The Ontario Mining Action Network (OMAN) was launched in Sudbury, Ontario on December 5, 2004, at the conclusion of a two-day workshop on mining in Ontario. Representatives from First Nation communities, labour organizations, environmental groups and mining-affected communities from Southern and Northern Ontario identified a number of obstacles to more responsible and better regulated mining in the province and agreed to use the strength of a network to address these issues in their communities and at the government/policy level.