Reproduced for your continued information is another chapter of the continuing Lubicon struggle. ************************************************************************ Lubicon Lake Indian Nation Little Buffalo Lake, AB 403-629-3945 FAX: 403-629-3939 Mailing address: 3536 - 106 Street Edmonton, AB T6J 1A4 403-436-5652 FAX: 403-437-0719 October 28, 1990 On February 8, 1988, the Alberta Provincial Government announced construction of a huge new greenfield bleached kraft pulp mill to be located about ten miles north of the northern Alberta town of Peace River. The town of Peace River is located about 65 miles west of the traditional Lubicon community of Little Buffalo Lake. Environmentalists say that a bleached kraft pulp mill is the worst kind of pulp mill from an environmental point of view. The new bleached kraft pulp mill was described by the Provincial Government as "the largest hardwood pulp mill in Canada". When completed in the fall of 1990, Provincial officials said, it would employ 600 people -- 300 to harvest the trees and another 300 to turn those trees into pulp. It would "produce" 1,000 metric tons of pulp per day, 800 metric tons per day of which would be shipped to Japan without further local processing. It would consume trees at the rate of about 1,100 per day, over 4 million trees a year. The trees to supply this monstrous new pulp mill, it was soon learned, are to come from an enormous 29,000 square kilometre timber lease -- over 11,000 square miles -- which completely blankets the unceded 4,000 square mile traditional Lubicon territory. The Provincial Government announcement said that the new bleached kraft pulp mill was to be built by a "giant" Japanese forestry company named Daishowa. It said that the estimated cost of building the new pulp mill was 500 million dollars -- including 65.2 million dollars from the Alberta Provincial Government and another 9.5 million from the Canadian Federal Government. (Final cost of the new has been quoted at 550 million dollars, plus 20 million from the Federal Government for unspecified purposes and a planned 1.3 billion from the Provincial Government for related support infrastructure.) Provincial Forestry Minister LeRoy Fjordbotten said that the multi-million dollar Provincial Government "contribution" to the new mill would be used to build rail and road access and other infrastructure "necessary...to proceed in this relatively remote location". "Lack of such access", Mr. Fjordbotten said, "has long been an impediment to development of the forest industry in Northern Alberta". (Lack of such access is also the primary reason that the Lubicon society has survived for as long as it has, and increased access for the purpose of additional resource exploitation -- especially without benefit of a negotiated settlement to protect Lubicon land rights and enable rebuilding of the shattered Lubicon economy -- consequently poses a still greater threat to the continued existence of the already embattled Lubicon society.) The 9.5 million Federal Government "contribution" to the new mill was provided by then Federal Indian Affairs Minister Bill McKnight -- in his capacity as Minister responsible for the so-called Western Diversification Fund. The Western Diversification Fund is a billion dollar political slush fund established by the current Federal Government to try and shore up its faltering political fortunes in western Canada. As Federal Indian Affairs Minister, Mr. McKnight was of course also supposedly responsible for ensuring that the constitutionally recognized rights of aboriginal people in Canada are respected. Mr. McKnight said that the purpose of the Federal Government "contribution" to construction of the new mill was to demonstrate "how two governments can work together with the private sector to make a significant contribution towards the development and diversification of the Alberta economy". It also demonstrated how the two levels of Canadian Government work together with powerful international corporations to steal aboriginal resources and destroy aboriginal societies. In the resulting brouhaha over Federal and Provincial Government involvement in massive sale of Lubicon trees to a Japanese forestry company, Mr. Fjordbotten admitted that the Lubicon people weren't consulted or even informed about construction of the new mill. However, he said, the Lubicon people could have attended public hearings held by Daishowa in the Peace River area. (In fact the Lubicon people did hear that a new pulp mill was going to be built just to the west of their traditional area and therefore asked Provincial officials for information about the source of the trees to supply the proposed new mill. They were told by Provincial officials that no decision had yet been made about timber leases but that the Lubicon people need have no cause for concern since there are lots of trees on the west side of the Peace River -- outside of the traditional Lubicon territory. In any case, Provincial officials promised, the Lubicon people would be informed just as soon as any decisions about the timber leases for the proposed new pulp mill had been made. The Lubicon people were of course not informed about the Daishowa timber leases and didn't learn that the Alberta Provincial Government had sold the trees from their entire traditional territory to a Japanese forestry company until they read about it in the newspaper -- the day AFTER construction of the new Japanese pulp mill had been announced.) Mr. Fjordbotten defended the sale of trees from unceded Lubicon lands to a Japanese forestry company, without involving or consulting or informing the Lubicon people, by claiming that the Lubicon people were asserting unextinguished aboriginal land rights over 10% of the Province and that "holding up the creation of jobs because they are claiming 10% of the Province is not reasonable." Aside from the obvious point that it's irrelevant whether or not Mr. Fjordbotten considers Lubicon ownership of Lubicon lands to be "reasonable", his claim that the Lubicon people are asserting land rights over 10% of the Province is fraudulent and he knew it. It came from a legal action filed on behalf of the Lubicon people in 1980 containing incorrect information -- incorrect information which had been formally corrected in an amended statement of claim filed with the courts 6 years earlier (in 1982). In fact the Lubicon people assert aboriginal lands rights over less than 2% of the Province, and normally it's through negotiation of such typically vast tracts of aboriginal land that non-aboriginal governments in Canada have developed claims to that land -- not through some cretin like Mr. Fjordbotten simply decreeing that aboriginal ownership of aboriginal lands will be ignored because it somehow isn't "reasonable". It's a good thing for Canada too that decrees of the Fjordbotten type aren't usually considered a legitimate basis for the taking and selling of other peoples lands and resources, since the relatively small Canadian population asserts jurisdiction over far more land and resources than many other countries with far bigger populations and much more power. For his part then Federal Indian Affairs Minister Bill McKnight denied that his efforts as Minister responsible for the Western Diversification Fund in any way conflicted with his responsibilities as Federal Indian Affairs Minister. He claimed to be protecting Lubicon land rights by asking the Provincial Government to exclude from the Daishowa timber lease a 25.4 square mile area of traditional Lubicon territory set aside by both levels of Canadian Government in 1939 as a partial reserve for the Lubicon people (but never actually made into a reserve), and he argued, incredibly, that the Lubicon people will benefit from the new mill by working for Daishowa as loggers and/or by selling to Daishowa the trees from that last little 25.4 square mile piece of their vast 4,000 square mile unceded traditional territory. During the next month public uproar over Federal and Provincial Government involvement in the sale of Lubicon trees to a Japanese forestry company continued to rage, including nation-wide demonstrations, critical editorials in newspapers across the country, charges that Mr. McKnight had contravened a Federal Cabinet Order requiring an environmental assessment before such Federal Government "contributions" are made, charges that Mr. McKnight was guilty of conflict of interest, demands that Mr. McKnight resign or be fired as Federal Indian Affairs Minister, threats of legal action to stop construction of the new mill and political cartoons depicting the Japanese owners of Daishowa in a stereotypically negative way. Mr. McKnight responded to the deluge of critical reaction in a letter to the editor of the Toronto Globe and Mail denying that he knew Provincial officials "would award cutting rights in the disputed area" when he made the 9.5 million dollar "contribution". Officials of Daishowa reacted by quietly letting reporters know that they were expressing their "concerns" over the continuing public furore to the Alberta Provincial Government. And Provincial Forestry Minister Fjordbotten was reduced to "insisting" to reporters that Daishowa was not threatening to pull out of the project over the negative publicity. On February 25th an aboriginal organization called United Native Nations announced that it was organizing a major demonstration for March 7th in front of Daishowa's head office in Vancouver, British Columbia. A spokesman for United Native Nations said that Lubicon Chief Bernard Ominayak would be attending the demonstration and that representatives of aboriginal nations from across British Columbia would be participating. Provincial Forestry Minister Fjordbotten confirmed to reporters that officials of Daishowa were upset over the proposed March 7th demonstration. He said "They don't like it". He said "I don't like it". He called the planned demonstration "ridiculous and unnecessary". He said "I would hope that the Federal Government, with the Alberta Government, could sit down and come to a resolution instead of having a bunch of demonstrations". On March 1st Chief Ominayak received a phone call from Premier Getty's office asking for a meeting. It was the first time the Chief had heard from the Premier. A meeting was agreed for March 4th. The following day, March 2nd, Chief Ominayak received a phone call from Daishowa Senior Vice President and General Manager Koichi Kitigawa. Mr. Kitigawa also asked for a meeting with the Chief -- "in Peace River, Little Buffalo or any place else". A meeting was agreed for March 7th at the Daishowa head office in Vancouver when the Chief was in Vancouver for the planned demonstration. (Mr. Kitigawa said a meeting at the Daishowa head office in Vancouver would be fine but that he hoped the Chief wouldn't bring 300 or 400 people, because, Mr. Kitigawa said, "we don't have the room".) Mr. Kitigawa told the Chief that Daishowa had earlier asked Provincial officials about meeting with the Lubicons but had been told not to worry about meeting with the Lubicons -- that Lubicon land rights were being negotiated and that any effort by Daishowa to deal directly with the Lubicons "would only interfere with negotiations". Mr. Kitigawa told the Chief that "Daishowa doesn't want to cause anybody any harm and all of the publicity is making us look bad". He said "As Japanese people Daishowa understands discrimination and are (therefore) very concerned about our image". He told the Chief that "Japanese Canadians are still seeking compensation for property expropriated without compensation at the start of World War II". He told the Chief that "The Band's 25.4 square mile reserve area is not included in our timber lease". Chief Ominayak informed Mr. Kitigawa that the 25.4 square mile area was only a small piece of unceded Lubicon lands set aside as a partial reserve in 1939 but never actually made into a reserve. Unless and or until there was a full and final settlement of unceded Lubicon lands, Chief Ominayak said, the Lubicon people retain aboriginal title to some 4,000 square miles of traditional Lubicon land comprising nearly half of the timber lease improperly granted to Daishowa by the Alberta Provincial Government. Mr. Kitigawa told the Chief that he understood "the extent of Lubicon land rights now but didn't before". Later that same day, March 2nd, Chief Ominayak received his first phone call directly from Premier Getty. Premier Getty told the Chief that the Federal and Provincial Governments were close to agreeing on an interim settlement offer and that he wanted to inform the Chief of developments so that the Chief wouldn't be "caught off-guard". The Premier said that he wanted "to turn this thing around" but wouldn't agree to anything which the Lubicon people didn't think was "fair". He said that he was looking forward to the meeting with the Chief on March 4th to hear personally from the Chief what the Lubicon people wanted and considered "fair". Chief Ominayak told Premier Getty that the Lubicon people would consider any serious interim settlement offer but would want to ensure that any interim settlement agreement was part of a formal agreement to negotiate WITH THE LUBICON PEOPLE a full and final settlement of Lubicon land rights. (The Chief's concern over involvement of the Lubicon people was the result of Federal negotiator Brian Malone announcing that he intended to negotiate a settlement of Lubicon land rights with the Provincial Government without involving the Lubicon people.) On March 3rd then Federal Indian Affairs Minister Bill McKnight and then Alberta Provincial Attorney General Jim Horsman issued a joint press statement announcing that they'd reached agreement on transferring 25.4 square miles of unceded Lubicon land from Provincial to Federal Government jurisdiction for purposes of creating a Lubicon reserve. The statement said "this transfer of land would be without prejudice to the positions of the parties...and would not affect the right of the Band to seek additional lands through negotiation or court action". It said "As soon as the transfer is completed, Canada will set aside the land as a reserve...(and) ...Band members will begin building a community and identifying economic development opportunities". It said "Both Governments are pleased that a significant step has been taken as a result of negotiations to-date and are committed to continuing this process". The negotiating process to which the press release referred of course didn't involve the Lubicon people. Acceptance of the 25.4 square miles under such circumstances wouldn't be "without prejudice" at all, since it would effectively constitute Lubicon acceptance of a process for determining Lubicon land and membership rights in which the Lubicon people weren't involved. Regarding the possibility of seeking "additional" reserve land through negotiations or the courts, officials of both levels of Canadian Government reiterated that they intended to continue resisting application of the criteria employed historically to calculate the size of reserve lands. Refusal to use the same criteria with the Lubicon people as had been used historically with other aboriginal societies was of course the primary way that Canadian Government officials had for years been blocking any hope of negotiating or litigating equitable reserve lands for the Lubicon people. Lastly the statement that the Lubicon people "will begin building a community" on the 25.4 square miles presumed that the Lubicon people would accept a number of things which they'd repeatedly said they'd never accept, including Federal and Provincial Government determination of Lubicon land and membership rights, less than a third of the reserve land retained by similar aboriginal societies in northern Alberta and construction of a community for less than half of their people --effectively splitting the Lubicon society and literally tearing Lubicon families apart. Immediately after release of the joint press statement Mr. Horsman told reporters that Premier Getty would be "offering" the 25.4 square mile area of Lubicon land to Chief Ominayak during the meeting scheduled for the following day. Shortly thereafter, in an obviously staged performance in the House of Commons complete with planted question and orchestrated applause from Government members, Mr. McKnight dramatically announced that "negotiations (between the Lubicon people and the Federal Government) will begin soon on housing, a hospital and other services..." During their meeting on March 4th Premier Getty asked Chief Ominayak if transferring the 25.4 square miles would be "helpful". The Premier said that he was prepared to transfer the 25.4 square miles if doing so would be "helpful". Chief Ominayak told Premier Getty that any interim transfer would have to be discussed in the context of negotiations between the Federal Government and the Lubicon people, negotiations sincerely intended to achieve a full and equitable settlement of Lubicon land rights, negotiations reinvolving the Hon. E. Davie Fulton as an independent mediator charged with trying to keep those negotiations honest and on track. If Premier Getty really wanted to be helpful, the Chief said, he should encourage the Federal Government to enter into such negotiations with Mr. Fulton as an independent mediator responsible to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs. (An ex- Federal Justice Minister and candidate for Prime Minister in a previous Conservative administration, Mr. Fulton had earlier been engaged by the Federal Government to conduct an independent inquiry into the Lubicon situation. As part of that independent inquiry Mr. Fulton had prepared a discussion paper on the issues which by mutual agreement was to serve as the starting point for negotiations between the Federal Government and the Lubicon people. Federal Government officials were claiming to be using the Fulton Discussion paper as the starting point for negotiations but in fact were not, causing negotiations between the Federal Government and the Lubicon people to break-down over the key issue of membership. The Lubicon people consequently called for public release of the Fulton Discussion Paper and reinvolvement of Mr. Fulton as an independent mediator responsible to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs, an approach supported both by Mr. Fulton and the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs. Federal Government officials rejected public release of the Fulton Discussion Paper and reinvolvement of Mr. Fulton, however, choosing instead to try and negotiate a settlement of Lubicon land rights with the Provincial Government which the two levels of Canadian Government would then seek to impose upon the Lubicon people. It was these so-called negotiations of Lubicon land rights between Federal and Provincial officials -- without any Lubicon involvement whatsoever --which had produced the proposal to transfer the 25.4 square miles being discussed by the Premier and the Chief.) Premier Getty said that he was prepared to encourage the Federal Government to negotiate directly with the Lubicon people but that he couldn't "sell" Mr. Fulton as an independent mediator responsible to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs. He therefore made a counter proposal to the Chief. Premier Getty proposed that an independent tribunal be established to resolve any issues which couldn't be resolved through negotiations between the Federal Government and the Lubicon people. The tribunal would consist of Mr. Fulton, someone appointed by the Federal Government and a third person selected by Mr. Fulton and the Federal Government appointee. Decisions