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Provinces Dodge Forest Commitments To Aboriginal Peoples - Aboriginal Association Disappointed By Canadian Ministers' Decision On Forest Management

OTTAWA, October 1, 2002 - Canada cannot waiver on its commitments and obligations to Aboriginal people and must ensure that national frameworks are consistent with international promises and with respect to Aboriginal rights. This is the essence of a letter sent to Herb Dahliwahl, Minister of Natural Resources Canada by Harry Bombay, Executive Director of the National Aboriginal Forestry Association.

Provincial and territorial forest ministers have chosen not to address one fundamental element of sustainable forest management in Canada. At a meeting of the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers (CCFM) last week in Halifax, forest ministers approved the CCFM Criteria and Indicators (C&I) framework and decided not to include an Aboriginal Peoples' criterion.

The CCFM is composed of the thirteen federal, provincial and territorial forest ministers. The CCFM C&I framework is intended to define, and to establish benchmarks for monitoring progress in achieving sustainable forest management.

In effect, the C&I framework will serve as a national guide for policy development in the forest sector and will be the basis for data collection and reporting both within Canada and internationally.

At a more practical level, the C&I framework will influence forest practices and the establishment of priorities in forest management planning. Furthermore, forest product market access issues will be implicated through the Canadian Standards Association's forest management and forest products certification systems, which have adopted the CCFM C&I as the test for sustainability.

In a document presented to the CCFM beforehand, the National Aboriginal Forestry Association (NAFA) with the support of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) had rationalized the need for an Aboriginal criterion based on Canada's international commitments and the recognition given to Aboriginal and Treaty rights in recent Supreme Court decisions.

NAFA pointed out commitments such as that made in the International Forest Principles which state that, "national forest policies should recognize and duly support the identity, culture and the rights of Indigenous people."

At the recent World Summit on Sustainable Development, the Johannesburg Declaration reaffirmed "the vital role of Indigenous peoples in sustainable development." "Considering that Canada has 10% of the world's forests and that 80% of all First Nation communities in Canada are located in forested areas the declaration is particularly relevant in the Canadian context and with respect to sustainable development in the forest sector," said Bombay.

NAFA's rationale was also based on the results of court decisions in Canada which have consistently made it clear that Aboriginal and Treaty rights are part of the legal regime that defines the rule of law in Canada. In cases such as Haida, Halfway River, Delgamuukw, and others Aboriginal and Treaty rights have been inextricably linked with natural resources and forest policy. Non-recognition of Aboriginal and Treaty rights has been the source of conflict and acts of civil disobedience across the country. Aboriginal and Treaty rights are recognized in Canada's constitution.

According to Bombay, "forest policy in Canada has to be leading edge in terms of giving substance to these rights and for providing opportunities to Aboriginal communities now in dire need of a meaningful role in sustainable economic development."