of the ToR.
While the federal government claims that the RA is being co-led between Canada and 15 First Nation Partner communities, it falls short of the hallmarks you would expect for a truly co-led process – the federal government still has ultimate decision-making power and the outcomes of the RA are not binding on the government or industry. The RA also isn’t an Indigenous-led RA that many, including the Friends of the Attawapiskat River, have called for.
Can resource development move ahead before the RA is done?
Unfortunately, yes. Despite ongoing calls for a moratorium on mineral exploration absent the consent of impacted communities and protection plans for this globally unique region, the government has not required mining activities or other extractive industries be paused while the RA is being conducted.
This seems to go against the whole purpose of the RA, which is to assess the impacts of possible development in the area and inform decision-making. Also, as the RA is a federal process, Ontario does not have to participate in it or consider it in decision-making even after it is complete.
Timeline
- January 20, 2025: The federal government released the Terms of Reference (ToR), marking the start of the RA. The ToR sets out the purposes, methods, and outputs of the RA and clarifies the responsibilities of the Regional Assessment Working Group, which is a group of representatives from the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) and delegates from the 15 First Nation Partner communities who are conducting the RA.
- March 20, 2025: the Working Group released their Workplan (available in English, Cree, OjiCree and Ojibway), which is a one page document showing the phases of the RA.
- June 16, 2025: the Working Group released their Participation Plan, which outlines their approach to allow Indigenous peoples and organizations and the public to participate meaningfully in the RA.
Where are we now?
On January 20, 2026, the Working Group released their Interim Report (and a summary). This report is meant to provide an update on the status of the RA, including what information they have gathered about how development in the proposed Ring of Fire will impact community wellbeing, cultural and spiritual wellbeing, social and economic equity, and a healthy environment. Key takeaways:
- Addressing gaps related to accessing health and social services must be an immediate priority, before any resource development can be considered
- Indigenous inherent and Treaty rights must be respected, meaning that First Nations’ relationship with the land and values about what must be protected has to be understood
- There is a high cost of living in remote communities. Economic development can help with this problem, only if it is done in a way that improves health and community wellbeing
- More information (both western science and Indigenous traditional knowledge) is needed to understand the state of the environment in the proposed Ring of Fire area (ex. impacts of climate change) – and this information must be collected before any development can be considered
- The RA Information Sharing Platform has been launched, which provides access to data, maps, research, and information relevant to the RA
Importantly, the Interim Report states that the First Nation Partners’ delegates lead community engagement in their community to seek guidance and insight, which is meant to inform the RA. The community delegate’s role is to bring key information about the RA to and from community members (p 21 of Interim Report). If you are a member of one of the First Nation Partners, have you been given the opportunity to participate? If not, we strongly encourage you to reach out to your Chief and Council as well as to the Working Group.
Stay Tuned
The RA is still being conducted and must be completed by July 20, 2027 – but the Working group is requesting an extension (p 28 of Interim Report).
To stay up to date on the RA, you can subscribe to receive email notifications about new documents and upcoming public information sessions. If you have questions or comments, you can always contact the Working Group by emailing regionalrof-cdfregionale@iaac-aeic.gc.ca.
LAND will be posting updates as information becomes available. As this first of its kind RA proceeds, we invite you to stay tuned by joining our mailing list and following us on instagram @naturesdefence!
Learn more
Interested in learning more about the proposed Ring of Fire and your rights? Check out these resources:
- Template letter for community members to send to the IAAC, expressing their interest in being meaningfully involved in the RA
- Fact sheets on Indigenous rights, the proposed Ring of Fire, and Indigenous protected and conserved areas
- The Friends of the Attawapiskat River’s correspondence to date on the RA, calling for an Indigenous-led process protective of Indigenous rights and nature