of the tribunal, Premier Getty proposed, would be binding and final. Chief Ominayak told Premier Getty that he considered the Premier's tribunal proposal to be a serious alternative to the Lubicon proposal of reinvolving Mr. Fulton. He agreed to recommend the Premier's proposal to the Lubicon people, who accepted it at a community meeting held the next day. (Federal officials immediately rejected the Getty tribunal as well, however, announcing first that they would instead ask the courts to impose a Federally determined settlement on the Lubicon people, and, when placing the issue before the courts failed to quiet the continuing political debate taking place during the then on-going Federal election campaign, Mr. McKnight wrote the Chief proposing suspension of the Federal Government's legal action and establishment of a "forum for addressing the Band's grievances" -- including the appointment of "one mutually agreed mediator". The Lubicon people agreed to the Federal mediation proposal; however, Federal officials then used Lubicon agreement to select "one mutually agreed mediator" to effectively buy time and block proposed mediation by systematically rejecting the names of suggested mediators, including even those which Federal officials had themselves originally put forward.) During the meeting with Daishowa officials in Vancouver on March 7th Mr. Kitigawa said that he'd heard about the meeting of the Chief and the Premier on March 4th and was glad that negotiations were now under way. Chief Ominayak advised Mr. Kitigawa that the Getty meeting had been a positive step but that there were as yet no negotiations. He said that his discussions with the Premier had rather been about a mutually agreeable negotiating process. Daishowa representative Henry Wakabayashi said "We went into the Peace River project in good faith". He said "We know about pulp mills, not about land claims". He said "We got caught in the middle". He said "We don't want to get involved in land claim negotiations". Chief Ominayak said that the situation was simple. He said "The Lubicon people own the land and will continue to own the land until at least the question of our land rights has been settled". If Daishowa didn't want to become involved in the land dispute, the Chief said, it should stay out of the traditional Lubicon territory until the question of Lubicon land rights had been settled. Mr. Kitigawa pointed out that there was already a lot of development activity in the traditional Lubicon area. Chief Ominayak acknowledged that there was already a lot of development activity in the traditional Lubicon area. He said that this development activity had taken place without Lubicon consent and over Lubicon protest while the Lubicon people were trying to protect Lubicon land rights through normal Canadian legal and political institutions. He said that great and irreversible damage had been done to the traditional Lubicon economy and way of life while the Lubicon people were patiently trying to protect their traditional lands and way of life through normal Canadian legal and political institutions. He said that the Lubicon people could simply no longer afford to allow further development activity until the question of Lubicon land rights had been settled. If Daishowa really wanted to remain neutral, Chief Ominayak repeated, Daishowa should stay out of the Lubicon area until the question of land rights had been settled. If Daishowa tried to proceed prior to settlement of the land rights question, the Chief said, Daishowa would by definition be aligning itself with Provincial Government claims to unceded Lubicon lands and would be dealt with accordingly. Mr. Wakabayashi asked about the boundaries of the traditional Lubicon territory. Chief Ominayak said that he'd provide maps outlining the traditional Lubicon territory more precisely but that generally the traditional Lubicon territory was bounded by the Peace River on the west, the Wabasca River on the east, Whitefish Lake on the south and the northern slopes of the Buffalo Head Hills on the north. Mr. Wakabayashi pointed out that the proposed pulp mill itself was not located in the traditional Lubicon territory. Chief Ominayak acknowledged that the proposed pulp mill wasn't located in the traditional Lubicon area. If Daishowa was only proposing to harvest trees to support that mill from outside of the traditional Lubicon territory, the Chief said, there would be no problem. The problem would only arise, the Chief said, if Daishowa tried to harvest trees in the traditional Lubicon territory prior to settlement of Lubicon land rights and negotiation of an agreement with the Lubicon people regarding Lubicon environmental concerns. Mr. Wakabayashi said that the plant wasn't scheduled for completion until the fall of 1990. He said that there weren't any plans to cut trees in the traditional Lubicon area until the fall of 1989. He said he hoped that the question of land title could be resolved before Daishowa wanted to cut trees in the Lubicon territory. Chief Ominayak said he also hoped that the question of Lubicon land rights would be settled before the fall of 1989. However, the Chief said, he would still like an indication of Daishowa's attitude should the question of land rights not be resolved before Daishowa wanted to cut trees in the Lubicon area. Mr. Wakabayashi agreed that it might be "naive" to think that the question of land rights would be settled before Daishowa wanted to cut trees in the traditional Lubicon territory. He asked about specific Lubicon concerns with regard to the cutting of trees in the traditional Lubicon territory. Chief Ominayak said that the traditional Lubicon economy was hunting and trapping. He said that countless generations of Lubicon people had cared for the land and the animals so that the land and animals would be able to support future generations. He said that development activity undertaken in the traditional Lubicon territory without the consent and over the protest of the Lubicon people had already done great damage to the land and animals, literally threatening the very existence of the Lubicon people as a separate and distinct society. He said that any further development activity would have to be done in such a way so as to not do any further damage to the land and animals. Mr. Kitigawa said Daishowa wouldn't be clear-cutting trees on the first pass and that trees taken on a second pass would have to be at least three metres high. He said that cutting may scare away some animals but that there were studies to show that the cutting of trees also improves animal habitat. He said that Daishowa's agreement with the Provincial Government requires consultation with people in the area, which he said Daishowa was prepared to do. He said "We won't encroach on reserve lands without first negotiating an agreement with the Lubicon people". Chief Ominayak said that the Lubicon people had learned to their dismay that it was possible to buy a study to say just about anything you wanted it to say. However, the Chief said, actual Lubicon on-the-ground experience made it painfully clear that the kind of development activity which had been undertaken so far in the traditional Lubicon territory had destroyed rather than improved the environment. Mr. Wakabayashi asked Chief Ominayak if the Chief was saying that no development activity would be allowed in the traditional Lubicon territory at all. Chief Ominayak repeated that the Lubicon people would not allow any development activity prior to settlement of Lubicon land rights but would be prepared to try and work out some kind of mutually acceptable agreement with Daishowa post-settlement. Mr. Wakabayashi said "We need to start planning". "If the Lubicon people don't want any development in the area at all", he said, "then Daishowa shouldn't pursue the area at all". "Or", he asked, "are the Lubicon people prepared to negotiate a compromise?" Chief Ominayak repeated that the Lubicon people would be prepared to talk once the question of land rights had been settled. Mr. Kitigawa said "We're prepared to observe all applicable (Provincial) Government regulations", which he claimed are "some of the toughest in North America". Chief Ominayak dismissed Provincial Government environmental regulations as inadequate at best and usually not enforced. He said "We're the legitimate owners of the land and we intend to have our environmental concerns respected whatever the (Provincial) Government may or may not do". Haida Council President Miles Richardson, attending the meeting at the invitation of Chief Ominayak, told Mr. Kitigawa that the problem would not have reached this point if some respect had been shown in the past for the rights and concerns of aboriginal people. He said that Daishowa was now facing the result of hundreds of years of ignoring the rights and concerns of aboriginal people. Regardless of whatever Canadian Federal and Provincial Governments say, Mr. Richardson told Daishowa representatives, "the Lubicon people have decided to protect their homeland". "The Lubicons are not saying stay out forever", Mr. Richardson said, "but they are saying that there'll be no more development activity without the involvement and consent of the Lubicon people". Mr. Wakabayashi said "Daishowa is concerned whether the Lubicons will ever under any circumstances allow development". Mr. Richardson said "Chief Ominayak has made clear that the Lubicons are not prepared to accept a compromise worked out in the context of Canadian Government regulations". He asked if Daishowa was prepared to deal directly with the Lubicon people. Mr. Kitigawa said that Daishowa had already indicated that it was prepared to deal independently with the Lubicon people by asking for the meeting with Chief Ominayak. Mr. Wakabayashi said "Daishowa wants to work out a mutually acceptable