Media.Knet.Ca

From The Tyee.ca

Sharing the Forests - In new timber deals, what are First Nations really getting?

Gaining a cut of the logging, but not many jobs. Photo by David Campion. 

Third in a four part series entitled "Reconciliation with First Nations" by Sandra Shields. Click here to see the other articles in this series.

Published: April 13, 2007 - TheTyee.ca

[Editor's Note: Two years ago, the government of British Columbia and First Nations leaders laid out a vision for a "New Relationship," spurring initiatives aimed at "closing the gap" between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal British Columbians. This is the third article in a four-part Tyee Solutions Reporting Fellowship series by Sandra Shields, who is looking at steps being taken in her home community of the Fraser Valley.]

Leq'á:mél First Nations councillor Barb Leggatt invites me into a boardroom where pieces of paper with Halkomelem words printed on them are taped to the wall, part of the language class held here for local kids. The adjacent hall is used for cultural events and when I called to arrange this interview, drumming and singing could be heard in the background. A busy mother of six children, Leggat works full-time as the band's land-use coordinator as well as serving on council.

The traditional territory of the Leq'á:mél lies between Mission and Agassiz in a stretch of the valley that is squeezed between the sprawling Fraser River and the forested slopes of the Coast Mountains. As an urban transplant to this rural area, it took me months to realize that the dense stands of cedar, hemlock and fir covering the mountainsides have all been extensively logged.

Trees began falling in the Fraser Valley in the 1870s and by the 1920s most of the face of the valley had been hauled to the river and floated to mills near Vancouver. Throughout the 20th century, Stó:lo bands like the Leq'á:mél watched as power saws were invented, logging trucks came into use, and trees continued to leave their traditional territory. Any compensation the Leq'á:mél received was restricted to the seasonal pay their fathers and sons earned in the valley's logging camps.

First Nations across B.C. have lived variations on the same scenario. In recent decades, anger and frustration turned into blockades and court cases until a series of legal decisions pushed the province into a corner. In two separate decisions in 2002, the court said that when it came to resource extraction on Crown land, B.C. had to consult with First Nations and seek to accommodate potential Aboriginal rights and title. The meaning was clear: the province could either change the way it did business, or continue to lose business. So in 2003, then forestry minister Mike de Jong announced that for the first time ever, B.C. would share revenue and access to the forests with First Nations.

The offers the province put on the table contained two parts: there was cash (a small share of the stumpage fees B.C. collects every time a forest company falls a tree on Crown land); and there was timber (the chance for First Nations to do some logging). Called forest and range agreements or FRAs, the deals cut First Nations a fraction of the action in exchange for peace in the woods. With treaties remaining elusive, these interim measures were touted as achieving the dual objectives of giving economic opportunities to First Nations, and creating a stable operating environment and better investment climate for the forest sector.

In January of 2006, the Leq'á:mél became the 100th First Nation in B.C. to sign a forest agreement. They received $760,000 to be paid out over five years, and gained access to 45,000 cubic metres of timber. The press release issued by the province repeated several times that forestry agreements were bringing jobs and economic prosperity to Aboriginal communities. Curious to learn if this was indeed the case, I came to see Barb Leggatt.

What jobs?

"The initial response we got from our community members was 'When do we get to go to work?'" Leggat says. "That was from the loggers who have lost jobs because of the cutbacks in the industry."

Forestry is new terrain for Leggat. She recently attended a workshop with other First Nations who have also signed forestry agreements and discovered that many nations share the same challenge the Leq'á:mél face. Logging is a tough business these days, and there are good reasons for moving carefully, especially when you lack expertise, capital and equipment.

"There are so many things to do, even with the forestry stewardship plan," Leggat says, referring to the extensive document that is required by the Ministry of Forests before harvesting is approved. The plan must address issues like migratory birds and species at risk, slope stability and keeping a sufficient distance from watersheds. Rather than trying to start up a logging operation of their own, the Leq'á:mél are taking the same route as many other First Nations and looking to partner with a company that has experience in the industry.

"There were suggestions from band members that we do it ourselves, but not having the expertise to manage it, that wasn't an option," Leggat says. Instead, the band is close to signing a deal with a company that will then be responsible for selecting the most valuable timber, figuring out how to access it, meeting Ministry of Forests requirements, hiring reliable logging contractors to do the actual harvest, and finding good markets. Once the agreement is signed, Leggat says it will likely be a year before all the Ministry of Forests requirements are met and harvesting can begin.

So what about jobs? One of the things she has learned, Leggat says is that "with the amount of timber we've got, we can't promise any long-term jobs at all, but when we work the agreement out to harvest the timber, we can request that one or two members get hired for the season."

Logging doesn't involve legions of men with chainsaws anymore. It's highly mechanized these days, so while there will be work for a couple of loggers for a season or two and perhaps a few temporary jobs created in the replanting that follows the harvest, the significant job creation, if there is any, will be a result of what the Leq'á:mél do with the revenue.

