Canada: Rights ignored at Grassy Narrows
The people of the Grassy Narrows First Nation in northwestern Ontario know first hand the terrible consequences of having control over their traditional lands and territories taken from them.
In the 1950s, provincial hydroelectric dams flooded large areas of land. Wild rice beds central to their culture and way of life were wiped out.
In the 1970s, a pulp and paper mill in Dryden, Ontario contaminated the rivers with mercury. The result has been devastating long-term health problems.
Today, community members says the greatest threat to their survival and well-being comes from clear-cut logging operations licensed by the province of Ontario over the expressed opposition of the people of Grassy Narrows. Already about half their traditional territory has been logged to supply mills run by the transnational corporations Abitibi Consolidated and Weyerhaeuser. Current licenses will permit continued clear-cutting for more than 25 more years.
The Grassy Narrows First Nation is within an 1873 treaty that recognizes the right of the Anishnaabe peoples "to pursue their avocations of hunting and fishing throughout the tract."
The Supreme Court of Canada recently concluded that when the rights of Indigenous peoples are at stake, there is always, at minimum, a duty to consult "in good faith and with the intention of substantially addressing the concerns of the aboriginal peoples whose lands are at issue."
Despite these legal obligations, the provincial government has done little to protect the rights of the people of Grassy Narrows. The obligation to consult with the community has been left in the hands of the logging companies and large-scale logging continues unabated.
In 2002, community members at Grassy Narrows launched one of the longest-running blockades in Canadian history to stop logging in the area. In January, 2007, the community called for a moratorium on further logging or granting of licenses in the area.
So far, the province hasn't listened.
I am deeply concerned about the devastating loss of traditional lands and territories already suffered by the people of Grassy Narrows.
After losing land and livelihood to flooding, mercury poisoning and clear-cut logging, the community has clearly and emphatically rejected further industrial development in their traditional territory. Yet, your government has continued to license new logging operations without addressing the concerns of the community.
I call upon you to respect the human rights of the people of Grassy Narrows. I urge you to suspend logging and other resource development until the community's consent has been given and its rights protected.