“Here we go again,” says William Young, former Chief of Bloodvein First Nation, through a somewhat disparaged chuckle as he tells me about a recent visit from Manitoba Hydro to his community. The crown corporation recently made it known that they wanted to run a long transmission line, Bi-Pole III, through the boreal forest of Bloodvein First Nation’s traditional territory on the east side of Lake Winnipeg. According to Young, when Manitoba Hydro came to Bloodvein to consult with the community, they were informed by its members that something would be expected in return if the new transmission line were to run through their territory. Hydro was not receptive to the community’s proposal which included revenue sharing on the billions of dollars Hydro stood to make with the plan, says Young, so they left. In other words, Manitoba Hydro came to the community wanting something, but offered nothing in return.

Here we go again.

It is a phrase that seems to embody much of the contemporary experience in Bloodvein First Nation. It is certainly what sprung to the mind of William Young, former Chief of Bloodvein, when he first heard of swine flu and the latest rumblings of a potential pandemic. Widespread misfortune has been common in Bloodvein after contact with the first Europeans, and one can get the sense from speaking with him that misfortune has been recurrent in his community since then.

As a child growing up in the boreal forests near Bloodvein, William tells me of delighting in the time spent with his family, especially with his grandfather, former Chief, Fred Green. His grandfather used to share stories with him about hunting, fishing and living off the land. But when William was about 11 or 12 years old, his grandfather issued an ominous warning to beware of encroaching industrialization. William knew to trust his grandfather, but he would have to wait some time for the meaning of his grandfather’s words to be revealed. Young says when the forestry company Tembec began operating near his community, harvesting trees in the boreal forest that his community depended on for their livelihoods, his grandfather’s message was clear; industrialization would only exacerbate the community’s challenges.

A tide of sweeping changes had already begun to alter the community. Roads were attached to the community like giant arteries that pumped in the influence of the urban centers, and a combination of boycotts on the fur trade and implementation of welfare programs served to debase Bloodvein’s economic foundation and make community members impoverished and dependent on the government. With these events, the people slowly lost their cultural values and connections with the land, and a disorienting and damaging cycle had been given momentum.

“The general public from urban areas wanting to run the hydro line through our communities should come here and see what little economic base there is,” says Young, who, for the last 15 years or so, has been developing a business that aims to capitalize on the natural beauty of the boreal forest on the east side of Lake Winnipeg. His business, Bloodvein River Lodge, offers packages for clients to enjoy traditional activities like fishing, canoeing, and going on guided tours. But this is no regular fishing lodge. Young also uses the time with his clients as an opportunity to teach traditional Ojibway values, share stories, and to talk about local First Nation history.

“Many people who come here from the United States and from other places are surprised to hear how bad it is for our community,” says Young, who has made it his personal mission to use education as a tool to cope with a wide range of issues and improve conditions in his community.

In the case of swine flu, he and other community members have responded with educational newsletters, information broadcasts on the local radio station, and community health programs.

To improve economic conditions, William Young utilizes opportunities generated by his business to speak to people from outside the community, and serves as the Chairman of EAST, Inc, an economic development initiative established to support the development and expansion of new and existing Aboriginal tourism businesses in the boreal forests on the east side of Lake Winnipeg. With the financial support of the department of Culture, Heritage and Tourism and technical support of the Manitoba Tourism Secretariat, the initiative enables First Nations on the east side of Lake Winnipeg to enter one of the fastest growing industries in the world – eco-tourism. The east side of Lake Winnipeg, with its naturally sandy beaches, innumerable lakes and rivers, and vast expanses of pristine boreal forests provide a type of “natural capital” for the communities to cash in on while leaving it intact for future generations. It is work that will lead to increased employment and training for First Nation community members on the east side, and will also increase awareness of their cultural identities.

While William Young is optimistic about the future, there is still a long road ahead. Even with the landmark passing of the East Side Traditional Lands Planning and Special Protected Areas Act in Manitoba in June of 2009, insufficient resources have been allocated for east side communities to develop their own land use plans. In addition to that, since Young moved back to his community in 1985, he has found that community members have been reluctant to participate in such processes, perhaps, as William Young speculates, because there is an issue of trust. But regaining trust is a process, and by attending gatherings and supporting each other in the community, the seeds of change are being planted.

