Joseph Sonny Gagnon
Aroland First Nation
Chief of Aroland First Nation.
Connected Scandals
The Ford government is fast-tracking Ring of Fire mining and road construction through its Bill 5 "One Project, One Process" system, overriding the objections of Grassy Narrows First Nation — a community still living with mercury poisoning — bypassing a federally required environmental assessment, and pushing toward a June 2026 construction start that Neskantaga and Attawapiskat First Nations are physically blockading.
Gagnon holds two positions that must be stated together and not collapsed. He signed on to the Anaconda and Painter Lake road upgrades, breaking ground with Ontario on the project announced August 24, 2026 (work commenced June 30, 2026). Separately, Aroland is one of the nine First Nations that sued over Bill 5 / Bill C-5, and Gagnon has said Aroland never consented to mining the Ring of Fire. Nothing in the coverage indicates he opposes this specific road.