"Whatever we derive out of this agreement financially is going to be reinvested into a venture on reserve," Leggat says. "So we're just hoping it's substantial enough because we would like to do a service station on the reserve, that's been the wishes of the members for a long time."

Situated on Highway 7, the station would include a tourism component and could turn into a number of steady jobs for band members.

"It's not a lot," Leggat says of the deal, "but we're finally getting a chance to get into the sharing of the resource. We never had the opportunity to do so before."

A shaky foundation

Writer Ben Parfitt has covered forestry in B.C. for two decades and is well placed to evaluate the new agreements, something he did at length in a report released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives earlier this year. In the report, Parfitt describes the agreements as "a dramatic departure from what existed previously, which was essentially nothing." But after speaking with First Nations across the province, Parfitt says that much more is needed to create the kind of economic opportunities talked about in provincial press releases.

"Companies that have been in the forestry business for quite some time are losing money," Parfitt says when I speak with him by phone in his Victoria office, "so it seems reasonable to think that new entrants to the industry are going to have to be awfully savvy."

First Nations already involved in forestry have been the best situated to take advantage of the agreements. Parfitt points out that the few nations already in the business gained the traction they've got through court cases or direct action. But the majority of the almost 130 nations that have signed forestry agreements are new to the industry, and the feedback Parfitt got confirmed that as these nations learn more about the costs and risks involved in logging today, many are thinking twice about what to do.

"It's an extremely challenging business environment at the best of times," Parfitt says. "The government has taken the right step in finally acknowledging that they need to do more, but it's a tiny step and ultimately why should we be expecting that First Nations are magically going to be able to produce good results when they're offered one-time allotments of timber in non-specified areas with no guarantee of renewal. That is not the foundation on which to build a viable forestry-related enterprise."

In a worst case scenario, Parfitt says, a nation could harvest and lose money. Indeed, given the economics, some nations may choose not to log at all. Many are opting for the same route as the Leq'á:mél, partnering with an established company rather than start up their own forestry operation. The best case scenario, from a job's perspective, would be profitably logging, and directing those logs to a milling facility where members are working. "But that far end of the spectrum, the high end where the jobs are produced, that is an extremely rare situation in British Columbia."

What is needed?

There are several problems with the agreements when it comes to fulfilling the promises of provincial press releases, but two things are key: time and land. Time is a problem because a five-year term is too short to allow for the kind of long-range planning and investment that successful forestry operations require. What is needed is either renewable agreements or the long-term certainty that will come with treaties.

Land is a problem because most of the agreements, like the one the Leq'á:mél signed, do not come with any land. They come with a relatively small volume of timber to be harvested within a given forest district, but they do not come with ongoing responsibility for a specific land base.

"If you talk to anybody who has experience in forestry, they say you need to find areas of land to work on over time, and if you don't have that, it is extremely difficult to make a go of it," Parfitt says. One of his recommendations is that defined areas of forest land be turned over to First Nations under long-term, renewable forest tenures. With the new forestry agreements, the province set a target of sharing eight per cent of the total annual cut with First Nations.

Parfitt suggests that instead of offering volume, the province could work over time to transfer eight per cent of the forested land base. He makes the point that knowing what lands you will manage over time is both economically and ecologically preferable.

Learning to share

Cutting First Nations in for a share of resources is not an area where B.C. has much experience. (Fisheries being an ever-contentious exception.) In a strip-mall in Abbotsford, I sat down with lawyer-turned-politician Mike de Jong who was forest minister when the FRAs were developed. De Jong grew up in the valley and has been an MLA here for more than a decade. Last September, he was moved from Forests to Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation.

De Jong says his experience with the forestry agreements was instrumental in shifting his view of relations with First Nations which, not surprisingly for a lawyer, "had tended to be very legalistic." He recalls how, as forest minister, he would get calls from First Nations leaders talking about huge unreconciled claims and he would feel like "We are never going to be able to solve this. How do we even have this phone conversation? How do we talk about this?"

Things began to change, he says, when the government took the step to say: "Let's talk about economic opportunity. Let's not forget about rights and title, but let's talk about being part of the economy."

The result was that the province and First Nations began to sign agreements and, for de Jong, two things happened: "First of all, after the agreement I still get calls from the chief but now it is because, 'My stumpage is too high,' or 'I'm having trouble marketing my logs,' and suddenly the engagement is on a completely different plane. Now we're working with one another."

And secondly, he discovered that "At the end of the day, the agreements lived or died, succeeded or failed by the degree of good will that existed between the two parties. If an element of trust was there you could find solutions to things."

He recalls that, "All of that greatly influenced me to the extent that I said we have to work together to find ways to get people involved economically, to be flexible, more flexible than five years ago I would have been around the nature of the agreements."

Keep talking

Issues didn't disappear, de Jong says, but the agreements opened up a conversation that is ongoing. One milestone in that conversation came in 2006 when, under pressure from First Nations leaders, the forest and range agreements were changed to forest and range opportunities. The big difference between the FRAs and the FROs was that the latter were no longer taken as fulfilling the province's duty to consult and accommodate.