“Changes are taking place, just not really as fast as I’d like to see,” says Young. “Our politicians are beginning to listen and consult with First Nations. Years ago, it was different – First Nations were not really consulted at all.” Things are also changing on the community level, I am told, as the community has begun documenting their interactions with the government and corporations like Manitoba Hydro much more carefully. Like the other good work being done in Bloodvein First Nation, it is another symbol that the fire to forge a new path is kept alive by community members.

“This time,” says Young with a assuring tone, “we’re getting very involved.”

When does “No” mean “No?”

In Ontario’s Far North, the answer still isn’t clear despite recent changes to two major laws governing that vast wilderness of boreal forest and tundra.

The region has been off-limits to most development, with the exception of the De Beers Canada Victor diamond mine near the James Bay coast and a claim-staking rush for additional diamonds and other minerals.

That activity, and the prospect of far more, has angered environmental groups and caused conflict between mining companies and some of the 37 aboriginal communities that collectively claim most of the 425,000 square kilometres as traditional territories.

The proposed Far North Act and the new Mining Act are intended to resolve the competing demands. Half the region is to be off-limits to development, apart from tourism; nothing substantial is supposed to happen elsewhere until land-use plans are created.

The government says those plans will require the approval of any affected community. A similar process is to apply to mining projects: They must comply with the plans, and the communities must be consulted before work begins.

That sounds like a veto, and it has raised the ire of people in southern Ontario who, as I wrote two weeks ago, still have no say about mining on provincially owned Crown land – where most exploration is taking place.

A veto wouldn’t necessarily stop development: Some communities want mining and other development as long as they’re full partners. “We’re interested in being owners of those opportunities,” Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Stan Beardy told a northern newspaper. “We’re talking about active participants in the wealth creation.”

The bottom line, he continued, is: “No prospecting, staking, exploration or mine development will proceed without a written agreement in place, at the discretion of the First Nation.”

Giving communities this right would make them self-governing masters of the land. Which is why, for all the talk of consultation and locally approved plans, they’ll likely get less.

Up in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, outside the few towns, the Dene and Inuit are close to government, in practice if not in law. Although they’re the majority in both territories, it took decades of building and flexing political muscle to do it.

Those in Ontario’s Far North aren’t close to having such clout, and they’re not getting it in the new legislation. Queen’s Park reserves the right to the final say; and why not?

In a democratic society, doesn’t ultimate power rest with the elected representatives of all the people?

What’s troubling are the signs the government is trying to have it all ways, offering a murky consultation process while preparing the ground for development.

Mining projects will continue to be exempt from environmental assessments for a few more years. Mine clean-up rules are delayed, as is a policy for protecting the iconic and endangered woodland caribou.

All existing claims may continue, which means no sure end to standoffs like that pitting Toronto-based Platinex Inc. against Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug, which has generated a flurry of lawsuits and, last year, jail time for five community members.

Mining companies can conduct exploration work while land use plans are created. They’ll use the millions they spend to justify the right to develop projects, no matter what the plans eventually require.

Inadequate funding for northerners to participate in planning has a coalition of green and aboriginal groups complaining: “In the absence of money for developing proactive plans there is a risk that communities will be forced to support development projects as the only means to get the money necessary for planning for their future.”

The new laws promise more than they’re intended to deliver – a recurring theme with this government.

Peter Gorrie is the Star’s former environment reporter. He can be reached at: pgorrie@sympatico.ca

First Nations on the east side of Lake Winnipeg will play a major role in ensuring better protection, management and development of traditional lands under the East Side Traditional Lands Planning and Special Protected Areas Act, Conservation Minister Stan Struthers said today.

“Under this new legislation, east side communities now have the option of using this legal tool to plan their traditional lands and to protect lands that have significant cultural and environmental value,” said Struthers.

Struthers said First Nations themselves will determine if they want to take advantage of using the East Side Traditional Lands Planning and Special Protected Areas Act and noted no First Nation will be required to use the act.