arrangement directly with the Lubicon people". United Native Nations President Ron George, also attending the meeting at the invitation of Chief Ominayak, noted that aboriginal people asserted aboriginal land rights over 40% of Canada. He asked if Daishowa was prepared to recognize and accept the existence of aboriginal land rights in Canada. Mr. Wakabayashi "I can assure you that we are concerned that the question of Lubicon land rights is settled". He said "We are and will push (Canadian) Government to settle". Regarding environmental concerns, Mr. Wakabayashi said, "With aspen we can realistically talk about a renewable resource". He said "Aspen takes only 70 or 80 years to grow back". He said "We can really talk about thinning". Chief Ominayak returned to the question put by Ron George. He asked if Daishowa would at least make a commitment to check the possible existence of continuing aboriginal title before proceeding with new projects. Mr. Wakabayashi said "We can promise we'll be a lot smarter in the future". Mr. Kitigawa said "We're prepared to talk to the Lubicon people before trying to do any cutting in the traditional Lubicon area". "If you're reasonable and we're reasonable", he said, "then we should be able to work out a compromise". Chief Ominayak agreed. He said "Once our land rights are settled, I'm sure that we'll be able to work something out". Mr. Kitigawa asked about the Chief's meeting with Premier Getty the preceding Friday. Chief Ominayak said that the talks with the Premier concerned establishing an appropriate negotiating process. He said that the Lubicon people were not prepared to consider an interim settlement except in the context of negotiations between the Federal Government and the Lubicon people intended to achieve a full and final settlement of Lubicon land rights. Mr. Kitigawa said that on-reserve timber would of course belong to the Lubicon people but that Daishowa would be interested in buying it. "Regarding the larger (traditional) area", Mr. Wakabayashi said, "we don't know very much but we're willing to learn". Miles Richardson said "You should send a message to (Canadian) Government to settle Lubicon land rights". Mr. Wakabayashi said "We've done this". He said "We went to the (Provincial) Forestry Minister and told him to settle". Mr. Wakabayashi said "We're peaceful people and we don't want any trouble". He said "We're prepared to come and talk whenever the Lubicon people are ready". Chief Ominayak concluded the meeting by saying "We're peaceful people too but we're committed to defending our vital interests". "We'll welcome you to our community to talk", the Chief said, "once our aboriginal land rights have been settled". On March 9th Lubicon Advisor Fred Lennarson phoned Mr. Kitigawa to inform Daishowa about possible legal action against Mr. McKnight. Mr. Kitigawa was out of the office but Mr. Lennarson spoke to Tom Hamaoka, another Daishowa Vice President whom Mr. Lennarson had met at the March 7th Vancouver meeting. Based on the March 7th meeting, Mr. Lennarson told Mr. Hamaoka, the Lubicon people had now decided not to proceed with legal action against Daishowa. However, Mr. Lennarson said, the Lubicon people were still seriously considering legal action against Mr. McKnight over conflict of interest and breach of a Federal Cabinet Order requiring the conduct of a socio-economic assessment prior to committing Federal funds to such projects. While not pointed directly at Daishowa, Mr. Lennarson told Mr. Hamaoka, a legal action against Mr. McKnight might of course adversely affect transfer of the 9.5 million dollar Federal Government "contribution" to the Daishowa project. Chief Ominayak wanted Daishowa to know, Mr. Lennarson said, that an action against Mr. McKnight was not intended as an attack upon Daishowa but rather as an effort to get the question of Lubicon land rights settled as soon as possible, which, Mr. Lennarson said, was clearly in the best interests of everybody concerned. Mr. Hamaoka said that he assumed this latest Lubicon action meant that Daishowa should be lobbying the Federal Government as well as the Provincial Government to settle Lubicon land rights. Mr. Lennarson agreed that encouraging the Federal Government to meet its constitutional responsibilities would be a good idea since negotiation of aboriginal land rights in Canada is a matter of exclusive Federal Government jurisdiction under the Canadian Constitution. Mr. Hamaoka told Mr. Lennarson "The actions the Band has to take we can appreciate". On March 14th Mr. Lennarson sent Mr. Kitigawa the maps on the traditional Lubicon area which had been offered by Chief Ominayak during the March 7th Vancouver meeting. In addition to the maps Mr. Lennarson sent Mr. Kitigawa a copy of the Fulton Discussion Paper, calling Mr. Kitigawa's attention in particular to Mr. Fulton's section on wildlife management and environmental protection in the traditional Lubicon territory. On March 25th Mr. Kitigawa acknowledged receipt of the maps and copy of the Fulton Discussion Paper from Mr. Lennarson. Mr. Kitigawa's letter to Mr. Lennarson read, in part: "The wildlife management and environmental protection responsibilities will be spelled out in our Forest Management Agreement (with the Provincial Government), however, we will endeavour to cooperate and consult with the Lubicon people prior to the planning and harvesting of the timber resources." Mr. Lennarson referred Mr. Kitigawa's letter of March 25th to Chief Ominayak. Chief Ominayak responded to Mr. Kitigawa's March 25th letter on April 2nd as follows: "Fred Lennarson referred your March 25th letter to me. Apparently we failed to communicate adequately during our meeting on March 7th. "The wildlife management and environmental protection provisions included in your Forest Management Agreement with the Alberta Provincial Government are irrelevant. We never ceded our traditional area to the (Canadian) Federal Government in any legally or historically recognized way. The (Canadian) Federal Government didn't have the right to transfer our traditional area to the (Alberta) Provincial Government. Provincial Government jurisdiction simply doesn't apply and the terms and conditions of any business you might want to do in our traditional area will therefore have to be negotiated directly with us. "As we told you during our meeting on March 7th, we don't intend to allow logging in our traditional area at least until our aboriginal land rights are settled. Once our aboriginal land rights are settled, we're prepared to talk about acceptable terms and conditions regarding wildlife management and environmental protection, sale of timber from reserve land being cleared for agricultural purposes, economic development opportunities resulting from logging 7activities in our traditional area and other matters of possible mutual interest and/or concern. "Any effort to proceed with logging in our traditional area prior to settlement of our aboriginal land rights and/or negotiation of an appropriate agreement with us will be blocked -- on the ground if need be." On September 14, 1989, some 18 months later and without benefit of a Lubicon land settlement or further communication between Daishowa and the Lubicon people, a 20 year Forest Management Agreement was signed between Daishowa and the Alberta Provincial Government. The Forest Management Agreement signed between Daishowa and the Alberta Provincial Government provides for "stumpage fees" to be paid to the Provincial Government of 28 cents per cubic metre for hardwood and 2 dollars per cubic metre for softwood. At those rates Provincial New Democrat Environment Critic John McInnis has calculated the value of Lubicon trees to be about 60 cents for a 13 metre (43 feet tall) spruce tree and about 18 cents for a 20 metre (66 feet tall) aspen tree. For purposes of comparison, Mr. McInnis said, average hardwood fees in the neighbouring Canadian Province of British Columbia are $10.58 per cubic metre on the coast and $8.59 per cubic metre in the interior. On August 17, 1990, an Alberta Provincial Forestry Ranger by the name of Ralph Woods hand-delivered a document to Chief Ominayak entitled "Proposed Timber Harvesting Activities 1990/91." The document showed that the Alberta Provincial Government had granted 5 huge timber licences in the traditional Lubicon area to four different logging companies. All five of these timber licences, the document said, involved "Timber Harvesting for Mill Facility". One of these five huge timber licences is located literally on the northern boundary of the proposed Lubicon reserve. The timber licence located on the northern boundary of the proposed Lubicon reserve had been granted to a company called Boucher Brothers of Nampa, Alberta. Regarding the timber lease granted to Boucher Brothers, the "Proposed Timber Harvesting Activities" document says: "Boucher Brothers Lumber is planning on harvesting coniferous timber in S10 based on an agreement with Daishowa. Boucher will be obtaining coniferous logs to maintain its Nampa sawmill facility and Daishowa will be supplied residual coniferous chips from sawn timber." Chief Ominayak asked Ranger Woods about volumes of timber to be harvested and proposed starting dates. Ranger Woods said that he didn't know how much timber would be harvested but that he presumed logging activity would commence "at freeze-up" ("freeze-up" typically occurs in the Lubicon area in November). Over the week-end of August 17th a representative of the Austrian Society for Endangered Peoples named Peter Schwarzbauer visited the Lubicon area. Also visiting the Lubicon area that same week-end was a Swiss journalist named Oswald Iten. On leaving the Lubicon area Drs. Schwarzbauer and Iten stopped in the town of Peace River and asked to see the new Daishowa pulp mill. Dr. Iten, a well known international feature writer with