But whether they are FRAs or FROs, the conversation about how land and resources should be shared continues. As far as land goes, de Jong says, "The notion was pretty firmly embedded that if you wanted to move from a volume-based tenure to an area-based tenure, that's the reward for getting to a treaty. That's what a treaty is. A treaty is an area-based settlement."

However, with treaties remaining a distant prospect for many First Nations, the conversation is shifting in the direction of considering area-based tenure as an interim step. "If you are more motivated by the desire to effect development, create better economic prospects, better socio-economic conditions," de Jong says, "maybe there is an argument that says, 'Look as an interim treaty measure, as an incremental agreement, let's transfer that. Let's get on with that."

He cautions that this is not a simple step for the province. "Once it's done, the model has been set. Once you have made that kind of decision once, you better be prepared to follow through elsewhere."

In that respect, de Jong says, "The revenue sharing was a huge step for government." And there is pressure to expand that. "People are saying if revenue sharing is good for forestry, what about other resources?"

What is fair?

Under the current forestry agreements, the share of revenues that First Nations receive is based on an annual rate of $500 per member. This per-capita formula has been criticized by First Nations leaders, successfully challenged in court, and in his report, Ben Parfitt finds it to be both insufficient and unfair.

"The cash offers bear absolutely no relationship to the level of activity that is occurring in a First Nation's territory," he explains when I bring it up. "So a First Nation that has a million cubic metres of wood being logged per year on their traditional lands gets treated exactly the same as a First Nation that has only a thousand cubic metres being logged off their territory each year."

As well, there is no relationship between the cash offer and what is occurring on the land base, both in terms of the number of trees coming down and the values of those trees. "So a First Nation that has old growth western red cedar," Parfitt says, "gets the same cash offer on a per-head basis as a First Nation in the interior with a land base filled with dead pine trees."
Citing the precedent of Washington State where a federal judge ruled that Aboriginal people deserved half of the state's salmon fisheries, Parfitt recommends that stumpage fees be split 50/50 between the province and First Nations based on the harvesting activity in individual territories.

"Like stumpage payments channeled into provincial government coffers," Parfitt writes, "stumpage revenues received by First Nations would provide a valuable source of funds for the provision of public services and assist in economic diversification."

Far side of the valley

From the Leq'á:mél band office you can look across the valley to where the jagged peaks of the Skagit mountains rise up behind the growing city of Chilliwack. On a gray winter day, I visited Matt Wealick in his office in a busy Chilliwack shopping plaza owned by the Tzeachten First Nation, of which Wealick is a member.

The young father of two manages forestry operations for the Ch-ihl-kway-uhk Tribe, eight Stó:lo bands from the Chilliwack area that compensated for small allotments of timber by forming an alliance. The resulting FRA provided a pool of capital and timber that spawned a joint venture partnership estimated to be worth $12 million. I came to see Wealick to learn how this innovative approach is working.

Although Wealick is from Chilliwack, he grew up on Vancouver Island where his dad worked as a logger. "Back then you just had to bring a pair of boots, show up at the work site, and you had a job," he says. He followed in his dad's footsteps, but his path reflects how the industry has changed in the space of a generation. While he has on the ground experience all over the province, Wealick also has a forest management degree from UBC and did the additional work required to earn the designation of registered professional forester, becoming one of a dozen First Nation professional foresters in B.C. and augmenting that with a master's degree in environment and management. In 2005 he came home to manage the Ch-ihl-kway-uhk's joint venture with New Westminster-based forestry company Probyn Logs.

Wealick says the Ch-ihl-kway-uhk had reservations about the deal the province was offering, "But the chiefs thought if we don't get in and start doing something now, the logs are going to keep going by, the opportunities will keep going by, and we'll still be sitting here trying to get treaty negotiations settled."

He says, "It's great to have some say in how forest activities are done in the traditional territory, but on the other hand it's only a five-year license so there's not really incentive to put a lot of money into the long-term management of our forests."

Once the agreement was signed, it took the Ch-ihl-kway-uhk three years to get the license they need to start harvesting. Wealick shakes his head over the amount of red tape. "I don't think a lot of First Nations are expecting it," he says. "It's very financially draining and probably emotionally draining as well." Still, he is optimistic about the prospects and expects to start cutting in the fall.

Community forests

One of the things that sets the Ch-ihl-kway-uhk agreement apart is that it includes an 800 hectare woodlot. "We're very pleased to have the opportunity to have a woodlot," Wealick says, "because it is a long-term tenure, it's an area-based tenure. It allows for the incentive to do some long-term planning and make sure the forests in that area are sustainable."

The woodlot lies within the Chilliwack River Valley, a narrow and stunningly beautiful valley in the mountains between Chilliwack and the U.S. border. The ecologically sensitive region is the Ch-ihl-kway-uhk's traditional territory. Ideally, Wealick would like to see the entire 95,000 hectares managed as a community forest. This was what the chiefs had originally requested and Wealick says it's the kind of approach that makes more sense both economically and ecologically.