The first of its kind in Canada, the legislation provides First Nations the option to provide interim and permanent legal protection of traditional lands on the east side of Lake Winnipeg. It ensures any new development in a traditional land-use area be conducted in collaboration with First Nations and be consistent with the land-use plan. East side planning has been in development since 2000 with the input of communities and chiefs who have asked to play a greater role over their traditional areas. The legislation provides a new legal tool to plan and to designate land on the east side of Lake Winnipeg as a special protected area.

Since the legislation was introduced, it has been strengthened with amendments requested by First Nations and it will strengthen the Wabanong Nakaygum Okimawin (Cree and Ojibway words meaning east side of the lake governance) Council of Chiefs Accord by ensuring government‑to-government talks for any land protection and planning stemming from the act. The legislation will enable the province to develop planning and protection regulations with First Nations participation and approval as agreed to in the accord.

“By fulfilling this commitment, the legislation will ensure that protection and development activities are consistent with land-use plans developed by First Nations,” said Culture, Heritage, Tourism and Sport Minister Eric Robinson, acting minister of Aboriginal and northern affairs.

Currently, traditional lands can only be protected though legislation designed for specific purposes such as the creation of parks. The minister noted that some First Nations have made it clear this mode of protection does not meet their unique needs. Important components of First Nations land-use plans, such as winter roads, management of trap lines, timber cutting and harvesting of wild rice and medicines, need to be managed under a First Nation-led planning process, Struthers said.

“Poplar River is prepared to support and accept Bill 6. For Poplar River, it fits well with our plans. Every east side First Nation has the right to support or not support this bill. We cannot comment on what other First Nations are doing or interfere with their discussions that they are having with the Government of Manitoba. Our community will not give up our goals to protect the land we consider to be our traditional territory from development and to implement our lands management plan,” said Chief Russell Lambert of the Poplar River First Nation.

By supporting east side First Nations to create and implement their own land-use plans for their traditional areas, the legislation would also support the effort to establish a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a designation that would be based on both the cultural and ecological significance of the area. This legislation is therefore also an important part of the province’s plan to better protect and manage the unique boreal forest on the east side of Lake Winnipeg, the minister said.

Gord Jones, project manger for Pimachiowin Aki, the non-profit corporation heading up the bid to have a portion of the boreal forest straddling the Manitoba-Ontario border designated a World Heritage Site, said the legislation is in keeping with the organization’s goals.

“This new legislation provides a way for First Nations to have legal standing for their traditional area land-use plans. The world heritage nomination will be built upon and reflect those land-use plans. So having the plans recognized in legislation will be helpful in demonstrating to UNESCO our collective commitment to look after the cultural and natural vales of the area. And that strengthens the nomination,” said Jones.

In 2004, The East Side Round Table and First Nations Council issued a report, Promises To Keep, with close to 100 recommendations. Since 2004, the province has completed or acted on 97 per cent of the recommendations of the report, said Struthers.

The first global review of their status has found that populations are declining almost everywhere they live, from Alaska and Canada, to Greenland, Scandinavia and Russia.

The iconic deer is vital to indigenous peoples around the circumpolar north.

Yet it is increasingly difficult for the deer to survive in a world warmed by climate change and altered by industrial development, say scientists.

Reindeer and caribou belong to the same species, Rangifer tarandus.

Caribou live in Canada, Alaska and Greenland; while reindeer live in Russia, Norway, Sweden and Finland.

Worldwide, seven sub-species are recognised. Each are genetically, morphologically and behaviourally a little different, though capable of interbreeding with one another.

These differences between sub-species dictate how each is affected by human impacts.

Reindeer and caribou numbers worldwide: red denotes herds in decline, green indicates those on the increase and dark grey means no data is available. Reindeer and caribou do not range in areas coloured light grey

Reindeer and caribou numbers worldwide: red denotes herds in decline, green indicates those on the increase and dark grey means no data is available. Reindeer and caribou do not range in areas coloured light grey

For example, it has been known for a while that populations of woodland caribou in Canada have declined as human disturbance has increased, caused by logging, oil and gas exploration, and road building, says Liv Vors of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada.

But then reports started coming in that the numbers of other herds were also falling.

“When we discovered that many herds of reindeer also were declining we decided to compile a comprehensive survey to see if this indeed was a global pattern,” says Vors.