a PhD in anthropology, wanted to take pictures of the new mill for a story he was doing on the Lubicon. Dr. Schwarzbauer, a forestry professor in addition to being a senior official of the Austrian Society for Endangered Peoples, was interested as a professional forester in seeing the new mill. Needless to say, neither Dr. Iten nor Dr. Schwarzbauer were looking for a fight with Daishowa or with employees of Daishowa. Lubicon Advisor Lennarson drove Drs. Iten and Schwarzbauer to the Daishowa Mill site. Not wishing to raise any questions about who they were or what they were doing in the vicinity of the new pulp mill, Mr. Lennarson drove directly to the Daishowa "security office". He introduced Drs. Iten and Schwarzbauer to Daishowa security guards. He explained that Drs. Iten and Schwarzbauer would like to take some pictures of the new mill. He asked about arrangements. Daishowa security guards told Mr. Lennarson that Drs. Iten and Schwarzbauer would have to "apply" to Daishowa PR Director Wayne Crouse and that it would take 24 hours "to process the applications". Mr. Lennarson was already aware of Mr. Crouse in Mr. Crouse's earlier incarnation as a gossip columnist for the Edmonton Sun newspaper. Mr. Lennarson asked if either Mr. Kitigawa or Mr. Hamaoka were available. Daishowa security guards said that they'd never heard of either Mr. Kitigawa or Mr. Hamaoka. Mr. Lennarson advised Daishowa security guards that Messrs. Kitigawa and Hamaoka were senior officials of Daishowa. Daishowa security guards repeated that Drs. Iten and Schwarzbauer would have to apply to ex-gossip columnist Crouse for permission to take pictures and that applications take 24 hours to process. Dr. Iten told Daishowa security guards that the light was perfect that evening for taking pictures and that the forecast for the following day was overcast with rain. He asked if it would be alright if he took some pictures from outside the fence surrounding the mill site. Daishowa security guards told Dr. Iten "There's nothing we can do about your taking pictures from outside the fence surrounding the mill site". The new Daishowa pulp mill is located in a river valley. Mr. Lennarson drove Drs. Iten and Schwarzbauer from the Daishowa security office to a point just outside of the fenced-in area where the land starts sloping upward and where Dr. Iten thought that he might be able to take a good picture of the new mill. Mr. Lennarson then proceeded on alone to the bluff overlooking the river valley where he thought he might be able to find a good vantage point for taking a photograph. As Drs. Iten and Schwarzbauer started climbing a small hill Daishowa security guards rushed out and informed the them that they couldn't take pictures there either. Dr. Iten pointed out that he and Dr. Schwarzbauer were outside of the fence in an unposted area and that they had been told just minutes earlier that they could take pictures from outside of the fenced area. Daishowa security guards told Dr. Iten that he and Dr. Schwarzbauer were still on land owned by Daishowa and that they were trespassing. They said that there were dangerous chemicals in the area and that Drs. Iten and Schwarzbauer would have to leave. If Dr. Iten tried to take any pictures, they said, they would seize his camera and destroy his film. Dr. Schwarzbauer decided to leave but Dr. Iten refused, pointing out that he was outside the fenced area, that the area wasn't posted and that only moments earlier he'd been told that he could take pictures from outside the fenced area. If the area was contaminated with dangerous chemicals, Dr. Iten said, it should be posted. He told Daishowa security guards that he would physically resist anyone attempting to seize his camera or confiscate his film. At that point a couple of RCMP police cars arrived on the scene, apparently having been called immediately upon Drs. Iten and Schwarzbauer getting out of Mr. Lennarson's truck. The RCMP had apparently also driven the 16 or so kilometres from Peace River to the Daishowa mill in record time, providing some indication of Daishowa's status in the Peace River area. (Lubicon complaints to the Peace River RCMP typically take days for a response -- even when the complaint involves the imminent threat of loss of life.) Having been unable to find a vantage point from the bluff overlooking the Daishowa mill -- all of the roads leading to possible access points having been blocked -- Mr. Lennarson headed back toward where he'd dropped off Drs. Iten and Schwarzbauer. He encountered Dr. Schwarzbauer talking to a RCMP officer about a kilometre down the road from where he'd dropped of Drs. Iten and Schwarzbauer. Mr. Lennarson pulled his truck over to the side of the road near where Dr. Schwarzbauer was talking to the RCMP. Dr. Schwarzbauer then walked away from the police car and over to Mr. Lennarson's truck. As Dr. Schwarzbauer walked over to Mr. Lennarson's truck the police car drove away. Dr. Schwarzbauer told Mr. Lennarson that he'd been instructed by the RCMP to stay away from the Daishowa mill -- where Dr. Iten was still being interviewed by the RCMP. He said that the RCMP had also told him to tell Mr. Lennarson to stay away from the Daishowa mill. After waiting for a couple of minutes Mr. Lennarson drove toward the mill to check on Dr. Iten's safety. Dr. Iten was walking away from a second police car near the mill as Mr. Lennarson drove up. Dr. Iten described a lively discussion with the RCMP over whether he'd done anything wrong but said that he'd been treated courteously. All and all the encounter at the mill was an unpleasant experience but not one which either of the two Europeans nor Mr. Lennarson considered particularly noteworthy -- just overzealous security guards and one of those things which sometimes happen. Upon returning to Peace River the two Europeans and Mr. Lennarson checked into a motel, cleaned-up after a week-end in the bush, picked-up a colleague named Roland Leitner and then went out for dinner. Following dinner the foursome stopped to have a beer in the pub of the motel where they were staying. The pub where they stopped for a beer is rectangular-shaped and good-sized. They chose a table against the wall in about the middle of the room. Before they ordered their first beer they were regaled with a loud, raucous cacophony of epithets clearly being directed at them by about 20 men sitting at the far end of the pub -- some 10 to 15 metres away. The 20 men were making loud and obvious references to people from Switzerland and Austria as well as to the new Daishowa mill. Included in the epithets were the phrases "fucking communists" and "dirty environmentalists". One man kept repeating "Our fucking territory was violated". Another suggested several times "let's kill them". Shortly after the first beer arrived 6 or 8 of the men from the far end of the pub walked over the table where the two Europeans, Mr. Leitner and Mr. Lennarson were sitting. Over the next few minutes a number of the others wandered over and stood several deep in a semi-circle around that half of the Lubicon table not against the wall. One of the people from the gang of 20 pulled up a chair next to Dr. Schwarzbauer and announced "We wanted to talk to you for a couple of minutes before we killed you". Another helped himself to the group's pitcher of beer. A third -- standing back from the table a bit -- waved a chair over his head in a menacing manner. It soon became apparent from remarks made by these uninvited guests to the Lubicon table that they were Daishowa employees -- at least some of them occupying supervisory positions at the new mill. All of them seemed to know about the earlier incident at the mill but none of them seemed to have actually been there. Clearly they'd been provided with physical descriptions of Drs. Iten and Schwarzbauer. Dr. Schwarzbauer tried to talk to the man who'd sat down next to him, explaining that Dr. Iten and he were only interested in taking some pictures of the new mill. Mr. Lennarson told the drooling gargoyle helping itself to the pitcher of beer to buy its own beer. The man who'd sat down next to Dr. Schwarzbauer asked Dr. Schwarzbauer "Who the hell do you think you are coming in here and criticizing us?" He asked "What the hell do you know about us and what we're doing?" Dr. Schwarzbauer repeated that he and Dr. Iten had only wanted to take some pictures of the new mill. Mr. Lennarson told the Daishowa employees that there was no cause for their agitation. He said that Dr. Iten was a Swiss reporter doing a story on the Lubicon and that Dr. Schwarzbauer was a forestry professor with a professional interest in seeing the new mill. He said that Drs. Iten and Schwarzbauer had duly reported to the Daishowa security office and asked permission to take photographs. He said that Drs. Iten and Schwarzbauer had been told by Daishowa security personnel that they could take pictures from outside the fence around the new mill. However, he said, when Drs. Iten and Schwarzbauer tried to take pictures from outside the fence, Daishowa security personnel for some reason phoned the RCMP. He said that the police asked Drs. Iten and Schwarzbauer to leave the area and they'd left. That's all that happened, he said, and there was no reason for anybody to get excited. One of the Daishowa employees asked Mr. Lennarson "Who the hell are you? Mr. Lennarson told the man his name and said that his interest was in the aboriginal land rights of the Lubicon people -- on the other side of the Peace River. "Indian lovers", the man said. "White Indians", said another. "What the hell does Ominayak want anyway?" asked a third. "Doesn't he know that the Indians lost the war?" Mr. Lennarson asked the third man what war he was talking about. The man said "The cowboys and the Indians had a war and the Indians lost." Mr. Lennarson asked the man "What war?" "What