Opportunities In Ontario

Transcription

1 First Nation Forestry Opportunities In Ontario Presented by: Terry Wilson, Nishnawbe Aski Forestry Coordinator CANDO conference September 29, 2010

2 Key Message #1 First Nation forestry opportunities, in Ontario, have primarily been created due to the activities of First Nations. First Nations cannot rely on the good will of the governments, the private sector, environmentalists or others in the attainment of these opportunities. Future opportunities will be created by the ongoing efforts of First Nations and not the efforts of others. The reason for this is: The creation of opportunities, for First Nations, have been at the expense of the status t quo.

3 What is Ontario s Status Quo? Status quo is Ontario s historical forest tenure system whereby either the provincial government and/or the forest industry have been the managers of the forest resources found within the province. Management decisions are made by these two bodies. Primary revenues from forestry operations flow to the Ontario treasury (as Crown dues) or to the industry (as profits). Secondary revenues en es have been afforded to the non First Nation communities which house the mills, labour forces and other entities that t form the commercial aspects of forestry.

4 Key Message #2 Not all forestry opportunities are created equal. Beware of sheep in wolves clothing.

5 What is a forestry opportunity? The first real opportunities began with Ontario s Class Environmental Assessment by the Ministry of Natural Resources for Timber Management on Crown Lands in Ontario. The purpose of this assessment was to provide a continuous and predictable supply of wood for Ontario s forest products industry. First Nations participated in the hearings and voiced their concerns about forest management planning.

6 Approval was granted for Timber Management Planning to be carried out, subject to 115 Term and Conditions being met over the next few years. Several of these T & C s pertained to new opportunities for First Nations. The most prominent T & C for First Nations was T & C #77 (which is now T & C #34).

7 Term and Condition #77 was economic in nature and stated that: MNR district managers shall conduct negotiations at the local level with Aboriginal peoples whose communities are situated in a management unit, in order to identify and implement ways of achieving a more equal participation by Aboriginal peoples in the benefits provided through timber management planning.

8 Some First Nations were able to obtain some significant economic benefits out of T & C #77. Unfortunately T & C #77 was plagued by problems. Examples are that it was not binding on the private sector; union rights triumphed over Aboriginal i and dtreaty rights; contracts t offered dto First Nations often consisted of inferior quantities and qualities. and the list goes on. The result was that many First Nations businesses, trying to take advantage of T & C #77 went bankrupt or, at best, had to cease operations.

9 So, Where Are We At Today. Most of Ontario s forestry opportunities lie in the Area of the Undertaking and the areas north of this.

10 Potential Opportunities

11 Jurisdiction One of fthe major issues for First tnations today is that of jurisdiction. Who should be managing the forests? Who should be obtaining the revenues? It is the position of many First Nations, that First Nations agreed to an equal sharing of the resources and revenues (with Ontario) via the signing of the treaties.

12 Unfortunately, Ontario does not share in the view of a 50:50 sharing. The result has been the development of Ontario s status quo. First Nations need to continue to press to have the issue of jurisdiction resolved in their favour. This will create a huge economic advancement for Ontario First Nations. Ontario has to be made to respect the treaties. Unfortunately, they are quite happy with their 100% share of status quo.

13 Jurisdiction is one of the issues currently being Jurisdiction is one of the issues currently being discussed, with Ontario, under one of the Ipperwash sub-tables. Despite this, it is still one of the hardest issues for First Nations to make any progress on.

14 Ontario s Forest Management Planning Process First Nation communities are afforded an opportunity to have a representative sit on a forest management planning committee. These committees prepares forest management plans. These committees are designed so that First Nations can bring forward issues such as the attainment of economic contracts.

15 They are not designed to assist First Nations with Aboriginal and Treaty rights issues or economic ventures based upon these rights even though approved forest management plans and their forestry operations can have a negative impact upon these same rights.

16 Demise of the Current Forest Industry Many private sector companies are no longer interested in managing their forestry licences. At least one major company has left Ontario altogether. While some First Nations have lost economic contracts due to this demise, there now exists opportunities to become managers of vacated forestry licences.

17 First Nations should seriously consider taking whatever actions are necessary to become the new managers of these vacated licences. The managers are the decision making entities, on forestry related economic activities, within their licences. Having an economic contract is nice. Being the manager who decides who gets the economic contracts is significantly better.

18 Forest Tenure Review/ Community Managed Forests Ontario is currently looking at re-vamping it s forest tenure system. The last notable time that Ontario did this was in the late 1970 s when they began to transfer management control of Ontario s forests to the private sector. This change resulted in the creation of Forest Management Units (FMA s) which later morphed into the current Sustainable Forestry Licences (SFL s).

19 Under the review, Ontario is currently considering the removal of the forest companies as the sole managers of the SFL s. Ontario undertook a number of workshops and other processes to get ideas on how to change the system. First Nations had some input, although meaningful consultation was generally lacking.

20 Many First Nation communities (and non First Nation communities) have been recommending a community forestry based system whereby communities would be the new managers of the forests. Unfortunately, natel Ontario has decided upon investigating a new system whereby Local Forest Management Corporations (LFMC s) would become the new managers of the SFL s. Under this system, First Nations and various stakeholders would be offered seats on the LFMC s board of directors.