Vors and Mark Boyce at the University of Alberta contacted other researchers and scoured the published literature and government databases for all the information they could find about reindeer and caribou numbers. They compiled data on 58 major herds around the Northern Hemisphere.

The scientists were shocked to discover that 34 of the herds were declining, while no data existed for 16 more. Only eight herds were increasing in number. Many herds had been declining for a decade or more.
A male barrenground caribou (R. T. groenlandicus) in the summer

“We were surprised at the ubiquity of the decline,” says Vors.

“We knew that woodland caribou in North America were in bad shape.” There is also some evidence that populations of migratory caribou in the Canadian Arctic have fluctuated in recent history.

But the researchers were surprised at how migratory caribou and reindeer numbers seem to be falling in synchrony across the Northern Hemisphere.

“When we delved into the status of European reindeer herds, we were surprised that so many were declining. We expected them to be in better shape than North America herds because reindeer, namely the semi-domestic herds, are closely managed by humans.”

The scale of the problem is shown by a map upon which the researchers plotted their data, which is published in Global Change Biology.

“Seeing that sea of red was a sobering moment,” Vors says.

“If global climate change and industrial development continue at the current pace, caribou and reindeer populations will continue to decline in abundance,” says Vors.

“Currently, climate change is most important for Arctic caribou and reindeer, while anthropogenic landscape change is most important for non-migratory woodland caribou.”

For example, climate change is affecting migratory caribou in a number of ways.

Warmer summers mean more insect activity, and caribou and reindeer that are harassed by insects are not able to feed as much to put on weight before winter.

Earlier springs mean plants may be past their prime by the time migrating animals reach their calving grounds, while warmer winters include more freezing rain which can form layers of ice over the ground. The caribou and reindeer cannot dig through the ice to feed, and can then starve en masse.

“In time, however, climate change will become more important for woodland caribou, and landscape change will have a greater effect on arctic caribou and reindeer,” Vors continues.

“There likely will be more forest fires in woodland caribou habitat, as well as diseases and parasites transmitted to caribou from white-tailed deer, whose range is expanding northward in Canada. More roads are being built in the Arctic, as well as infrastructures like diamond mines, and these sometimes interfere with migration routes.”

Unless something is urgently done, all seven sub-species of Rangifer face a bleak future, says Vors.

“The concern is that their habitat and the climate are changing too quickly for them to adapt.”

The annual treks of migratory caribou form one of the last remaining large-scale ungulate migrations in the northern hemisphere.

Different sub-species also provide a cornerstone to many indigenous cultures around the circumpolar north, from subsistence hunting of caribou by Aboriginal peoples in Canada, Greenland and Alaska to reindeer husbandry by numerous cultures across Scandinavia and Siberia.

“From a Canadian perspective, the caribou is part of our national identity,” says Vors. “Canada’s caribou migrations have frequently been identified as one of this country’s natural wonders, and the species even appears on our 25-cent coin.”

TORONTO – A coalition of leading environmental groups applaud legislation introduced today that would enshrine Premier Dalton McGuinty’s commitment to protect at least 225,000 square kilometres of the northern boreal forest. The Far North Planning and Protection Act, if passed, would help Ontario fight climate change, protect ecosystems and ensure First Nations have control over land-use decisions as they plan for cultural renewal and economic prosperity.

The draft legislation makes progress on commitments made last year by Premier McGuinty to protect the boreal forest and improve relationships with Aboriginal people. The coalition notes that for the first time in Ontario history, First Nations will lead planning for their traditional territories. It also welcomes a commitment in the legislation to create a new body to help with implementation and coordination of planning.

“The Premier has made good on his promise to the planet, and has set in motion a plan to protect more than 50 billion tonnes of carbon,” says Janet Sumner of CPAWS Wildlands League. “The success of this initiative depends on our investment in First Nations as they plan for prosperity, culture and ecosystems.”

“World class values deserve world class legislation,” adds Justin Duncan of Ecojustice. “This draft has the right ingredients and we look forward to working with others to perfect it.”

