The wait is over. Last week, Abitibi-Bowater pulled the plug on their operations in the Whiskey Jack Forest.

The announcement provided a sense of relief for trapline owners, who have been fighting clearcutting practices. However, it added a sense of uncertainty for the future of the wood supply.

The director of public affairs and government relations for the paper giant, Jean-Phillippe Cote said Tuesday afternoon they would cease logging immediately. While he respected the process put in place by the province, Cote added the company had to make a decision on their sustainable forestry license.
“As a company, we simply can’t afford to wait four more years for a decision,” he said, during a brief interview Tuesday.

As a result, the company would be turning over their license to the province, in hopes they would move forward with First Nations on talks for issuing a new one to another company.

The official announcement is expected to come Thursday, at the first annual shareholders meeting for the newly-merged company, Abitibi-Bowater.

Natural Resources Minister Donna Cansfield repeated her commitment to setting quick deadlines for talks between Grassy Narrows and the province.

“Absolutely. If we don’t put some goals in place and some time frames, it can go on too long,” she said Wednesday morning.

At the signing ceremony last month in Grassy, Cansfield hoped to find some answers to the deadlock in three to six months. Other parties at the table weren’t as definite.

From his point of view, retired Supreme Court Justice Frank Iacobucci spoke of setting terms of reference for future negotiations. There are also some points being worked out on how consultations with First Nation leaders will work in conjunction with Treaty 3 Grand Council, in terms of implementing the Resource Law.

Kenora-Rainy River MPP Howard Hampton said he wasn’t surprised by the news, but he wasn’t convinced it would ease the situation.

“At the end of the day, this will complicate things more,” he said.

Hampton also noted the government had a window of opportunity to resolve the situation when they first came to power, but the NDP leader said there wasn’t the political will in the government to push for a settlement.

On the other hand, Kenora MP Roger Valley described it as a step forward.

“This is good news. It allows flexibility for Kenora Forest Products,” he said, referring to expansion plans for the sawmill.

Ownership of Kenora Forest Products repeated their interest in wood rights for the Whiskey Jack Forest Wednesday.

“We are looking forward to participating in developing with the local community, a cooperative sustainable forestry license, which will include business interests as well as aboriginal and non-aboriginal communities.

Kenora Forest Products CEO Ailbe Prendiville described it as “a new fresh approach on sustainable management of the forests”.

The owners of the local sawmill noted they remained committed to their plans for a $32 million expansion of the facility, once market conditions improve.

“We have a current secured wood supply, and we are confident our future requirements will be met,” Prendiville said in a prepared statement. “We are planning our expansion, once we are through these extremely poor lumber markets.”

Weyerhaeuser spokesman Lawrence Pillon commented on behalf of management at the company’s Kenora iLevel plant.

“We intend to raise the issue with the province and with Mr. Justice Iacobucci’s team to ensure they understand the importance of having harvesting arrangements in place to provide wood to the only operating forest manufacturing facility in Kenora,” he said through a prepared statement.

“Our state of the art, value-added TimberStrand facility is the single largest investment in the Ontario forest industry $300 million over the past 10 years,” he added.

Pillon noted 25 per cent of its workforce is from the aboriginal community. The operation directly and indirectly employs over 1,000 people in the region with an overall economic impact exceeding $60 million per year, he stated.

Pillon emphasized they intended to continue operating, as they reviewed the situation.

Jim Ambs of Ambs Forest Products wasn’t in a good mood Wednesday.

He’d just told his crew of about 20 they’d been laid off. As of Tuesday, their services were no longer needed.

“It’s a sad situation,” he said, during a brief interview.

Ambs said he was one of three main contractors operating in the Whiskey Jack Forest. Between them, they employed 80 to 100 people.

Without the permission from Abitibi and the province, they couldn’t cut wood, he said.

“It’s a serious blow,” he said, emphasizing there was no transition period for him or his staff.

He also wondered aloud about the options for iLevel, who used hardwood from the forest supplied by Abitibi, as well as Kenora Forest Products, who plans to re-open and expand when markets improved.

Rainforest Action Network spokesman David Sone sent a prepared message following the announcement.

“Grassy Narrows has scored a major step forward for Indigenous rights. We’re calling on all companies to follow suit and respect the rights of Indigenous peoples to give or withhold consent to industrial projects on their traditional territories,” he said.

A representative from Greenpeace, Richard Brooks, described the news as a victory for the community.
“I think we’re seeing the first fruits of their labour,” he said Tuesday, noting the community’s five-year blockade against logging.

Still, Brooks said they would continue to lobby for meaningful consultations with First Nations, which would include prior and informed consent by aboriginal communities, before decisions on development are made.

American office supply company OfficeMax has been under pressure from environmentalists, because they’re using products made from materials from the Whiskey Jack Forest. Weyerhaeuser building projects and homes have also been the focus of protests, including members of the First Nation.
However, this may also be an opportunity for Grand Council Treaty 3, who is looking for an opportunity to rebuild their economy by introducing its Resource Law.

City council has also been supportive of the grand council, because the Great Earth Law, as it’s also called, could be a mechanism for resolving disputes over resource development. This could mean both local jobs and benefits relating to resource development in both forestry and mining.

Aside from the $32 million Kenora Forest Products project, which could create 50 staff positions at the sawmill and another 200 in the woodlands, there’s also the Kenbridge mining proposal near Sioux Narrows, which could create 150 jobs within two years.