Community forests are a growing phenomenon in B.C. They are about local control of forest resources and local enjoyment of the benefits offered by those resources. Harvest rates and locations are set by the community according to their objectives and values, whether those be ecological, cultural, spiritual, recreational or aesthetic. The revenue generated supports local priorities including employment and economic development. The provincial government began expanding the volume of timber allocated to community forests several years ago and by October 2006 there were 43 communities either in the application process or operating a community forest agreement.

It sounds ideal for the Chilliwack River Valley and when I say as much, Wealick agrees. "Of course you have other licensees to be concerned about," he says, referring to forestry companies with tenure in the region, "but maybe those licensees wouldn't mind being part of a community forest." He sees the possibility of including a number of stakeholders. "We could manage the valley as one entity," he says, and points out that a community forest approach would better respond to the sensitivities of the region. "But thinking outside the box is definitely what you would need to make it work."

Out of the box

Back in Deroche, I take a walk up the old logging road that climbs into the forest beside the farmhouse where I live. When it comes to forestry and Aboriginal people, FRAs and FROs were out of the box thinking for the B.C. government. This is significant but in the Fraser Valley the results have yet to reach the ground and all indications are that once they do, they will not be as rosy as the provincial press releases promised.

After a 15-minute climb, the logging road levels out for a short stretch and a gap in the trees frames a view of the valley with its toy-sized barns, the thin winding old highway, the sliver glint of the Fraser River and backdropping it all, the snow-covered peaks of the Skagit Range on the southern shore.

The forestry agreements initiated a conversation with First Nations that is ongoing. If this conversation is to bring the kind of results that add up both economically and ecologically, for the Leq'á:mél and the Ch-ihl-kway-uhk, as well as for the forest that surrounds me and the forests that lie on the far side of the snow-capped peaks across the river, a lot more out of the box thinking and talking is going to be required.

Next week: Where can reconciliation take us?

Sandra Shields lives on a farm in the Fraser Valley with photographer David Campion. Their first book won the 2003 Hubert Evans Prize; Where Fire Speaks looks at how development arrived for one African tribe. Their second book, The Company of Others, explores the power of caring relationships in the lives of people with disabilities and their families and friends.

Ontario Arts Council press release ...

$35,000 in Ontario Arts Council funds flow into Sioux Lookout

Sioux Lookout, April 13, 2007 – Two Sioux Lookout organizations and one artist announced today that they are the lucky recipients of $35,000 from the Ontario Arts Council’s new Northern Arts Program.

The Northern Arts Program, established in 2007, aims to fund arts activity in Northern Ontario by Northern artists and arts organizations.

The Sioux Lookout Anti-Racism Committee, RING – Sioux Lookout Arts Circle, and local visual artist Donna Giles, received word April 4th that their applications to the new program were successful.

SLARC received $15,000 towards the Sioux Mountain Music and Cultural Festival. Themed this year as /The Northern Music Connection/, the Festival will take place on August 4^th and 5^th at the start of the Blueberry Festival. OAC funding will enable bands from northern First Nations to perform at the Festival.

“The transportation and accommodation costs can be prohibitive for northern artists to perform at the Sioux Mountain Festival,” said Jennifer Morrow, SLARC’s Business Manager. “This year, we will be able to bring three fantastic bands down to Sioux Lookout, as well as pay each artist a fee for their performance.” The three bands are Sagatay, a rock and country band from Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug, the gospel/bluegrass Sachigo Group, and traditional drummers the Sandy Lake Singers.

***
RING received $15,000 for /Idea Boxes/, an innovative northern audience development project. This project will promote local and regional art by establishing spaces for the creation and display of works in and around Sioux Lookout. Currently, there is little opportunity to showcase and promote works of local artists. The Idea Boxes will provide alternative spaces for exhibition and creation of new works, inspire and expand the network of local artists, encourage exchange of ideas and expose the community to exciting forms of creative expression.

In efforts to recognize the importance of creative practice, participating artists will receive artists’ fees. A Cultural Newsletter will be published monthly and distributed within the community free of charge. Creative writing and other cultural announcements are welcome for submission.

* *
Donna Giles received $5,000 to support the creation of a new body of  work. The project, /Maltese Threads/ will produce new works scheduled for a solo art exhibition at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery in January/ February 2008.

For more information, please contact:

Jennifer Morrow, Sioux Lookout Anti-Racism Committee
(807) 737-4901
jmorrow@slarc.ca

Hana Beitl, RING: Sioux Lookout Arts Circle
(807) 737-2002
hbeitl@hotmail.com

Donna Giles, visual artist
(807) 737- 2676
c.d.giles@sympatico.ca

May 1st is the deadline for applicants to the new B.Ed. Program. 

If you have Grade 12 and would like to work with children, see our website at

http://www.brocku.ca/~webdev/tecumseh/siouxlookout/ 

for detailed information. 

