Chiefs of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak gathered in Thompson on Jan. 13 to discuss, for the second time, the sustainable development of the boreal forest, and the Declaration of Common Values for the Development of the North as presented by Pew Charitable Trusts International Boreal Conservation Campaign (IBCC).
Representing the boreal campaign was Mathew Jacobson, officer with IBCC, introduced by former Thompson mayor Tim Johnston, general manager with Community Futures North Central Development.
“We have the largest intact forest largely because it has been technologically and economically unfeasible to have widespread development in the north,” said Jacobson. “But that’s changing. What we’ve found is that consistently, people who live in the north would like to see development, they would like to see economic benefits to their community, but there’s also a concern that that development does not happen at the expense of the environment. Right now, there’s a huge area that many people are looking at because of its opportunities for development, and there’s an opportunity to plan ahead, and plan intelligently.”
The first step to achieving this plan, he says, is the Declaration of Common Values for Sustainable Development of the Boreal in Northern Manitoba. The document was initiated after Johnston and Jacobson attended the first boreal stakeholder meeting in Opaskwayak Cree Nation, and developed through the common values expressed during the conference and through consultation with industry, First Nations and municipalities.
“The values that came up again and again,” said Jacobson, “were an interest in long-term prosperity, co-operation between First Nations and non-First Nations, industry and conservation, that the community benefited from the development that respected the rights of indigenous people, legal or ancestral, and to create a situation that was financially attractive for investors.”
As the Manitoba election draws closer, each provincial party is entering with a northern development plan. While not a definitive agreement, Jacobson hopes to gather enough signatories to press parties into incorporating the agreement’s values into their own plans, and allow northerners the opportunity to fairly select the party which best represents their interests. Jacobson cites previous success in Quebec, where the IBCC, northern municipalities, industrial developers, and indigenous communities pushed the provincial government to revive Quebec’s Plan Nord in the fall of last year, with renewed commitment to benefit both indigenous and non-indigenous northern communities, and to preserve the “ecological integrity” of the boreal forest, protecting a minimum of 50 per cent of the province’s forest from industrial development.
Chief Arlen Dumas of Mathias Colomb First Nation hoped to get something more concrete from the existing government in power. “I look forward to the opportunities, and thank everyone who was involved in making this a stepping stone in moving forward. But what I would like to recommend to all the participants here is that I would like to see something tangible by Monday from the government, before there is a blackout for the next several months.” Dumas expressed concern that promises made during an election campaign are often exaggerated, and too easily brushed off once the election is over. Without a binding commitment, the document risks carrying too little weight.
But Jacobson was confident in the approach, noting that any policy endorsed exclusively by the existing NDP government will become political fodder for the Liberal and Progressive Conservative parties. Jacobson hopes to grant parties the opportunity to compete over the interests of northern communities, rather than against them.
For others, the agreement missed the mark entirely. Jacobson’s presentation was a lengthy and thorough attempt at convincing leaders that he and his supporters understood the needs and desires of northerners as the document was drafted. First Nations representatives who participated in the drafting committee included Chief Marcel Moody from Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation and a delegation from the Manitoba Métis Federation. Nonetheless, the document remains firmly couched in Western political discourse, and for a region with such strong indigenous presence, the mentions of indigenous rights and principles do not have much more impact than the token promises already made over the last few decades. The document’s tone left more traditional listeners wary and skeptical, such as elder Darcy Linklater.
“I believe it’s an agreement between environmentalists and industry, and I believe it says there to protect 50 per cent of the boreal forest, which is contrary to our ancestors beliefs, to always protect 100 per cent of the forest,” he said. “There’s also mention of the seven generations’ principles; this is also contrary to those principles. We’re here to talk, ‘election, election, election,’ to respect these foreign governments with their foreign ways, which are contrary to our beliefs, values, and protocols. They haven’t changed their ways, they haven’t changed their behaviours or attitudes towards us. I don’t see anything in these values about the equal treatment of traditional knowledge with western knowledge and science. I’m not sure how many traditional elders were consulted while drafting this plan, but as a traditional man, I would like to see something.”
Chief Nelson Genaille of Sapotaweyak Cree Nation echoed Linklater’s sentiments, and added that any decision would have to be presented to the people he represents. “You don’t ask me,” he said, “you ask my people. Whatever this table does, I’ll respect it, because this is your territory, but where I come from, I will have to reflect back and ask my people what they think of it. But what you’re trying to do right now is change the treaty rights.”
Jacobson acknowledged the concern, and noted that his working group fought hard to remove the 50 per cent mark from the Northern Manitoban agreement altogether. “My organization asked, ‘How are we going to be sure the ecosystem will be protected, if we don’t have this scientifically set target?’ I said, ‘It doesn’t matter. We can’t do it that way. We have to trust that these people know better than us what’s best for the land. They’ve been doing it for 8,000 years.’” In a gesture of deference, he mentions, Tolko Industries would not be signatory to the document until a sizeable portion of First Nations were represented under the agreement, despite being represented on the drafting committee. Jacobson also assures that the document in no way infringes on either First Nations rights to utilize traditional knowledge, nor treaty rights as they currently exist.
Neither chiefs nor participants seemed to leave the conference with any sense of certainty surrounding the agreement. Yet principles aside, a unified voice for the north would undeniably be a useful tool in ensuring northern interests are represented among Manitoba’s overwhelmingly southern prairie demographic.