cowboys?" "What Indians?" The man repeated "The cowboys and the Indians had a war and the Indians lost". Mr. Lennarson told the man that he was confusing Canadian history with some John Wayne movie he'd seen on television. He said that the man would do well to know what he was talking about before running off at the mouth. At this point Daishowa's history expert faded into the mists and the exchange diffused into a number of simultaneous discussions between different members of the Lubicon group and their uninvited guests. Mr. Lennarson was trying to deal with the man who'd originally approached Dr. Schwarzbauer -- and who apparently carried some kind of training responsibilities at the new mill -- when another Daishowa employee approached the table, reached across the table, sucker punched Mr. Lennarson in the side of the head and then stepped back several paces where several of his colleagues appeared to be half- heartedly restraining him. Mr. Lennarson rose from the table, asked that the police be called and indicated that he intended to charge the man with criminal assault. Several of the man's colleagues quickly ushered him from the room. One of his remaining colleagues told Mr. Lennarson that Mr. Lennarson was lucky the man "didn't tear your head off". Another pleaded with Mr. Lennarson not to press charges, explaining that "Dennis is responsible for pollution control at the plant and is under great pressure". A few minutes later two RCMP arrived, having been called by Dr. Schwarzbauer. One of the two RCMP was very formal and correct; the other was overtly hostile and clearly sympathetic to the actions of the Daishowa employees. Assessing the obviously hostile situation in Peace River, and knowing that two of his three key witnesses would be out of the country before the case ever went to court, Mr. Lennarson declined to press charges. A reporter for the local Peace River newspaper, the "Record-Gazette", regularly phones the Lubicon office and asks for up-dates on the Lubicon situation. His name is Fred Rinne. Mr. Rinne often expresses unhappiness that he doesn't get to interview people associated with the Lubicon situation -- that only the major newspapers in the big cities get interviews. He was therefore duly informed about Dr. Schwarzbauer's visit to the Peace River area in advance and had asked that Dr. Schwarzbauer phone him for an interview before leaving Peace River. Mr. Rinne gave the Lubicon office his home phone number and asked that Dr. Schwarzbauer phone him any time about scheduling an interview. Upon arriving in Peace River Dr. Schwarzbauer tried several times to reach Mr. Rinne by phone. Mr. Rinne didn't answer. Knowing that he would be leaving Peace River the next morning, and concerned about missing the promised Rinne interview, Dr. Schwarzbauer kept periodically phoning Mr. Rinne until he finally reached Mr. Rinne at 3 A.M. An interview was scheduled for the following morning -- before Dr. Schwarzbauer left Peace River for Edmonton. During his interview with Mr. Rinne the following morning Dr. Schwarzbauer mentioned the incident in the pub the evening before. Mr. Rinne apparently didn't consider the incident sufficiently noteworthy to pursue with Dr. Schwarzbauer and Dr. Schwarzbauer isn't the type to make speeches. Later, after reporters in Edmonton did pursue the story, Mr. Rinne charged both that the Edmonton media had sensationalized the story and that Dr. Schwarzbauer and Mr. Lennarson must have "felt they should save their sensational stories for Edmonton where they would get big play and would be very difficult to dispute". (Mr. Rinne's coverage of the incident, a related editorial written by Mr. Rinne and a subsequent letter to Mr. Rinne from Mr. Lennarson are included as attachments to the paper-copy this document in order to provide insight into Peace River mentality. Nothing that any "outsider" could ever say or do better communicates the nature of the problem faced by the Lubicon people in the town of Peace River.) On August 31st ex-gossip columnist turned Daishowa PR man Wayne Crouse publicly confirmed that a Daishowa subsidiary and three other Daishowa related companies "will be logging in the area that is claimed to be the traditional (Lubicon) hunting and trapping areas this winter". The names of the involved Alberta companies, Mr. Crouse said, are Brewster Construction of Red Earth, Boucher Brothers Lumber of Nampa, Buchanan Lumber Ltd. of High Prairie and Bissell Brothers of Enilda. Mr. Crouse said that "Brewster Construction, purchased earlier this year by Daishowa, made plans to log the traditional Lubicon area two years ago when a land settlement with the Lubicons was thought to be imminent". "Now", he said, "there is no alternative for Daishowa to use Brewster's logging in the area to provide the mill with needed fibre". "Boucher", Mr. Crouse said, "will log in Daishowa's assigned area in Lubicon- claimed lands by an agreement with Daishowa". "It's really been a policy to hold off as long as possible from going in there because we knew there is a dispute", he said, "but in order to keep Boucher Brothers operating they have to have a wood supply, and their operation is crucial to our operation". "The other two companies (Buchanan and Bissell)", Mr. Crouse said, will "supply Daishowa with aspen and coniferous wood chips, as well as harvesting spruce and pine for their own lumber mills". Mr. Crouse claimed that "Daishowa has maintained good relations with the Lubicons and the company is optimistic that the Band will permit the planned logging operations". "Daishowa", he said, "will advise the Lubicon of any logging activity in advance". Chief Ominayak told reporters that there'd been no further discussions with Daishowa. However, the Chief said, the Lubicon people have an agreement with Daishowa which he expected Daishowa as an honourable company to respect. If Daishowa failed to respect that agreement, the Chief said, the Lubicon people will do whatever's necessary to stop planned logging activities on unceded Lubicon lands. The Chief declined to spell out what action the Lubicon people might take to stop planned logging activities on unceded Lubicon lands. He said "I won't say what we are planning to do and allow the army to gear up for us". He said that use of the Canadian Army in Quebec to suppress Mohawk efforts to protect unceded Mohawk lands had shown that Canadian Government won't hesitate to use the army to deny aboriginal land rights. On September 4th Daishowa Fibre Supply Superintendent Tom Hoffman phoned the Lubicon office and asked to arrange a meeting between Chief Ominayak and Norm Boucher of Boucher Brothers. Mr. Hoffman asked for the meeting either on September 14th or between September 17th and 21st. Chief Ominayak was away on business but Councillor Steve Noskey took the message and promised to discuss the matter with the Chief when the Chief returned. Also on September 4th Provincial Forestry Minister Fjordbotten publicly down- played criticism over the granting of timber licences within the unceded Lubicon territory. In remarks reminiscent of those which he made when the new Daishowa mill was first announced, Mr. Fjordbotten claimed that "The Province took care to exclude enough land to accommodate the Band's claim prior to signing any of its forest management agreements." He admitted that "The logging zones may fall within the area the Band claims as its traditional hunting and trapping territory", but, he said, "they're outside the proposed reserve". Presumably referring to the brief, uninformative visit of Forest Ranger Woods on August 17th, Mr. Fjordbotten claimed that "The Province has lived up to its commitment to consult the Lubicons concerning timber harvest plans". In mid-September Mr. Crouse told reporters that Daishowa was "hoping to set up talks with the Lubicons, Alberta Forestry and logging contractors to discuss the future of logging Lubicon claimed land". "Even though it is a dispute between the Government and the Lubicons", he said, "we are still concerned because we are impacted by that". "To get all involved parties in a meeting", he said, "is not an easy task". Mr. Crouse again repeated that "The companies will be logging in the area that is claimed to be the traditional (Lubicon) hunting and trapping areas this winter". He said "The Lubicon land is probably seven or eight times the size of the (proposed) reserve". He claimed that "We thought the land problem was solved last year, but it wasn't and that left a lot of people in the dark". Mr. Crouse said "There won't be any logging until we sit down and talk about the disputed land". He said "We know it is a very sensitive issue". On September 20th Chief Ominayak received a phone call from a man named Doug Adikat representing Brewster Construction and asking for a meeting. A meeting was agreed for September 24th at 1 P.M. Following the call from Mr. Adikat, Chief Ominayak returned the September 4th call from Daishowa Fibre Supply Superintendent Tom Hoffman asking for a meeting with Boucher Brothers. A meeting with Boucher Brothers was agreed for September 24th at 3 P.M. On September 22nd Tom Hamaoka told reporters "aboriginal land claims is something that we're going to have to face". He said "Daishowa Canada is...making its preparations based on the fact that the Lubicon land settlement with both levels of (Canadian) Government will be settled by the time we go in and log". The new Daishowa plant officially opened on September 24th. Fourteen aircraft including a Boeing 737, a Convair and three Learjets transported over 1,400 invited guests from Edmonton and Vancouver to Peace River. Dignitaries included 22 members of the controlling Japanese Saito family, senior officials from a dozen Japanese banks, one Federal Member of Parliament, a couple of Provincial Cabinet Ministers and the Mayor of Peace River. Dispensing with