The Ontario government has been ordered to pay four aboriginal people $390,000 after the prosecution decided at the last minute to withdraw illegal-logging charges the men had faced for eight years. In an unusual decision, Ontario court judge Romuald Kwolek found the prosecution’s behaviour justified the costs award to the members of the Batchewana First…
A load retention tariff at the local paper mill continues to do what it was intended. On January 23, the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (UARB) issued a decision regarding the Nova Scotia Power Inc. and Port Hawkesbury Paper (PHP) load retention tariff. Dave Rodenheiser, spokesperson with NSPI, said the decision found the current…
After more than a year of discussions, paper and pulp companies in British Columbia have an improved way of accessing fibre for processing. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the companies, including local pulp mill Harmac, Catalyst Paper, Paper Excellence Canada, Zellstoff Celgar Ltd. Partnership and the First Nation Forestry Council was signed to better…
The First Nation Forestry Council (FNFC) and four B.C. pulp and paper companies are pleased to announce they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to promote and support the growing role and influence of First Nations in the B.C. forest sector. The four companies include: Catalyst Paper, Nanaimo Forest Products (Harmac), Paper Excellence Canada…
The B.C. Liberals are increasingly concerned that the rising threat of lumber tariffs in the United States could generate a punishing fallout for the dozens of B.C. communities and thousands of workers dependent on the forest industry. “I’m worried,” Finance Minister Mike de Jong conceded during a media scrum this week, reacting to news that…
The federal government is appealing a decision by a special claims tribunal to award $13.8 million in compensation to a Vancouver Island First Nation over a historic logging dispute. The Huu-ay-aht First Nation, based in Anacla near Bamfield, received notice of appeal on Thursday. The specific-claims tribunal, which hears claims by First Nations against the…
On a country back road near Penobsquis, an experiment is underway that its supporters hope will point the way to a market-driven, low-carbon economic boom for New Brunswick. A non-profit organization called Community Forests International bought more than 285 hectares of forest from a private landowner and is now harvesting it using low-impact, sustainable methods….
A federal tribunal has ruled a Vancouver Island First Nation should get more than $13.8 million in compensation for government failure to ensure it was properly compensated for two decades of timber harvesting. On Monday, the Canadian Specific Claims Tribunal awarded the Port Alberni-area Huu-ay-aht First Nations that sum in connection with logging that took…
If there is one certainty about the future of the B.C. forest industry, it is the growing participation of indigenous people whose traditional territories take in most of the Crown land in the province. Aboriginal leaders assumed responsibility for ecosystem-based harvesting in the Great Bear Rainforest agreement, mapping out protected areas with the B.C. government….
The Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC), in partnership with the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers (CCFM), presented the Skills Award for Aboriginal Youth to Gregory Daniels and Christian Francis today in Ottawa. The Skills Award for Aboriginal Youth is open to First Nations, Métis or Inuit individuals aged 18 to 30 who are enrolled…