Interested applicants should email Brian Hawker at bhawker@nnec.on.ca  and leave a mailing address and home telephone number. 

For immediate help, call Brian on his cell phone at 807 - 737 - 0734.  Leave a message if you don't reach him and he will call you back. 

The clock is ticking!  Apply now!

Beginning on April 11, 2007 through to August 20, 2007, Regional Coordinators from the AFN will be scheduling community information sessions in all 633 First Nation communities and urban centers across Canada.

These sessions will include a detailed presentation on the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement to explain the details and the benefits of the settlement agreement and the legal rights of former Indian Residential school students and their families.

Click here to view the Community Information Session Schedules for April 2007

NAN press release - 4/12/2007

Kakegamics Launch Last Resort Civil Suit

Parents of murdered North Spirit Lake man Max Kakegamic appeared before the Kenora Police Services Board April 11th to discuss the city's police services' failure to conclude the murder investigation that's been stayed since three officers were charged with misconduct in 2004.

Launching a civil lawsuit against Kenora Police Services is Margaret and Isaac Kakegamic's last resort to find justice in the death of their son.

North Spirit Lake First Nation community member Max Kakegamic was killed on the streets of Kenora, ON October 4, 2000. When the case went to trial January 2004, charges against the only suspect were stayed because of irregularities in the investigation. Kenora Police Service (KPS) officers Lloyd White, Tom Favreau, and Chris Ratchford were cited for police misconduct in a February 2004 ruling by Superior Court Justice Peter Hambly.

KPS confirmed with NAN shortly after the 2004 judgment the investigation into the death of Max Kakegamic would not proceed.

In January 2007 Ontario’s Chief Coroner denied the family’s request to hold an inquest.

Julian Falconer is legal counsel representing the family

Posted by: Communications and Media jyoung@nan.on.ca.

+++++++++++++

From Kenora Miner and News ...

Kakegamic family files $9.9-million lawsuit

By Dan Gauthier - Miner and News - Thursday April 12, 2007

The Kenora Police Service is facing yet another lawsuit related to the unsolved October 2000 murder of Max Kakegamic in Kenora, this time from the victim’s family.

Following a deputation to the Kenora Police Services Board Wednesday at city hall, criticizing the board for a lack of action against those responsible for the botched investigation into Kakegamic’s murder, Toronto lawyer Julian Falconer announced the family had filed a civil suit in Toronto on Tuesday, seeking $9.9 million in damages.

There is already a $5-million civil lawsuit against the board and several Kenora Police officers, filed by the former suspect in the murder, Justin Carambetsos, and his parents in 2005, citing malicious prosecution and a breach of Charter rights.

Charges of manslaughter against Carambetsos were stayed in February 2004 by Justice Peter Hambly, who cited police misconduct during the investigation for his ruling.

Max Kakegamic was found dead at the corner of Third Street South and Matheson Street in Kenora on Oct. 4, 2000. An autopsy determined that the 28-year-old had bled to death after a blow to the neck.

The plaintiffs in the family’s lawsuit include Max’s parents Margaret and Isaac Kakegamic (Kakekagumick), his widow and child, as well as several brothers and sisters, most of who are from North Spirit Lake First Nation.

The defendants named are Kenora Police officers Tom Favreau, Lloyd White, Chris Ratchford, former chief George Curtis and the Kenora Police Services Board.

Falconer said the suit sues for negligent investigation by the Kenora Police, as well as differential or discriminatory policing for aboriginals versus non-aboriginals.

“It’s a systemic failing within the system,” said Falconer.

“A systemic failing that leaves aboriginal communities receiving a different level of policing than the rest of the communities.”

Falconer said the suit isn’t about how much money the Kakekagumick family can get, it’s about trying to get some accountability and some answers as to why the murderer of their son was not found.

Falconer noted that the family was denied an inquest by the Chief Coroner of Ontario in January, the key officer in the investigation -- Favreau -- retired before his hearing late last year, and Carambetsos’ trial was stayed in 2004.

“This lawsuit has been started because all other remedies, all other channels, have failed,” said Falconer.

He also claimed the Kenora Police Services Board was aware of the systemic racism against aboriginals in the local police service, and should have taken steps to address it.

“And they may well be legally obligated to,” said Falconer, who cited a Supreme Court of Canada ruling to support his position.

“They certainly are morally.”

Although several parties were named in the suit, the family’s concern focused on the lack of disciplinary action against Favreau, the lead investigator.

Falconer said Favreau was in charge of a case that “went not just sideways, it absolutely tanked.”

He noted how Favreau was removed from the case, but was never disciplined, as he elected to retire the day before his disciplinary hearing was finally set to be heard.

“There is a serious flaw in how this matter unfolded,” said Falconer.

He questioned the Kenora Police Services Board why it took five years to bring Favreau before a disciplinary hearing, if he was allowed to collect a salary and continue his duties during that time, and why he could retire before the hearing with no consequences regarding his misconduct.