The Coalition has set out five benchmarks to judge the quality of the new legislation:

1. Clear statement of ecological planning goals and objectives to guide selection of conservation lands

2. Establishment of community planning bodies to lead development and approve land‐use plans

3. Equal representation of Aboriginal people on a regional coordinating and implementation body

4. Adequate funding for community planning bodies to conduct their work

5. Establishment of a science advisory body to meet the purposes of the legislation

“The proposed legislation meets most of the tests for good legislation for the northern boreal,” says Rick Smith of Environmental Defence. “More work needs to be done to fully ensure the legislation will work in the real world but we are confident this will be done during the Committee hearing process this summer.”

The lack of funding commitments to support planning is a particular concern to the Coalition. In the absence of money for developing proactive plans there is a risk that communities will be forced to support development projects as the only means to get the money necessary for planning for their future.

“Plans that protect culture, landscapes and species need to be done now,” says Catherine Grant of ForestEthics. “Not only when somebody wants to build a mine, hydro dam or transmission line.”

The role of a regional planning body needs to be more clearly defined in the legislation as well, including the manner that it will involve aboriginal people.

“The promise of protection needs to become real through this legislation and it could set a standard for conservation that other provinces should match,” says Caroline Schultz of Ontario Nature. “Getting it right means the difference between development that is sustainable and that which will eventually destroy an irreplaceable region.”

Three members of the Coalition also sat on the Minister of Natural Resources Far North Advisory Council. They are pleased to see that several elements of the Council’s consensus report are reflected in the draft legislation.

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For more information please visit www.borealopportunity.ca and contact:

Janet Sumner, CPAWS-Wildlands League

416 971 9453 ext. 39

Justin Duncan, Ecojustice

(416) 368 7533

Rick Smith, Environmental Defence

(416) 670-9521

Catharine Grant, ForestEthics

(416) 597-1904 ext. 3

Caroline Schultz, Ontario Nature

(416) 768-9795

Anna Baggio

Director, Conservation Land Use Planning

CPAWS Wildlands League

416-971-9453 ext 47

www.wildlandsleague.org

“The proposed Far North Act would place Ontario among world leaders in boreal protection and represent the largest land protection commitment in North America to fight climate change,” Ontario Minister Donna Cansfield said in that province’s legislature yesterday. “It would also set the stage for carefully managed sustainable resource development in the far north, with the requirement that development benefit local First Nations and take into consideration ecological and cultural values,” Minister Cansfield added. “Those words are music to my ears,” says Ron Thiessen, Executive Director of CPAWS Manitoba. “If only we could hear Premier Doer announce a made-in-Manitoba plan to protect more than half of Manitoba’s Boreal Region, then I would be absolutely thrilled, over the moon in fact,” Thiessen dreamed.

Manitoba’s Boreal Forest region is part of a globally significant intact ecosystem. It is at the heart of the largest terrestrial storehouse of carbon on the planet and it shields us all from the dangerous impacts of climate change. CPAWS Manitoba urges the Manitoba government to take that first step and commit to an incredible vision of more than 50% Boreal protection. Thiessen exclaimed, “Manitoba is blessed with a chance to unite with our neighbours in Ontario to establish the largest interconnected protected areas network on the planet!”

“The Non-timber Forest Products program is designed to encourage potential, new and existing entrepreneurs and youth to take advantage of opportunities to launch and grow businesses based on harvesting, developing and marketing wild-harvested products available in and around northern communities,” said Wowchuk. “Many products have been identified and marketed but many more are success stories waiting to be discovered.”

“Employment from non-timber forest products generates business and job-income opportunities for youth, individuals and communities in Manitoba’s northern regions,” said Robinson. “Developing these locally available products leads to self-employment and diversifies northern economies creating sustainable benefits for all Manitobans through the development and marketing of local resources.”

The program will be cost-shared with matching funds of $100,000 each from Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives and Manitoba Aboriginal and Northern Affairs. It will be managed by the Community Economic Development Fund (CEDF).

The focus of the program will be to encourage local residents and communities to identify, launch and expand business opportunities based on locally available non-forest products. Provincial support will include support for the co-ordinated assembly and marketing of products along with education and training for harvesters in sustainable management and harvesting and in product development and marketing.

