In response to Ontario’s mad dash to develop the controversial Ring of Fire (ROF) mineral cache in Ontario’s Far North, First Nation communities across Ontario’s Far North have reminded the province of constitutionally protected Indigenous and treaty rights and the Crown’s duty to consult. While 2020 may have begun with a record-setting start for the global mining sector, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic stalled the demand for raw materials. Subsequently, there has also been a shift in industry and investor priorities and a readjustment of government policy on mining. In this article, we question Ontario’s response to mining developments in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has included new policies favouring extractive industry interests over at-risk communities. What we find is a continued failure by the province to respect calls by legal experts, First Nation communities and Indigenous and environmental organizations to halt permitting and development planning within the Ring of Fire in light of the surmounting difficulties in participation and the exacerbated, pre-existing crises precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.