“Sgt. Favreau should have been brought and made accountable,” said Falconer. “This should not have unfolded the way it did.”

Max’s mother, Margaret Kakegamic, also addressed the police services board on Wednesday, with a portrait of her son displayed on a seat next to her.

She said she found it hard to believe that after five years nothing was done to Favreau, even though his misconduct had been brought to the board back in 2001. She also questioned why no one ever officially acknowledged the wrongdoings that took place in her son’s murder investigation.

“I ask you the board, how can that happen? Why was there no justice for me and my family?” Kakegamic asked.

In addition to family members and supporters from the public, Treaty 3 Grand Chief Arnold Gardner and Nishnawbe-Aski Nation Deputy Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler attended Wednesday’s deputation in support of the Kakegamic family.

“These kinds of activities are not going to be tolerated in our territory. We’re going to do something about it,” said Gardner following the deputation, noting that Treaty 3 is organizing action groups to address racism issues in the local justice system.

Fiddler encouraged Treaty 3 and the community to continue with these initiatives to address racism issues, but added that the Kenora Police Services Board also needs to to address the “injustices of the past.”

“In our eyes, and in the eyes of many First Nation people, there is not greater injustice than what happened to Max Kakegamic and his family,” said Fiddler.

“The system has failed them at every level, at every turn, and they have no choice but to start a lawsuit.”

Ontario First Nations Young Peoples Council
1st Annual
"Cleansing Mother Earth In Unity"
on
Earth Day, April 22nd, 2007

Encouraged from the 4th Annual Youth Symposium on Culture, Tradition, and Language

Community youth councils/groups in unity across Turtle Island are making a commitment to begin an annual Spring Cleansing of our communities and surrounding environment.

Contact your local youth council/group and receive support from your local Politicians, Chief and Councils.

Things to Bring: First Aids, Garbage Bags, Gloves, Hats, Rubber Boots, Safety Cones and Vests, Snacks, Sticks (Trash Pickers), Sun block, Water, Weather Permitted Equipment and Gear and a loving heart. 

For more information, please contact OFNYPC member

Arnold Norman Yellowman by email
arnoldyellowman@netscape.net Or
Laura Calm Wind, COO Youth Coordinator
at 1-807-626-9339 or by email at laura@coo.org

Together in Unity We will Acknowledge and Preserve  our Mother Earths’ Blessing

Globe and Mail story ...

Native community decries 'tax grab' at diamond mine - Ontario's new 13-per-cent levy 'lose-lose' for first nations, Chief tells government
ANDY HOFFMAN - MINING REPORTER - POSTED ON 10/04/07

A first nations community located near Ontario's pioneer diamond mine has slammed the provincial government's new diamond royalty, calling it a tax grab that will negatively affect aboriginal residents.

In a letter sent to Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, Chief Mike Carpenter of the Attawapiskat First Nation said the provincial Liberals' 13-per-cent levy on diamond mining revenue, unveiled in the budget last month, is a "win-win" for the government and a "lose-lose" for first nations.

De Beers Canada Inc.'s $1-billion Victor project is about 90 kilometres west of the Attawapiskat First Nations community on James Bay. The company, a subsidiary of diamond giant De Beers SA of South Africa, has negotiated an "impact benefit agreement" with the Attawapiskat peoples, agreeing to provide the struggling community with training and education, employment and business opportunities, environmental management and financial compensation from the mine.

Under Ontario's previous tax regime, the Victor project, under construction and expected to begin production in the second half of 2008, would have been subjected to a 5-per-cent tax on revenue under the province's "remote mine" rules. Non-remote mines are subject to a 10-per-cent tax.

Now Victor, expected to generate annual revenue of between $280-million and $290-million at full capacity, will be subject to a 13-per-cent royalty.

"You and your officials are well aware that the only diamond mine in Ontario, and thus the only one to be immediately impacted by your decision, is located in the traditional territory of the Attawapiskat First Nation. Given the obvious importance of this project to our community and to future exploration in our lands, we should have been consulted," Chief Carpenter wrote in an April 4 letter to the Premier.

"This increase constitutes little more than a tax grab by your government that will not benefit our first nation or others," he said.

Although the Victor project is the first Ontario diamond mine, projects in other provinces and territories are producing enough diamonds to place Canada among the top five producers in the world. Some diamond consumers even seek out Canadian gems because they are mined under more ethical conditions than those from some areas of Africa.

Jim Gowans, the president and chief executive officer of De Beers Canada, is scheduled to meet today with Ontario Finance Minister Greg Sorbara in hopes of convincing the government to withdraw the royalty or to at least "grandfather" the Victor project, which he said could generate $7-billion for the province.

"The diamond royalty doesn't meet what I call the smell test for fairness. It's a bit surprising because that's one of the theme songs for McGuinty's government," Mr. Gowans said in an interview.

The executive, who has worked for a number of other Canadian mining companies including Inco Ltd., Placer Dome Inc. and Teck Cominco Ltd., said the royalty unfairly singles out diamond mining, and De Beers' Victor project in particular.

