For Immediate Release:
February 28, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO – Addressing longstanding concerns raised by northwest Ontario’s Grassy Narrows First Nation, Rainforest Action Network (RAN), and a coalition of allies, Boise Inc. has notified logging company AbitibiBowater that it will cease purchasing wood fiber logged from Grassy Narrows’ traditional territory in the Whiskey Jack Forest without the Indigenous community’s consent.
According to a letter from Boise to environmental certifiers dated Feb. 27, the company “wishes to honor the request of [Grassy Narrows] Chief [Simon] Fobister to discontinue sourcing fiber from the Traditional Use Area of Grassy Narrows.” Boise’s landmark decision comes just four weeks prior to an expected report from former Canadian Supreme Court Justice Frank Iacobucci on negotiations with the community over the same concerns.
In a 2007 report, Amnesty International concluded that clear-cut logging within Grassy Narrows’ traditional territory without consent constitutes human rights violations against the Grassy Narrows people. The community has strongly opposed clear-cut logging, citing its constitutional and treaty rights to preserve its territory for traditional uses such as hunting and trapping.
“It’s gratifying to see a major wood products manufacturer like Boise align its purchasing practices with respect for human rights,” said Brant Olson, director of RAN’s Old Growth Campaign. “We urge Weyerhaeuser and AbitibiBowater to follow Boise’s lead and withdraw from Grassy Narrows until consent from the community is established.”
RAN has been collaborating since 2004 with the Grassy Narrows First Nation, which in January 2007 called for a moratorium on all industrial uses of its territory that occur without its free, prior and informed consent. RAN has been engaged in negotiations with Boise and has organized public demonstrations at OfficeMax and Grand & Toy, major buyers of Boise paper products, to encourage support for Grassy Narrows’ call for a moratorium.
Boise’s commitment leaves Washington-based lumber giant Weyerhaeuser as AbitibiBowater’s highest-profile purchaser of wood obtained from Grassy Narrows’ traditional territory.
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