21 The LFMC s will greatly limit the ability of First Nation communities to manage the lands and resources in their traditional territories as other board members will have their own interests to look after. First Nations need to actively push for community managed forests. One way is to support the efforts of the Northern Ontario Sustainable Communities Partnership. pwebsite: pg

22 Training i and Funding Programs Various forestry programs exist tfor First tnations to capitalize upon. An example is the newly created, federal Skills and Partnership Fund which will at least partially replace the First Nations Forestry Program (which is defunct after ). Website: g _partners hip/index.shtml

23 Value Added/Non Timber Forest Products Much of Ontario s wood fibre is currently underutilized. Ontario is looking at ways to utilize fibre that is no longer being used by the forest industry as well as fibre previously classified as unmerchantable or even as waste products. While traditional products such as pulp & paper and lumber currently have soft markets, a number of other products have good marketing gpotential. First Nations need to do their research to take advantage of these markets.

24 Education and Youth Ontario s forestry labour force has shrunk dramatically over the last number of years. Many have either retired or moved away from Northern Ontario. As things improve in forestry, there will increased demands for a new labour force. First Nations are uniquely positioned to take advantage of this new demand. This is due to the location of First Nation communities and the high percentage of youths in their populations.

25 However, to take advantage of these vacancies, First Nation youth need a suitable education. It is no longer ok to have a minimal education to, for example, operate a modern day piece of timber harvesting equipment. Modern day equipment is usually highly computerized and thus an operator often needs computer, and other training, i to become an efficient operator.

26 There will also be increased hiring opportunities in other areas. Examples are foresters, forest technicians, biologists, environmentalists, etc. As First Nations become more involved in forestry economic opportunities, especially when taken to such levels as community managed forests, then many of these new positions will be with First Nation owned businesses.

27 For a summer time, hands on experience in forestry, youths between 16 to 18 can apply to the First Nations Natural Resources Youth Employment Program. Website: e/fnnryep Many universities iti and colleges offer excellent programs in natural resource management. For example, e, Lakehead e University has various programs in their Faculty of Natural Resources Management. Confederation College offers Natural Resource Programs at the technical level as well as courses related to the operation of forestry equipment.

28 Potential ti Barriers to Opportunities

29 Government Approach Governments continually claim that they wish to work with the First Nations. However, they define the parameters and put their interpretation i on what working together means. Time-frames etc. meet the needs of the government and not those of First Nations. A true government to government relationship does not exist.

30 Governments continually claim that they are consulting li the First Nations. However, their idea of consultation generally does not constitute meaningful consultation to the First Nations. First Nations definitions of meaningful consultation are generally ignored especially if the consultation is based upon Aboriginal and Treaty rights.

31 Governments generally ignore First Nation resolutions pertaining to lands and resources. This is especially true if the resolutions are exerting First Nation rights and jurisdiction. Governments generally ignore the concerns of First Nations when it comes to drafting and passing legislation etc. If First Nations concerns are adopted into revisions then such changes tend to reflect tthe governments interpretation t ti of ffirst Nation concerns. These interpretations often do not reflect ect the true concerns ce expressed essed by the First Nations.

32 Governments are continually seeking First Nations input on various issues. However, while this same input is constantly being considered by the governments, it rarely results in any meaningful changes (to the First Nations) on the issues. If changes are made, these same changes usually reflect the needs of the government and not those of the First Nations.

33 Environmental Nongovernmental Organizations Approach Many environmental organizations claim that they respect Aboriginal i and Treaty rights. However, this does not stop them from making side deals with the private sector and governments pertaining to environmental protection. Many of these deals are national in scope and can severely limit First Nations economic opportunities. Yet, First Nations are rarely consulted, or involved with, these agreements.

34 A recent example is the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement that was signed din The agreement was between 21 forest companies and 9 environmental organizations. The agreement calls for the elimination of timber harvesting on more than 72 million hectares of land across Canada. First Nations were not involved in the drafting of the agreement.

35 From the CBFA website, While the future of forestry and conservation in Canada s Boreal Forest rests primarily with governments, both industry and environmentalists have a shared responsibility to help define and realize that future. Where is the desire to involve First Nti Nations in defining dfii and realizing lii the future ft of Canada s Boreal Forest?

36 The agreement does state, The Agreement is intended to be without prejudice to, and in accordance with, those rights and titles (A & T rights). But, this is not reflective of the need to have First Nation as a primary partner in the development of any agreement that can impact upon them. In Ontario, this agreement is another example of Southern Ontario interests believing that they know what is best for Northern Ontario.

37 First Nations Resourcing First Nations recognize the need to work together. Unfortunately, most First Nations lack adequate resources to work either a) together or b) on their own in order to develop or capitalize on opportunities when they present themselves. This resource deficiency causes many First Nations to take whatever assistance they are offered, whenever it is offered. Unfortunately, this makes them fall victim to the divide and conquer strategies often employed by the governments and others.

38 Key Message #3 Economic opportunities, either solely for First Nations or in partnerships with the private sector, are constantly presenting themselves. However, it is important to (again) realize that these opportunities would never have developed had it not been for the efforts of the First Nations. First Nations have the choice of either putting aside, or asserting, their Aboriginal and Treaty rights when it comes to attaining economic opportunities

39 Putting aside A & T rights will aide communities in capitalizing upon immediate, but generally smaller economic opportunities over the short and possibly long terms. AssertingA&Trightsisalongtermprocessthat, A rights is term that, once successful, can result in more significant economic opportunities becoming available to First Nations. This can be a short term pain for long term gain scenario. It s up to you!!!

40 Meegwetch