"It's very commodity-specific and Canada has had a history of being very measured in its tax regimes around resource development, very predictable and very collaborative," he said.

Mr. Gowans said that under the impact benefit agreement, the Attawapiskat have the potential to participate in the "financial upside" from the Victor project once its capital costs of $982-million are paid off, which is expected to occur during the second half of the mine's 12-year life.

He warned that the new royalty will cut into that benefit.

"This, in effect, transfers the upside from that isolated community back into the government's coffers. The amount of tax they make on one diamond mine in Ontario is not very significant. It is hugely significant to a single isolated first nations community," he said.

If the royalty remains in place, De Beers is likely to redirect much of the $15-million it spends annually on exploration away from Ontario, Mr. Gowans said.

The Ontario budget, which was tabled March 22, said the diamond royalty was needed to make the province competitive with other diamond mining jurisdictions. Indeed, the measure would bring Ontario into line with the Northwest Territories, where the bulk of Canada's diamond industry operates.

The budget said diamonds are different from other commodities because they are not traded on the open market and "require a unique and separate system for determining their value."

Officials from the Premier's and Finance Minister's offices did not return calls seeking comment.

While in Sioux Lookout, INAC Minister Prentice announced the funding for four water plant construction and upgrade initiatives that have been on the INAC books for a couple of  years.

INAC press release ...

INAC ANNOUNCES $12.8 MILLION FOR WATER PROJECTS IN TREATY 5 & 9 FIRST NATIONS

SIOUX LOOKOUT, ONTARIO (April 11, 2007) — The Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians, today announced $12.8 million for water treatment plant upgrades and construction in one Treaty 5 and three Treaty 9 communities located in Northwestern Ontario.

"Today, I am pleased to announce these projects that will address water quality issues in four communities, including Keewaywin First Nation, one of the 21 communities identified one year ago as most at risk for waterborne health hazards in my Plan of Action for Drinking Water in First Nations Communities," said Minister Prentice.

Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) will provide funding as follows:

• Approximately $8.9 million for a new water treatment plant at Keewaywin First Nation a member of Treaty #5;
• About $2 million to Fort Albany First Nation for upgrades to the community’s water treatment system;
• About $1.1 million towards a water treatment plant repair project at Attawapiskat First Nation; and
• Close to $800,000 to Moose Cree First Nation for repairs and upgrades to the Moose Factory water treatment plant.

"The government is making substantial progress ensuring there is a reliable supply of safe, clean drinking water in First Nation communities," said Minister Prentice. "Last month I tabled a report in Parliament that details the improvements that have been made over the past 12 months on water quality on reserve. That progress is continuing.

For more information please contact:

Bill Rodgers
Director of Communications
Office of the Honourable Jim Prentice
(819) 997-0002

Media Relations
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
(819) 953-1160

Backgrounder - Progress on Water Treatment Plants in Treaty 5 and 9 Communities

Keewaywin (Approximately $8.9 million for construction of water treatment plant)

Keewaywin's new water treatment system will be a conventional chemically-assisted filtration system with granular-activated carbon filtration. Construction is expected to begin in January 2008. Keewaywin First Nation is a remote Cree community, 350 kilometres northeast of Sioux Lookout, that is accessible year-round by air. Total membership is 654 people, 354 of whom live on reserve.

Fort Albany (About $2 million for upgrades to the community's water treatment system)

INAC has been working with Fort Albany First Nation and other business partners to repair or replace some key components of the water treatment plant, the low lift station, and the wastewater pumping station. Scheduled completion date is October 2007. Fort Albany First Nation is a Cree community, 450 kilometres north of Timmins and 700 kilometres northwest of North Bay. The community's membership is 3,880 people, with 2,354 on reserve.

Attawapiskat (Approximately $1.1 million towards water treatment plant repair project)

The project involves repairing and replacing some of the key components of the community's water treatment plant. This work will improve the quality of water, and is scheduled for completion in July 2007. Attawapiskat First Nation is 350 kilometres northwest of Moosonee and is accessible year-round by air. This Cree community's total registered population is 2,870 people, 1,454 of whom live on reserve.

Moose Cree (Close to $800,000 for repairs and upgrades to Moose Factory water treatment plant)

In July 2006, an evaluation was conducted on damage to the water treatment plant's intake structure. It was determined that repairs were required to maintain a reliable water supply. While repairs were completed in October 2006, the long-term operation of the intake structure requires additional upgrades, scheduled to be completed during the summer of 2007. Moose Cree First Nation is located 300 kilometres north of Timmins. The First Nation has a membership of 3,632 people with 1,638 on reserve.

North Spirit Lake School News -from the principal

Children and community come together to build a better education and community for the children.

The children and community members have been immersed in model of education that is more a kin to their well being than current educational models

Land based education is key to regaining and retaining all of our traditional values ... our hopes and dreams are connected to the land.

