[Grassy Narrows Support] Large clearcuts planned for Grassy Narrows territory
John
-----Original Message-----
From: Grassy Narrows Asubpeeschoseewagong Anishinabek
Sent: Monday, April 09, 2012 12:44 PM
To: grassy-narrows-support
Subject: [Grassy Narrows Support] Large clearcuts planned for Grassy Narrows
territory
Large clearcuts planned for Grassy Narrows territory
Tuesday March 27, 2012
Rick Garrick - Wawatay News
Grassy Narrow is raising concerns about Ontario�s plans to proceed
with large clearcuts in the Treaty #3 community�s traditional
territory.
Ontario had agreed not to allow logging without the consent of the
community in its territory in the Whiskey Jack Forest north of the
English River while an 11-year legal action winds its way through the
court system, but this past December the province made public, without
the community�s support, a new Whiskey Jack Long Term Management
Direction (LTMD) calling for large clearcuts in the community�s
territory north and south of the English River over the next 10 years.
�The government is beginning to recognize that it is wrong to allow
logging in our territory against our will,� said Grassy Narrows Chief
Simon Fobister. �But Ontario continues to make plans behind our backs
for destructive clearcut logging on the lands we have always used and
cared for. This must stop.�
Ontario made the agreement in exchange for the staying of the Ontario
Superior Court of Justice�s landmark August 2011 judgment in favour of
Grassy Narrows until the appeal process is completed. The court found
that Ontario does not have the power to take away the rights in Treaty
3 by authorizing industrial activity including logging.
�We have struggled for many years to save our way of life in the face
of clearcut logging, which has contaminated our waters and destroyed
our lands,� said Joseph Fobister, one of the Grassy Narrows trappers
who initiated the legal action. �We cannot go back to the old way of
business where decisions were imposed on our people and our land with
devastating consequences for our health and culture.�
Grassy Narrows initially rejected the new LTMD this past December. The
LTMD is part of a Forest Management Plan the Ministry of Natural
Resources plans to put into effect on April 1.
�This document was developed without our participation or consent, and
entirely outside the good faith negotiations we have undertaken with
MNR since the 2008 Process Agreement,�
Fobister said about the LTMD in Dec. 2011. �It sets the stage for more
clearcutting throughout our traditional lands, contrary to our treaty
and inherent rights. And we have not given our consent.�
Robert Janes, a Grassy Narrows lawyer, said the province�s agreement
not to allow logging without community consent north of the English
River was �a big departure from the usual government insistence on
business as usual� during lengthy appeals.
�It speaks to the strength of Grassy Narrows� stand against unwanted
clearcut logging from a legal perspective and also from a moral, and
political viewpoint,� Janes said.
More info: FreeGrassy.org
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Groups "Grassy Narrows Support" group.
For more information on Grassy Narrows go to FreeGrassy.org
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
grassy-narrows-su...@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.ca/group/grassy-narrows-support?hl=en