“Through our GO Centres, northern residents can access information and assistance from production and business development specialists who can help them create and launch a business plan that will take a product from the forest to local, provincial, national or international consumers,” said Wowchuk. “Providing appropriate support to northern harvesters opens the door to limitless sustainable opportunities for those willing to venture into the expanding world of entrepreneurship.”
“Local product lines can include foods, natural medicinal products and harvestable items that can be turned into commercial products using traditional methods, modern technical processes or a combination of the two,” said Robinson. “These marketable products create jobs and have a positive economic impact on the northern communities and the people who live there.”

Program information and applications are available by calling the GO Centre toll-free at 1-866-626-4862 or by contacting CEDF toll-free at 1-800-561-4315.

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Source:Globe and Mail

International Migratory Bird Day, which falls tomorrow, reminds us of the remarkable phenomenon we witness every year at this time: an amazing spring migration, with millions of birds flying thousands of kilometres from South and Central America and the southern United States north to Canada’s vast boreal forest.

But with each passing year, the number of these avian visitors diminishes. In fact, migratory songbirds are experiencing one of the most precipitous declines of any animal group on earth.

We have already seen startling declines in the populations of some species that depend on the boreal forest. The olive-sided flycatcher and the Canada warbler, once common boreal breeding species, are now listed as threatened by the Committee for the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Trends in long-term breeding-bird surveys have revealed population declines in flycatchers, boreal chickadees and bay-breasted warblers. In fact, more than half the birds profiled in the National Audubon Society’s “20 common birds in decline” list depend on Canada’s boreal forest as a breeding ground.

The boreal forest, a critically important breeding ground for hundreds of bird species, is itself becoming endangered, due to encroaching industrial uses such as logging, mining and energy corridors.

Will governments act swiftly to save this precious resource? Environment Canada and Ontario have recently deferred crucial decisions about protecting the boreal habitat of the threatened woodland caribou, an animal that has disappeared from much of Southern Canada and is predicted to disappear from many other areas. Last summer, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty made a landmark commitment to protect at least 50 per cent of Ontario’s northern boreal region, followed by Quebec Premier Jean Charest’s similar announcement last fall. These bold decisions set a standard that other provinces and territories would do well to emulate. We expect the Ontario government to table legislation this spring as the first step to follow through on its commitment. This legislation has to be strong and clear enough to ensure land-use planning that will realize the Premier’s vision and promise.

At 1.4 billion hectares, Canada’s boreal forest represents one-quarter of the largest intact forests in the world, and is the single most important breeding ground for birds in the Americas. The boreal ecosystem also contains the largest freshwater systems in the world and is the largest terrestrial storehouse of carbon on Earth, helping to reduce the effects of global warming. Yet despite its global significance, just 12 per cent of Canada’s boreal forest is currently protected, while almost 500 million hectares have been handed over to industry. Oil and gas exploration, logging, mining, road building and hydro development threaten to ravage boreal regions inhabited by birds and other wildlife.

As many as three billion birds depend on Canada’s boreal forest to reproduce and raise their young. This includes three-quarters of the country’s warblers and two-thirds of its sparrows and thrushes. Every spring, one in three of all land birds in the United States head for Canada’s boreal forest. Tens of millions of waterfowl, waders and shorebirds nest in the region’s wetlands, rivers and lakes.

Ontario Nature and the Boreal Songbird Initiative, with conservation partners across Canada and the Americas have circulated a petition appealing for much broader protection for this vast area. Such conservation measures cannot come too soon: Nearly 3,000 hectares of Canadian boreal forest, an area roughly the size of downtown Toronto, are clear-cut every day.

The petition calls for the protection of this key breeding bird habitat and asks that provinces and federal agencies protect ecologically important areas in the boreal forest before approving any major new industrial development projects. Where development is allowed, industrial interests should be compelled to adhere to the highest standards of sustainable development.

Canada has an opportunity to be a world leader in the conservation of large, intact landscapes. Boreal birds are the proverbial canaries in the coal mine. Their decline is a troubling sign that their habitats are under attack. Given that we share the same environment, it is in our best interests to pay attention to their fate.

It is time our governments listen to the science and institute comprehensive reforms to safeguard this Canadian and global treasure. Anything less will have serious consequences for us all.

