🕐19.10.12 - 20:54 Uhr

TYRANNY AT LAKE ABITIBI



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News Release

Tyranny at Lake Abitibi

Toronto, October 19, 2012 - Solid Gold Resources Corp. ("Solid Gold" or "the Company") (SLD:TSXV) reports that new regulations obligating proponents to consult with potentially-affected Aboriginal communities before conducting exploration activities in Ontario are scheduled to come into force on November 1, 2012.

“These regulations result in a total transfer of all natural resources to the control of hostile, third-party governments.  It is my opinion that Canadians must do everything possible to stop this ill-conceived, race-based initiative”, stated Darryl Stretch, President of Solid Gold.

On January 3, 2012, in the absence of any supporting law, a Motions Judge in the Superior Court of Ontario ordered Solid Gold to stop all exploration work at Lake Abitibi and, together with the Province of Ontario, to consult and accommodate the Wahgoshig First Nation (“the WFN”).

Two days later, in reference to the order, Premier Dalton McGuinty of Ontario stated, “There is an important legal obligation now placed on businesses to consult in a formal and thorough way.”

There wasn’t a law or regulation in place on January 5, 2012 when the Premier of Ontario made that statement and, in fact, the law will not come into effect for another two weeks.

It has been a year since Ontario acknowledged that it was the Crown’s duty to consult with the WFN, and that duty is yet to be met.  Solid Gold anticipates an imminent declaration from Ontario that the Crown has now met its constitutional duty to consult and accommodate the WFN where required.

Further, in the interest of clarity, Ontario must inform and assure all stakeholders that, just as in any other contract, terms cannot be changed without the consent of all parties and that these new regulatory obligations will only be imposed on holders of mining claims recorded after November 1, 2012.

Without any debate in the people’s house, Ontario has imposed these regulations on the public after a six-year, multi-billion-dollar initiative.  The Company has been unable to locate a single report - of any kind - with respect to these fundamental matters, including a report on public consultation, or even an impact-benefit analysis.  The government’s initiative fails the most basic smell test:  what is the definition of consultation?  A search of Ontario’s newly updated website does not reveal a definition of “consultation” as it relates to First Nations.  It’s certainly not to be found among all the other definitions and interpretations in the new Mining Act.

When asked to define “consultation”, one of the lawyers for the WFN replied, “It is case-specific and fact-specific.  The Court will decide.  In some cases, it is the rights that are at issue, how strong those rights are, what kind of drilling is being proposed.  But it really depends on the case.”

If counsel is correct, the Courts will quickly overflow with First Nations vs.

Industry
conflicts financed by taxpayers, and further choke Ontario to economic collapse.  How could conflict resolution be fairly adjudicated by the government without fundamental legal definition engrained in statute?  Debate in the legislature on bullying should fully canvass the government’s behavior in this case.  It is plain that Ontario is mired in an impossible conflict, and has proven itself incapable of non-biased action to protect Canada’s sovereignty and Solid Gold’s statutory right to access and explore its recorded mineral claims without interference.

Mr.

Stretch has accepted an invitation to speak on these and other matters, such as the government’s “revenue-sharing scheme”, at 10:00am (EST) on November 7, 2012 at the Ontario Prospectors Symposium in Sudbury, Ontario.

For further information please call Darryl Stretch, President, at 604-638-4960 or email:  .


Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
 

 





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