A Manitoba First Nation says the province has failed to consult them about logging licenses in Duck Mountain and is seeking an order to prevent a logging company from continuing to harvest from the provincial park until the matter is resolved.
Minegoziibe Anishinabe (formerly Pine Creek First Nation) is suing Manitoba and Louisiana Pacific-Canada Ltd., claiming that it has not been directly consulted on forest management rights for more than 15 years.
According to a notice of application filed Wednesday in a courtroom in Manitoba, PCFN says the province “failed to enforce critical conditions of Louisiana-Pacific forestry authorizations,” including logging in the area without a long-term forest management plan approved by the First Nation. .
“In December 2021, Manitoba issued a series of resolutions enabling Louisiana Pacific to carry out further timber harvesting in areas critical to PCFN rights and way of life. The decisions were made without any prior notice or consultation with PCFN, ”reads the lawsuit.
The group says it is a long-standing issue and its concerns are not heard.
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One of these concerns includes the sharp decline in moose populations in the area since 1995, which has prompted the province to ban moose hunting in the area since 2011.
It interferes with group members’ way of life, says the lawsuit and points to human development as a major reason why elk populations are declining.
Currently, Duck Mountain Provincial Park is the “only provincial park in Manitoba that authorizes commercial timber harvesting.”
Read the Application Notice here:
Minegoziibe Anishinabe is located 110 km north of Dauphin. Chief Derek Nepinak and council have filed the lawsuit on behalf of 4,000 Anishinaabeg members.
The first Forest Management Plan for the area was approved in 1996 according to court documents and would be reviewed after 10 years.
Instead, according to the lawsuit, Louisiana-Pacific has filed a plan for an additional 20 years, which has not been approved by the province.
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In 2012, however, the lieutenant governor authorized the Manitoba Conservation Minister to simply extend the term of the original contract, the lawsuit reads.
This has happened several more times, most recently at the end of 2021, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit calls for the court to destroy the extensions and not allow Louisiana-Pacific to continue reporting without consulting the First Nation directly.
In a statement, MP Building Solutions said he was “aware that Pine Creek First Nation is pursuing a legal challenge against the Government of Manitoba and MP Canada that respects forest management activities in the Duck Mountain Provincial Forest Area. Although we can not comment on the lawsuit” no, MPs remain committed to liaising with indigenous nations, including Pine Creek, regarding our sustainable forest management operations in Manitoba.
The case will only go before a judge on February 8, 2022.
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