The First Nation Forestry Council, Nanaimo Forest Products (Harmac), Catalyst Paper, Paper Excellence Canada and Zellstoff Celgar Limited Parternship, are signatories to a memorandum of understanding, announced Tuesday, in which they have agreed to promote the growing role and influence of First Nations in the B.C. forest sector.
According to a press release from Marketwired, the memorandum - linked to the First Nation Forestry Council Compliance Management System that sets a new standard for sharing information - has an initial 12-month term with provision for extension. Signing commits the parties to work together to promote projects, policies and regulations that will benefit First Nations and the pulp and paper manufacturers. It also calls for the creation of a working group to identify areas of mutual concern.
The MOU encompasses First Nations and pulp and paper company concerns across B.C. while allowing flexibility to deal with specific issues in regions of the province the pulp and paper companies operate in.
“We all operate in different areas and all these mills of ours require fibre and so really the prime motivator for us is to work closely with First Nations, given that many of the settlements seem to involve granting of fibre rights to the First Nations,” said Cam Milne, fibre manager with Nanaimo Forest Products, in an interview with the News Bulletin Wednesday. “So our idea is to work cooperatively together and see if there’s opportunities to start businesses, to partner with First Nations to put people to work, put First Nation groups to work in a useful endevour.”
The FNFC is a non-profit society that supports all First Nations forestry activities. The council’s board of directors appointed by the First Nations Summit, the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, and the B.C. Assembly of First Nations. The council is guided and mandated by the B.C. First Nations Forestry & Land Stewardship Action Plan created in 2008, which identifies key areas of service, including policy development, research and education, relationships, support of aboriginal communities, recognition and new relationship, economic development and healthy ecosystems.
"The relationship between First Nations and the forest industry in British Columbia has been challenging as we seek recognition of our Aboriginal Title and Rights and Treaty rights in the region," Chief Bill Williams, FNFC council president, said in the press release. "This new direction is an effort to build stronger relationships and we are very grateful to see this industry leadership starting with an MOU and a commitment to our FNFC-Compliance Management System."