BUSINESS
COVER:
Healing
And Protecting Our Sacred Mother Earth
Hopi
spiritual elders say we have not learned our lessons in the past from
our use of technology.
BIOGRAPHY:
Matthew
Lien: Superstar
Sandy Scofield: Native Songstress
BUSINESS:
Casino
Rama: Taking Care of Business
Canada's
largest Native employer is a First Nation's business success story.
Duty
to Consult Now Legal Duty For Provincial Crown and Third Parties
OIB
Demands Meeting With Weyerhaeuser
CULTURE:
Protesters
Demand Accountability from Shuswap Chief and Council
Sit-in escalates
into death threats
MODERN TREATIES:
Federal
Court Ruling Grants Tax Immunity to Treaty 8 Peoples
Income
earned by a member of Treaty 8 is exempt from tax
Haida Launch Aboriginal Title Case in BC Supreme Court
HUMOUR:
Bee in the Bonnet
What's with
all the female Chiefs?
OIB Demands
Meeting With Weyerhaeuser
By Staff Writers
The Osoyoos Indian Band is "cautiously optimistic" that a deal can be struck with forest industry giant Weyerhaeuser over an allotment of wood fibre in order to keep its band-owned sawmill operating and divert a major conflict in the woods of the Okanagan Timber Supply Area (TSA).
The Osoyoos
Indian Band (OIB) has been at odds with Weyerhaeuser over a yearly allotment
of 30,000 cubic metres of lodgepole pine promised to the band by Weyerhaeuser.
A briefing
document prepared by Chris Scott, Chief Operating Officer for the OIB
identifies the problem. On July 23, 2000, the OIB opened a sawmill on
band lands in partnership with Bitterroot Valley Forest Products. The
mill employs 11 band members with the finished wood exported south to
the United States.
The mill was started with the clear understanding that the dry log fibre supply would be made available to the OIB through Weyerhaeuser Canada Ltd. But Weyerhaeuser subsequently reneged on the agreement, refusing to supply the wood fibre. The company pointed to the Ministry of Forests (MOF) for a solution.
The ministry,
on the other hand, says that the provincial legislature must provide legislation
to allow the fibre supply to be increased, thus allowing Weyerhaeuser
to meet the fibre request by the OIB.
At a press conference in Vancouver on February 26, 2002, Chief Louie outlined
the problem.
"We have spent the past 14 months negotiating with both Ministry of Forest officials and Weyerhaeuser executives and all that has happened is constant buck passing with neither party willing to actually live up to the promises to us," said Chief Louie.
"Even
the province's own Job Protection Commissioner has investigated this matter
and concluded we do have a viable mill operation worth saving. Yet our
mill stands idle and our workers remain unemployed," said Louie.
The OIB has
had a working relationship with Weyerhaeuser since 1995 when the parties
signed a Cooperative Working Agreement which, among other things, stipulated
the two parties "Jointly identify and develop business and/or commercial
opportunities that may arise in the areas of accessing new forest tenures
and new processing facilities (emphasis added).
Two years
later, on July 2 , 1997, the OIB, the Spallumcheen Indian Band, Weyerhaeuser
and Canwood entered into a limited partnership on a forest license for
the purposes of harvesting. The OIB created Inkameep Forestry Corp. specifically
to hold its interest in the license.
Then on February
28, 2000, the seven forest license holders in the Okanagan Timber Supply
Area (TSA), of which Weyerhaeuser was one, signed a Cooperative Forestry
Agreement.
The objective
of the agreement is to provide licensees with opportunities to advance
their interests through new cooperative arrangements with First Nations
in the Okanagan TSA.
The general
intent of the agreement was that the licenses would surrender part of
their allowable annual cut (AAC) to the province for the purposes of Interim
Measures Agreements (IMAs) between British Columbia and those First Nations
of the Okanagan TSA who enter into IMAs in the context of treaty negotiations.
According
to Joe McGinnis, head of forestry operations for the OIB, both MOF and
Weyerhaeuser urged the OIB to enter into an IMA to obtain the 30,000 cubic
metres of wood fibre.
"They
led us to believe that we could achieve an IMA outside of the treaty process.
We felt they were trying to force us into a treaty scenario. But the band
felt we would be acting outside of our authority as part of the Okanagan
Nation Alliance, " said McGinnis.
McGinnis said that the 14 months of protracted negotiations focussed on
that issue.
At the Feb.
28 press conference Chief Louie called on the Campbell government to resolve
the growing dispute before the conflict escalates into direct action by
band members who feel they have a right to a share of the resources of
their traditional territories.
But the province
insists that the negotiation of the wood supply be conducted under a treaty
process initiative. In other words, the wood fibre supply would be granted
in return for the OIB entering the treaty process.
"Every
year between Princeton and Okanagan Falls, Weyerhaeuser harvests over
950,000 cubic metres of wood. All we are looking for is access to 30,000
cubic metres of wood," explained Louie.
"The
previous government was focussed on process; the new government said they
are focussed on results. It is now time for the provincial government
to step up to the plate so we can reach a deal all parties can work with.
Otherwise we face the prospect of seeing all forestry operations in the
Okanagan Valley affected by this dispute," said Louie.
In a letter
to Forests Minister Mike de Jong, Chief Louie warned to move quickly to
avoid the potential shutting down of all non-native forestry operations
in the Okanagan Valley.
"As the
most business-oriented band in Canada, we hope that the Campbell government
has the political will to include First Nations in the economy of BC,"
states the letter.
Chief Louie
and COO Chris Scott met with de Jong, local MLA Bill Barisoff and Tom
Sheldon of MOF the following week and the parties agreed to set up a tri-partite
meeting with OIB, Weyerhaeuser and MOF by the end of March.
"British Columbia's forestry legislation was never designed to allow First Nations direct participation in this sector," noted Chief Louie.
"However,
amending that legislation will take at least 12 months. So, as minister
de Jong stated, any interim arrangement will require the cooperation of
Weyerhaeuser. It is for that reason that Minister de Jong has agreed to
set up another meeting by the end of March that will include Weyerhaeuser.
Forestry operations manager for OIB Joe McGinnis noted that a review of the region's annual allowable cut is coming up and commented, " In light of the recent Haida decision by the BC Court of Appeal, we expect Weyerhaeuser to follow the court's directives, which include accomodating the cultural and economic interest of the First Nations territory in which they are operating."