Bridget Stutchbury is Canada research chair in ecology and conservation biology at York University. She is the author of Silence of the Songbirds, a finalist for the 2007 Governor-General’s Literary Award for non-fiction. Jeffrey Wells is director of science and policy for the Boreal Songbird Initiative. Caroline Schultz is executive director of Ontario Nature.

The province has rightly committed to protecting the woodland caribou, a threatened species that lives in a remote part of northern Ontario. However, the government’s plan may fall short of its objective.

Public consultation on the draft Caribou Conservation Plan wraps up today. Environmentalists and wildlife advocates have dismissed it as inadequate. They say the Ministry of Natural Resources is trying to address conservation concerns without sufficiently holding back the logging industry. In other words, “suck and blow” at the same time.

If the government cannot find the appropriate balance between just two interests – caribou and logging – how will it manage the even bigger challenges inherent in developing land use plans for the entire far north, an area twice the size of the United Kingdom?

Legislation laying out the principles for northern land use is expected to be introduced in the coming days, before the Legislature rises for the summer.

A year ago, Premier Dalton McGuinty was applauded for promising to set aside at least half the Northern Boreal region for permanent protection. New mines and logging will be allowed on the other half if industry works with local First Nations communities.

In short, the government plans to achieve environmental protection, First Nations’ empowerment, and economic development in one stroke. Yet each of those goals is a challenge on its own, and the government doesn’t want to achieve one by steamrolling another.

The region is one of the world’s few remaining untouched tracts of wilderness, home to hundreds of sensitive species. The forest, peatlands and wetlands – which absorb carbon dioxide – are globally significant players in the fight against climate change.

Ultimately for our vast Northern Boreal region to have a strong future, its value must be better understood. That value is wide-ranging. It provides immeasurable environmental benefits, great economic potential, and a treasured home for First Nations people.

As a spokesperson puts it, the government is working “very very hard to find balance.” Let’s hope it manages.

TORONTO – In response to proposed changes to Ontario’s Mining Act, Mushkegowuk Council, Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug and Ardoch Algonquin First Nation call on the province to respect the right of First Nations to say NO to all aspects of mining from prospecting to exploration to full mine development in their traditional territories. The First Nations clarify that the Ontario government must respect and adhere to Constitutional duty of consultation and accommodation and the internationally recognized right of free prior and informed consent. This has not been addressed by the proposed changes Minister Gravelle introduced on April 30, 2009.

“The Supreme Court of Canada has said that consultation and accommodation have to be meaningful. How can they be meaningful if we don’t have the right to say NO to mining that will impact our lives and culture?” says Grand Chief Stan Louttit of the Mushkegowuk Council. The Mushkegowuk Council is comprised of seven communities including Attawapiskat, Fort Albany, Kashechewan, Moose Cree, New Post, Chapleau Cree and Missanabie Cree. Their homelands cover a vast area in and around James Bay of the Boreal Forest.

Changes to the Act were prompted in part by ongoing conflicts between mineral exploration companies and First Nations that resulted in the incarceration of Bob Lovelace and KI Six last year. “These amendments will not resolve the KI Platinex conflict. Further conflict is all but inevitable,” says Sam McKay, Councillor and Spokesperson for Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI). Mr. McKay was one of KI Six who spent 68 days in jail.

“The proposed changes to the Mining Act are smoke and mirrors,” says Mireille Lapointe, Co-Chief of the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation. “They are meant to placate and silence dissent. Consultation without the right to say NO is meaningless and a cynical exercise,” adds Chief Lapointe. Bob Lovelace of the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation spent 101 days in jail for saying NO to uranium exploration.

The call for respect for free, prior and informed consent is widely supported including by seven public interest groups: CPAWS Wildlands League, Ecojustice Canada, Mining Watch Canada, Ontario Nature, Amnesty International Canada, Christian Peacemaker Teams Canada and Community Coalition Against Mining Uranium.

For further information:
Grand Chief Stan Louttit, Mushkegowuk Council, mobile 705-288-0157
Co-Chief Mireille LaPointe, Ardoch Algonquin First Nation 613-273-3530
Councillor Sam McKay, Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug, 807-537-2263 and mobile 807-629-7266
Anna Baggio, CPAWS Wildlands League, mobile 416-453-3285
Ramsey Hart, Mining Watch Canada, 613-614-9937