Daily Miner & News

Grassy Narrows gets visit from Amnesty International

April 18, 2007

Investigators from Amnesty International visited Grassy Narrows earlier this week, where they hoped to examine the effects of industrial development on the community. By Mike Aiken

Investigators from Amnesty International visited Grassy Narrows earlier this week, where they hoped to examine the effects of industrial development on the community.

According to Canadian Press, the team also wanted to look into the ongoing opposition to logging in the Whiskey Jack Forest, because band members say half of their traditional lands have been deforested.

“The government of Ontario has made decisions impacting the community’s use of the land with little or no meaningful consultation with Grassy Narrows,” the group said in a prepared statement released over the weekend.

Community members and their supporters have protested clear cutting in the area for many years, including a permanent blockade at Slant Lake created four years ago and temporary roadblocks of local highways last summer.

For its part, the province has said there have been ongoing discussions with Treaty 3 and the First Nation on a wide range of issues, including natural resources.

During his most recent visit to Kenora, Natural Resources Minister David Ramsay said staff “were in constant communications” with First Nations, as the ministry hoped to provide “certainty of supply” for the wood rights in the area.

The discussions are also related to $30-million expansion plans for Kenora Forest Products, which could provide up to 250 jobs.

Treaty 3 staff confirmed the talks were taking place, noting the minister was trying to ensure progress on the negotiations.

MNR’s area spokesman, Shawn Stevenson, was able to confirm the ongoing talks, but noted he wasn’t able to elaborate since he wasn’t at the table.

The traditional way of life at Grassy Narrows and Wabaseemoong First Nations — including fishing and wild rice harvesting — was devastated by mercury contamination between 1962 and 1970.

Clearcutting in the Whiskey Jack Forest has also affected trapping and hunting in the area.

The California-based environmental group, Rainforest Action Network, supported the work of the human rights activists.

“The presence of Amnesty International in Grassy Narrows is a wake-up call to North Americans, who think that human rights abuses on the homefront are a thing of the past,” said spokesman Brant Olson.

The environmentalists have partnered with band members on the temporary blockades, as well as protests near Weyerhaeuser headquarters in Washington state.