And now:[EMAIL PROTECTED] (S.I.S.I.S.) writes: NATIVES OPPOSE PLANS FOR NORTHERN ONTARIO The Globe and Mail, March 30, 1999 by Richard Mackie [S.I.S.I.S. note: The following mainstream news article may contain biased or distorted information and may be missing pertinent facts and/or context. It is provided for reference only.] Toronto -- Leaders of native bands in Ontario are rallying to fight the allocation of land in Northern Ontario for forest companies, mining interests and for protection as parks. The allocation of land, announced yesterday under the Lands for Life process, leaves the 30,000 members of native communities in the region "totally frozen out," said Michael Sherry, counsel to the Chiefs of Ontario. Chief Charles Fox of the Nishnawbe-Aski Nation has called an emergency meeting of Ontario chiefs and regional leaders to be held in Thunder Bay on Thursday to discuss how the native bands can fight the proposal. Already the Nishnawbe-Aski Nation has an application in the Ontario Court, General Division, to declare the allocation of the lands in Northern Ontario illegal because the government failed to consult with the bands, which have treaty rights in the North. The opposition from the native communities contrasted with the positive reception the agreement announced yesterday received from those who had participated in drawing it up, including forest companies, mining interests and environmental groups. The agreement, which marks the biggest expansion of parks and protected areas in Ontario's history, gives the province 378 new parks and protected areas totalling 2.4 million hectares. It also assures forest companies of guaranteed wood supplies, aids prospectors, provides access to resources to mining companies and gives money to encourage more hunting and fishing The agreement was announced with great fanfare in Sudbury yesterday by Premier Mike Harris, who is being given much of the credit for forcing the diverse interests to overcome their antipathy and work out a deal. "The people of Ontario now own 9.5 million hectares of parks and protected land, equivalent to all of Southern Ontario south of Algonquin Park," Mr. Harris said. Agreement on the massive expansion of parks and protected lands in Northern Ontario was achieved in part through a government promise to spend $53-million to help forest companies, mining firms and prospectors. The forest companies will benefit from $21.5-million that will be used to cover the loss of existing forest roads and bridges, improve the quality and quantity of wood supply, and encourage the manufacturing of value-added wood products, Natural Resources Minister John Snobelen said. The government will spend $19-million to help mining companies, primarily through an intensive two-year geological survey. It is intended to "uncover specific locations for prospectors and exploration companies to focus their activities in their search for new mines," Northern Development Minister Chris Hodgson said. Prospectors will be assisted by the infusion of $4-million to the Ontario Prospectors Assistance Program. This program, which currently spends about $2-million to fund 200 prospectors, is designed to stimulate grassroots exploration and prospecting in Ontario. Anglers and hunters will benefit from $7-million that will be spent on improved fish and wildlife resource planning and to enhance access to hunting and fishing. The Lands for Life announcement received support from a broad spectrum of interests. Raymond Royer, president and chief executive officer of Domtar, praised the agreement for providing forest companies with certainty about the size of their future wood supplies. :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: SOVEREIGNTY IS THE ANSWER - CANADA IS THE PROBLEM : THE PIRACY CONTINUES Letters to the Globe and Mail - mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: S.I.S.I.S. Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty P.O. Box 8673, Victoria, "B.C." "Canada" V8X 3S2 EMAIL : <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> WWW: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/SISmain.html SOVERNET-L is a news-only listserv concerned with indigenous sovereigntist struggles around the world. To subscribe, send "subscribe sovernet-l" in the body of an email message to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For more information on sovernet-l, contact S.I.S.I.S. :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
