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Island-Wide Haida Protest May Drag for Months
By
Lloyd Dolha
As
the island-wide protest on Haida Gwaii enters its fifth week, there appears
to be little chance of resolution of the conflict before the writ is dropped
for the provincial election on May 17.
"One month before Election Day they (the provincial government) cannot
conduct business; they can't make any commitments. That's the law,"
said Haida Nation media coordinator, Gilbert Parnell.
While the blockade was sparked by the announcement of the pending $1.2
billion sale of Weyerhaeuser's timber rights and assets to Toronto-based
conglomerate Brascan, it is the Council of Haida Nation's long unheeded
demands for greater consultation and sustainable forest practices that
has given the blockade its momentum in the movement residents call "Islands
Spirit Rising."
"Weyerhaeuser has been targeting our cedar at an astonishing rate,"
said Parnell. "They are logging the profile of the forest. They are
not respecting the cultural, environmental and economic values the company
has committed to. The company is just trying to maximize profits at our
expense."
Loggers and Ministry of Forests employees have been barred from crossing
key checkpoints and since the first days of the 24 hour-a-day protest
few have even bothered to try.
The Haida and their supporters say the provincial government and the company
have violated a six-point agreement reached in June 2002 between the Haida,
Weyerhaeuser and its employees.
That agreement was reached in the aftermath of the BC Court of Appeal
ruling that held that third parties, as well as the provincial and federal
governments, are bound by a duty to consult and accommodate First Nations
wherever resource development impacts First Nations rights or interests.
The agreement reduced the annual allowable cut until a sustainable harvest
level was reached, committed the company to harvest the profile of the
forest and set out a plan to ensure the long-term viability of Haida cultural
needs.
Of the points agreed upon, most were simply ignored or addressed in a
superficial manner.
The Haida say both the company Weyerhaeuser and the Ministry of Forests
have demonstrated a complete disregard for island residents needs and
wishes when it compromised the Haida Land Use Plan by approving cutting
in areas that were designated protected.
Moreover, recent changes to the Forest Act have outraged both natives
and non-natives residents alike.
New Forest Act wasteful
In a public bulletin distributed at a meeting in Port Clements on March
20 in the village, the council notes that in the last few years, sections
of the Forest Act have been rewritten that set the standards and penalties
used to control the waste of the public resource.
The new regulations allow timber companies to waste as much timber as
they see fit for the ridiculously low penalty of 25¢ per cubic metre
for wasted timber. The removal of the regulation also significantly reduces
the stumpage fees, lowering company costs even further.
Another section of the act that was completely removed is the "Cut
Control" regulations. This regulation offered communities dependant
on the forest resource some protection from the boom and bust cycles associated
with the industry. The cut control regulated the amount of timber the
industry could cut annually and over a five-year period.
A company could cut 50 percent as a minimum and 150 percent as a maximum
of its annual allowable cut in any one year as long as at the end of the
five-year period, the cut fell within ten percent of the five-year annual
allowable cut.
Now, forest corporations can shut down operations indefinitely without
penalty, despite disastrous effects on communities that rely on those
jobs.
Forest companies can now essentially pick and choose where and when they
want to cut, regardless of community needs.
These actions, say the Haida and their supporters, demonstrate that the
Ministry of Forests and has been implicit in allowing the industry to
dominate and control the entire region.
The Haida estimate that $6 billion worth of timber, mostly old-growth
Cedar, has been taken off the islands over the years.
Early in the protest, the Haida seized five barge loads of timber at an
estimated value of $50 million at Ferguson Bay. That action was taken
under legal consultation because of the breach of the June 2002 agreement.
More recently, the Haida have been meeting with provincial officials privately
to consider offers to bring the conflict to a peaceful resolution.
A plan has been put on the table that would see some 200,000 hectares
of land taken out of timber harvest licenses.