the western tradition of ribbon-cutting, Daishowa officials inaugurated the new mill by smashing open two "tara" -- barrels of sake. PR man Crouse said that the smashing open of barrels of sake "symbolize(d) a new beginning and awakening" -- kinda like the rising sun. Under tight security and against a back-drop of complaints about local critics being squeezed out of the town of Peace River, about the stench being created by the new mill and about the 20 tons of suspended solids which the new mill will be dumping daily into the scenic Peace River -- a parade of Canadian politicians praised the Japanese-speaking owners of Daishowa with a smattering of simple Japanese phrases and sentences. Peace River Mayor Mike Procter outdid himself by stumbling through half his speech in Japanese. Mr. Crouse dismissed mill critics as "mostly outsiders, like Jim Darwinish and Friends of the North". (Mr. Darwinish later replied that he was born and raised in Alberta, unlike the 22 members of the Saito family who'd flown into Peace River for the occasion on chartered jets and then returned to Japan, where, he said, it would be illegal for them to build their Peace River pulp mill.) Provincial Forestry Minister Fjordbotten praised Daishowa for "building flexibility into its woodland plan to try and accommodate Indian land claims". He claimed in an interview that "Daishowa, Forestry (Department) officials and Chief Ominayak will meet during the coming week in an effort to reach an agreement on issues raised by the companies logging plans". Mr. Fjordbotten said "One of the things that pleased me most was when I learned Daishowa's philosophy: A flower grows and a petal falls and fertilizes the ground so that another flower will grow". (A less poetic version of the Daishowa philosophy was offered a couple of years earlier by an official of the Procter and Gambel pulp mill in Grande Prairie, Alberta, who said "We knock 'em all down." He said "Anything 4 inches in diameter or bigger has commercial value." "Anything smaller", he said, "we leave on the ground to rot.") Brewster President Lyman Brewster commenced the September 24th meeting with the Lubicon people by reading a semi-literate letter which he'd written to "Chief Omieniak (sic) & fellow members of your council". The letter, complete with grammatical, punctuation and spelling errors, reads as follows: "We have requested this meeting with you and your council, basically to make you aware of our position for the winter of 1990 & 91 logging season. "We plan to log the P5 & S15 licenced areas, of which you are all aware of their specific locations. In doing so, the entry to S15 will be done from Highway 88 directly east of the licence, it is approximately 6 miles off Highway 88. What we are planning for the P5 licence is to have early access past Haig Lake and up the Bison Lake Road, this is merely for early entry, there will be no logs hauled out this way. "Due to the circumstances between various Government Departments, both Federal & Provincial and your particular native group, we would like to point out the following. First we want no part of the problems involved, that is strictly between your group and the Government. Secondly, we know you are aware of the fact that the Alberta Forestry Service has approved our licence and given us the go ahead to cut timber in the two specified areas mentioned. We as a subsiduary of Daishowa have no alternative but to cut timber in the designated areas in order to keep our Mill in operation. "Due to the circumstances which exist between the Government and the native people, we further want to express the fact that we want no part of that problem. But, we felt that we owed you the courtesy of making you aware of our winter operation. "While Brewster Construction is a subsiduary of Daishowa, we have a obligation to run an efficient operation or be closed down. This would be to no one's advantage, as you are aware the timber is overmature & rotting on the stump and should be harvested. Regardless of the outcome of your settlement, it would still be harvested, but under no circumstances do we feel that we are interfering with either the Government or the Native people by carrying out work. Your consideration of these facts would be appreciated because as I have pointed out, we have no alternative but to log in the specified Areas as previously mentioned for this winter." Chief Ominayak responded to the reading of the Brewster letter by advising Messrs. Brewster and Adikat that the Lubicon people had no intention of allowing the harvesting of Lubicon trees until at least there'd been a settlement of Lubicon land rights. He told them that they should be putting pressure on the Canadian Federal Government to settle Lubicon land rights rather than pressuring the Lubicon people to allow continued exploitation of unceded Lubicon resources. Next Mr. Brewster proposed that stumpage fees which would ordinarily go to the Alberta Provincial Government be put into a trust account pending settlement of Lubicon land rights. He said that putting stumpage fees into a trust account would put pressure on the Government to settle. Chief Ominayak suggested that Mr. Brewster put his proposal in writing but repeated that the Lubicon people had no intention of allowing logging of Lubicon trees until there'd been a settlement of Lubicon land rights. Brewster representative Doug Adikat said "We can put together a proposal and let the (Provincial) Government know what we're doing." Mr. Brewster said that he didn't think it would be a good idea for Brewster to write the letter. He said he thought that "it would be better if a letter came from the Band". He proposed that the Band "write the Provincial Government a letter saying you sold our resources and suggesting that stumpage fees be put in a trust account until the land question is settled". Obviously not getting the positive response to his proposal that he'd hoped for from Indian Chief Ominayak, Mr. Brewster turned to white advisor Lennarson. He asked if Mr. Lennarson understood what he was proposing. Mr. Lennarson told Mr. Brewster that he understood perfectly well what Mr. Brewster was proposing. However, Mr. Lennarson said, Mr. Brewster's proposal was not something he'd ever buy. Mr. Lennarson pointed out first that stumpage fees in the area are nominal -- something like only a couple of bucks per cubic metre for softwood and only about two bits for a cubic metre of hardwood. At those rates, Mr. Lennarson said, it had been calculated that a 60 foot popular tree was worth only about 18 cents and a 40 foot spruce tree was only worth 60 cents. Consequently, he said, the amount of money which would be deposited in the proposed trust account -- even if it was ever turned over to the Lubicon people -- would only be a pittance compared to what will be required for the Lubicon people to try and rebuild their shattered economy and way of life. Secondly, Mr. Lennarson said, experience suggested that once Lubicon trees were cut and gone there'd be little hope that the Lubicon people would ever be compensated, there'd be no hope with regard to preserving even the remnants of a traditional way of life, there'd be no hope with regard to achieving respect for Lubicon environmental concerns and the Lubicons would have lost what little leverage they still retained with regard to negotiating a settlement of Lubicon land rights. He said that experience with the oil companies in the traditional Lubicon area made clear that the Lubicon people should never have never allowed the oil companies to come into the traditional Lubicon area and extract billions of dollars worth of resources, in the process destroying the traditional Lubicon economy and way of life, while the Lubicons talked, negotiated, litigated and considered supposedly sincere remedial proposals from both levels of Canadian Government. And, he said, experience from across the country and over time made clear is that there's almost no chance for aboriginal people in Canada to ever regain anything once it's lost to the non-aboriginal dominant society. Following Mr. Lennarson's remarks Mr. Adikat and a clearly disgruntled Mr. Brewster left the Lubicon office and caucused with their colleagues from Daishowa and Boucher Brothers who were waiting outside the Lubicon office for their scheduled 3 o'clock meeting with Lubicon leadership. Shortly thereafter representatives of Daishowa and Boucher Brothers came into the Lubicon office and the second meeting began. During the second meeting Daishowa was represented by Fibre Superintendent Tom Hoffman, Wood Resources Manager Wayne Thorp and Human Resources Manager Stu Dornbierer. Boucher Brothers was represented by Norm and John Boucher. Mr. Dornbierer told Chief Ominayak "The meeting was for Norm (Boucher)". He said that he, Mr. Hoffman and Mr. Thorp had only "wanted to come along so that we could meet Lubicon leaders". Chief Ominayak asked the Daishowa representatives about reports that aboriginal people were being told they couldn't hunt on Daishowa logging leases. Mr. Thorp said that Daishowa had nothing to do with telling people that they couldn't hunt on Daishowa logging leases. He said that Provincial Fish and Wildlife had declared an area 400 metres on either side of a particular logging road to be "a wildlife sanctuary". Chief Ominayak asked incredulously "What happens to the wildlife sanctuary when the area is logged out?" Straight-faced Mr. Thorp told the Chief that "The area is being protected from hunting but not from logging". Norm Boucher said "We're here to show you people where we will log this winter". He said "We have a map", which he then unrolled and presented. The map indicated an area at the north east corner of Lubicon Lake immediately across the boundary from the proposed Lubicon reserve. Chief Ominayak asked "Who speaks for Daishowa?" Mr. Thorp