CPTnet
21 June 2005
ASUBPEESCHOSEEWAGONG ACTION ALERT: Ask Ontario Minister of the Environment
to initiate environmental impact assessment
Please support the Grassy Narrows First Nation (located in northwestern
Ontario) in their continuing struggle to protect their land and their way of
life.
In February 2005, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources approved the
Whiskey Jack Forest Management Plan which licenses the Abitibi lumber
company to continue clearcutting Grassy Narrows' traditional land. A group
of community members called Signatory Indians of the Slant Lake Blockade
Site are calling for supporters to write Ontario's Minister of the
Environment asking her to initiate a full environmental assessment--which
was not done before the Ministry of Natural Resources approved the
clearcutting.
Grassy Narrows has suffered the flooding of wild rice stands and burial
grounds in the 1950s, forced relocation in the 1960s, mercury poisoning from
an up-river pulp mill in the 1970s, and in the 1980s and 1990s the
clearcutting of their traplines in their 4000 square kilometre Traditional
Land Use Area.
In December 2002, community members blockaded Abitibi logging trucks. CPT
accompanied the blockade with a full time presence until the summer of 2004.
Canadian law requires significant and meaningful consultation with First
Nations when an infringement of their rights occurs. This consultation has
not occurred. With the approval of this latest work plan it appears that
Abitibi intends to resume clearcutting in violation of Grassy Narrows
sovereignty.
A sample letter follows.
The Honourable Leona Dombrowsky
Minister of the Environment
12th Floor, 135
St. Clair Ave.
West Toronto, Ontario M4V 1P5
Canada
Fax: 001-416-314-7337
Subject: Letter of support for Grassy Narrows' rejection of the Whiskey Jack
Forest Management Plan and Annual Work Schedule
Dear Honourable Leona Dombrowsky,
As a member of {add a short description of yourself/your organization}, I/we
would like to register my/our support for the Signatory Indians of the Slant
Lake Blockade Site. In particular, I/We support their rejection of the
forest management plan and the Annual Work Schedule of the Ontario Ministry
of Natural Resources, Abitibi, the Red Lake District Resource Management
Committee and the Kenora Local Citizens Committee.
We are deeply troubled by the contents of the Whiskey Jack Forest Management
Plan and Annual Work schedule. These plans fail to respect the traditional,
customary and treaty rights of the Asubpeeschoseewagong (Grassy Narrows)
Anishinabek and jeopardize the land-based Anishnabe culture and way of life.
The continued environmental degradation caused by unsustainable logging
activities has severe consequences for the people of Grassy Narrows, who
depend on a healthy and viable forest ecosystem to conduct their traditional
activities.
As a result, I/we are urging you to stand up for the rights and needs of the
people of Grassy Narrows by initiating a full environmental and social
assessment of the Whiskey Jack Forest Management Plan.
Thank you for you attention to this important matter.
Sincerely,
{your name(s)}
_______________
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