29 February 2008

Amnesty International today welcomed the announcement that multinational paper company Boise Inc. will stop purchasing wood fiber from the traditional territory of the Grassy Narrows First Nation in northwestern Ontario until that community has given its consent to logging.

“Boise has done the right thing,” says Craig Benjamin, Amnesty International’s campaigner for the human rights of Indigenous peoples. “The company has set an example that we hope that other companies and the Province of Ontario will follow.”

Amnesty International’s ongoing research at Grassy Narrows has confirmed that the province has allowed large-scale logging to proceed without adequate human rights protections and in violation of its own obligations under Canadian law.

The people of Grassy Narrows rely on the forest for hunting, trapping, harvesting food and medicinal plants, and other activities central to their cultural identity and to the livelihoods of many community members. An 1873 peace and friendship treaty affirms their right to “pursue their avocations of hunting and fishing” throughout their traditional territory.

In January 2007, the Grassy Narrows Chief and Council, Clan Mothers, Elders Council, Trappers Council, Youth Council, and blockaders, declared a moratorium “on further industrial activity in our Traditional Territory until such time as the Governments of Canada and Ontario restore their honour and obtain the consent of our community in these decisions that will forever alter the future of our people.”

Courts have repeatedly ruled that governments in Canada have a clear legal obligation to carry out meaningful consultation in every instance when considering plans that could impact on the rights of Indigenous peoples. Such consultation requires good faith dialogue and negotiation to identify and accommodate Indigenous concerns.

The Supreme Court has also said that governments must be prepared for the possibility that significant measures will be required “to avoid irreparable harm” to Indigenous peoples’ rights, including, in some cases, abandoning plans to which the Indigenous peoples have not given consent.

In a September 2007 briefing paper, Amnesty International detailed a long history of disastrous social and economic upheaval at Grassy Narrows as a consequence of government decisions taken without regard for the community’s rights, interests and wishes.

In this paper, Amnesty International called on the province “to respect the moratorium declared by the people of Grassy Narrows and to halt all clear-cut logging and other industrial development in the traditional territory until free, prior and informed consent has been given.”

The paper also called for companies logging at Grassy Narrows or buying wood and wood fiber from the territory to “work toward a voluntary suspension of logging in the Grassy Narrows traditional territory and/or establish alternative sources for wood fiber, taking into consideration the fact that the people of Grassy Narrows have not given their consent to large-scale logging in their traditional territory."

In a letter dated February 27, Boise Inc. states that it has decided to “honor the request” of the Grassy Narrows Chief and Council and “stand in support of Amnesty International's recommendation.”

“We hope that Boise’s actions will send a powerful message to governments in Canada and to other companies in the forest industry,” says Tara Scurr, Amnesty International’s campaigner on business and human rights. “The province of Ontario and private companies can’t hide behind out-dated forest management laws that fail to respect and uphold the rights of consultation, accommodation and consent.”

The province has appointed a high level negotiator to lead talks with the Grassy Narrows First Nation. Amnesty International has urged the province to respect the community’s call for a moratorium as an interim measure to ensure that no further harm is done to their rights while these talks are proceeding.