said "Me and Tom (Hoffman) speak on behalf of wood management". Chief Ominayak asked "What about our agreement with Daishowa that there'd be no logging in the Lubicon area until Lubicon land rights had been settled and a logging agreement worked out with the Lubicon people?" Mr. Thorp claimed "Daishowa is respecting that agreement." He said Daishowa is not logging in the Lubicon area". Chief Ominayak pointed out that Brewster is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Daishowa and that the other three involved companies are Daishowa sub- contractors. Mr. Thorp admitted that Brewster is owned by Daishowa and that the other involved companies are Daishowa sub-contractors. Norm Boucher told Chief Ominayak "A lot of people in Nampa depend on logging for a livelihood". He asked the Chief "What are these people going to do if they can't log". Chief Ominayak told Norm Boucher "A lot of people depend on stealing Lubicon resources". "However", he said, "we have an agreement with the supposedly honourable Daishowa company which Daishowa is apparently trying to break". Chief Ominayak said "The Lubicon people have made our position clear". He said "I don't see how it's going to be possible for us to allow any more of our resources to be taken from our lands until there's a settlement of our land rights". Chief Ominayak said "You shouldn't see the Lubicon people as the obstacle". He said "The pressure should be put on the (Canadian) Federal Government to settle". He said "The Lubicons have made every possible effort to achieve a settlement". Norm Boucher said "I don't know how much more we can do". Chief Ominayak said "Maybe you can remind your (Daishowa) bosses of our agreement". Mr. Dornbierer repeated "Daishowa has no intention of breaking the agreement". "However", he said, "a distinction has to be made between Daishowa and these logging companies". Chief Ominayak told Mr. Dornbierer "The distinction is not important". He said "The companies are either owned by Daishowa or are Daishowa sub- contractors". He said "The companies are operating in the Daishowa FMU (Forest Management Unit) pursuant to an agreement with Daishowa". "Consequently", the Chief said, "the Lubicon people will consider any logging done by these companies on Lubicon land to be a breach of the Lubicon agreement with Daishowa". Mr. Dornbierer asked "What about the Federal offer?" Mr. Lennarson said that the so-called Federal offer wasn't a serious offer at all but only the back-drop for a Federal Government anti-Lubicon propaganda campaign. As people familiar with the wording of agreements, he said, Daishowa representatives should take a look at the Federal Government's so- called "take-it-or-leave-it" offer and judge for themselves whether it was anything they'd be prepared to sign. He said that he had a copy of the Federal Government's so-called offer with him which he'd be prepared to share with the Daishowa representatives. Mr. Dornbierer said that he'd very much like to see a copy of the Federal Government's so-called "take-it-or-leave-it" offer, which Mr. Lennarson then reviewed with him. After reviewing the Federal Government's so-called "take- it-or-leave-it" offer, Mr. Dornbierer said "I can appreciate the frustration felt by the Lubicon people". He said "I hope this matter will be settled soon and we won't face confrontation". Chief Ominayak told the Daishowa representatives "We won't face confrontation if Daishowa honours our agreement". A couple of days later, on September 27th, Brewster representative Adikat announced that Brewster would be consulting with Provincial officials and seeking police protection for their planned logging operations in the unceded Lubicon area. He said that he didn't think that there was "much chance the Lubicon people will have a change of heart and allow logging on lands they claim as traditional territory". Mr. Adikat said "We are still going to go ahead because (the Lubicon) don't have a settlement or a land base". He said that Brewster, as a recently purchased subsidiary of Daishowa, didn't consider itself bound by the agreement between Daishowa and the Lubicon. Responding to reporters' questions, Mr. Crouse said "The company policy right now is we are not going to directly log in that area at all but that still leaves the problem of the contract people". He said "If (the contract people) have no wood, they have no business, and it becomes a problem for us down the line in the chip supply". Chief Ominayak responded that the Lubicon didn't intend to allow Daishowa to get away with breaching the agreement by working through subsidiary companies and sub-contractors. "At the very least", the Chief said, "an attempt is being made to break the agreement". The Chief said that the Lubicon people would prevent any logging in their unceded traditional lands. He said "We stated very clearly that we have no intention of allowing anybody to steal any more of our resources". Referring to Mr. Brewster's letter of September 24th stating that Brewster had "no alternative but to log in specified areas", Mr. Adikat said that the company would be forced out of business and 60 people would lose their jobs if it could not log in the Lubicon area this winter. Chief Ominayak responded "We have a whole community that has been affected (by development activity) and forced onto welfare". Contacted by reporters John Boucher of Boucher Brothers announced that his company would not be logging in Lubicon territory this year. He said that his company had been unaware of the 1988 agreement not to log the territory until advised of the matter by Chief Ominayak during the September 24th meeting. On October 6th Norm Boucher of Boucher Brothers said that he'd been told by Daishowa Vice President Tom Hamaoka that planned logging operations in the Lubicon area "will be dropped in order to avoid a confrontation with the Lubicon". Mr. Boucher said that he agreed with that course of action. He said "It's just not right to bulldoze people". John Boucher said he and Norm Boucher understood that Daishowa's decision would apply to Brewster and other Daishowa sub-contractors. However, John Boucher said, the decision "is good for this logging season only". He said "I guess next year we will have to go there". Asked how badly Brewster Construction needed to log Lubicon lands, Lyman Brewster said "It's not necessary enough to go in and get into trouble". Mr. Hamaoka told reporters that honouring the agreement with the Lubicon people was only one option available to the endlessly inventive Japanese owners of Daishowa. "There were a lot of alternatives discussed", he said -- "That was one of them". He said "I wouldn't read anything more into it than what I have said because it could go either way". Alberta Forest Service Deputy Minister Ken Higginbotham said that a possible decision to "abort" logging plans in the Lubicon area would not be made before the following Tuesday (October 9th). He said "We are looking at all the alternatives here, including alternative areas". He said that part of the problem was "securing alternate logging areas to carry Boucher Brothers and Brewster through the winter". Mr. Higginbotham said "This is not strictly a Forestry matter". He said "That decision (to abort logging plans in the unceded Lubicon area) will require some political sanction". He said that a decision to abort logging plans in the unceded Lubicon area would have to be "politically approved by Forestry Minister LeRoy Fjordbotten and Premier Don Getty". On October 9th Provincial Forestry Minister Fjordbotten announced that "There will be no new forestry deals to compensate Daishowa Canada for delaying a timber harvest in land claimed by the Lubicon Lake Band". Mr. Fjordbotten expressed "sympathy" for Daishowa saying that it had every right to expect settlement of Lubicon land rights by now. Mr. Fjordbotten said "I'm pleased that they're trying their best to be helpful and as accommodating as they can, but I think it's unfortunate for the company that they have to do that". He said "Of course Daishowa wants to make sure they don't get involved in a big issue over this and so they're trying to make other arrangements until this is resolved". On October 10th Daishowa PR man Wayne Crouse said "We are not logging in that disputed territory, nor are any sub-contractors or our subsidiary". However, he said, "Before coming to a final announcement, we want to sit down with Chief Bernard Ominayak". "The meeting will occur", he said, "as soon as Daishowa Vice President Tom Hamaoka can arrange it". On October 17th Lubicon Advisor Fred Lennarson received a call from a reporter checking on reports that "Bissell (Brothers) and Buchanan (Lumber) are being forced by the Province to provide wood to Daishowa, and that Daishowa is being required by the Province to accept that wood". The reporter told Mr. Lennarson that Buchanan and Bissell "are not considered Daishowa sub-contractors in that they'd normally be harvesting the spruce and leaving the aspen to rot on the ground". "However", the reporter said, "they'd both been given timber leases by the Province which requires them to stack the aspen for pick-up by Daishowa", and, the reporter said, "Daishowa is being required by the Province to pick-up that stacked aspen". Mr. Lennarson told the reporter that the Province wasn't forcing Daishowa to do anything -- that Daishowa had sufficient political muscle in Alberta to do pretty much as it pleased. If the reporter's information about Bissell and Buchanan moving into the Lubicon area is correct, Mr. Lennarson said, Daishowa is likely arranging things so that it can obtain wood from the Lubicon area without obviously breaking its agreement with the Lubicon people. As of October 28th Chief Ominayak had still not heard from Daishowa Vice President Hamaoka. 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