This type of education foster critcal thinking and creativity though patterns, thereby exercising the most important organ in the body, the brain.

For our students, it re-connects everyone back to our values of caring, kindness, love, bravery, courage.

For the Teachers and Teacher's Assistants, it gives them a chance to see children exercise strengths and then more importantly capitialize on these strengths through the integration of the regular school program.

Chief Sally Bunting/Kakegamic  states "that our schools are for our children and they must be given the opportunity to succeed on their terms".  This learning and teaching model reaches our community and students with great success.

This type of educational model cannot operate without the community from all levels, from day care children  to our elders. Therefore all of the commnity is involved in the process as demostrated in the past few weeks.

Every Friday is  planned to close out with community based activities set on the land. Planning is essential and the school and community has to resource the activities. Many of the resources to make the program fluid come existing Welfare, Health or Recreation program, thereby creating community success.

As an example, recently the children and parents set nets through the ice and collected the fish. This activity was resourced by the Health program, it integrated the Language and values into the day's activities and then everyone had a big community feast.

Extensions of this is making community crafts at the school on Wednesday evening, where all the community comes to make crafts such a key chains, more importantly the community comes to the school to share and talk about thier stories.

The new principal, Mr. Conrad Bobiwash is one part of the process, as a helper and leader. He comes from Blind River, Ontario near Sault Ste Marie. He has initiated  and led child based and community based programming across North America.

This process is very close to our way of learning and is very natural, thereby fostering individual change and excellence in education.More importantly,  this model teaches all our children and community about the value of education.

From Cultural Survival ....

UN Body Holds Canada Responsible for Corporations’ Actions Abroad

By Mark Cherrington. April 10, 2007, World Indigenous News

In a groundbreaking decision, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) has told Canada that it must rein in Canadian corporations operating on Indian land in the United States.

The finding, issued in early March, was in response to a petition filed by the Western Shoshone Defense Project about the actions of Canadian resource-extraction companies operating on the tribe’s land in the western United States. Among other things, the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which has been ratified by both Canada and the United States, requires states to "guarantee the right of everyone ... in the enjoyment of ... economic, social, and cultural rights ... and the right to public health." The Shoshone petition claimed that these are the areas in which the Canadian companies are affecting them.

The petition especially targets Barrick Gold Corporation, the largest gold mining company in the world. Gold mining uses large amounts of toxic mercury and creates cyanide-laced leaching ponds, both of which threaten Shoshones’ right to health. The blasting used to open mining sites destroys sacred areas, which violates the tribe’s cultural rights to culture, and mining roads disrupt wildlife, undermining their traditional ways of finding food. Gold mining also requires vast amounts of water, which dries up springs and other water sources that the Shoshone need for health. The Betze mine alone uses 70,000 gallons per minute, and it is hardly alone. Western Shoshone lands are the third-largest gold producing region in the world, and there are six other Canadian gold companies besides Barrick operating there, with more applications for leases already under consideration.

The Shoshone have targeted Canada in part because the United States has failed to take any action to protect Shoshone lands. On the contrary, the U.S. government has declared most of Shoshone territory to be federal public land open to resource extraction and other commercial activities. The treaty protecting the original Western Shoshone territory—some 60 million acres from southern Idaho to California’s Mojave Desert—is still valid, but the government has gotten around the treaty by invoking a principle it calls "gradual encroachment." This legal tautology has been discredited by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, but the United States has ignored those findings.

In fact, the government has been seeking ways of making their lands even more available to encroachment. Until now, extraction industries have been operating under a federal lease arrangement, but in 2004 Republican congressman Richard Pombo introduced an amendment to a budget bill that would allow foreign companies to buy this "public" Shoshone land for $1,000 an acre. (The bill was passed by the House of Representatives but defeated in the Senate.) And a second bill, introduced by Republican congressman James Gibbons (now governor of Nevada), would have offered more than 60,000 acres of Shoshone land for sale to the Canadian company Placer Dome, now owned by Barrick Gold.

The racial discrimination treaty is a binding agreement for Canada, which, like all state parties, has to submit to biannual review by the CERD Committee, the treaty’s enforcement body. CERD reviews the country’s report (and any accompanying unofficial "shadow reports" like the Western Shoshones’) and issues observations and recommendations like the one regarding Canada, which read in part: "The committee encourages the state party to take appropriate legislative or administrative measures to prevent acts of transnational corporations registered in Canada which have a negative impact on the enjoyment of rights of indigenous peoples in territories outside Canada. In particular, the committee recommends to the state party that it explore ways to hold transnational corporations registered in Canada accountable."

Will Canada act on that recommendation? One hopeful sign in that regard is a report published on March 29 by Canada’s National Roundtables on Corporate Social Responsibility and Canadian Extractive Industries in Developing Countries. Among many recommendations in this comprehensive government report, are several that stress the need to protect the rights of indigenous peoples in the areas where Canadian companies operate.

Sources and Further Reading:

• The National Roundtables on Corporate Social Responsibility
   
• UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination