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 November 29, 1990 Enclosed for your information is a copy of a letter sent by Alberta Provincial Forestry Minister LeRoy Fjordbotten to a woman who'd earlier written Alberta Premier Don Getty about Lubicon Lake. Enclosed also are copies of related Provincial Government Hansard and media reports. Mr. Fjordbotten says that he's writing "regarding logging ON LANDS CLAIMED BY THE LUBICON (capitalization added)". He says "You will be pleased to learn that the two companies in question -- Brewster Construction Ltd. and Boucher Bros. Lumber Ltd. -- will not be logging IN THE AREA OF CONCERN THIS WINTER (capitalization added)". He says "Neither will Daishowa Canada, Ltd., since it never did plan to log in this part of its forest management area until the winter of 1991/92". He says "Both Daishowa and the Government of Alberta support this deferral of logging plans, which will provide additional time for the Lubicon Band and the federal government to conclude negotiations". Mr. Fjordbotten says further "We are hopeful that negotiations will be successfully concluded over the next year, allowing logging to proceed without any confrontation". He says "The deferral will not be possible the following year, as companies will need timber from the area to supply their mills". He says "We have an obligation to allow these companies to exercise their legal rights to access this wood". Then making absolutely crystal clear the distinction between what he calls "lands claimed by the Lubicon" (where the Provincial Government has granted logging companies supposedly "legal rights to access this wood"), and what he calls "the proposed reserve" (which has supposedly been "deleted from all resource extraction commitments"), Mr. Fjordbotten says "The Daishowa forest management agreement (FMA) was completed at a time when agreement was reached in principle between the Band and the provincial and federal governments on the size and location of the proposed reserve". He says "A reserve area, of approximately 95 square miles, has been identified, and deleted from all resource extraction commitments". He says "This (proposed reserve area) was not included in the (Daishowa) FMA". Needless to say, there are problems of veracity aplenty with these statements by Mr. Fjordbotten. Contrary to Mr. Fjordbotten's statement that "Brewster...will not be logging in the area of concern this winter", Brewster is in fact already logging in the traditional Lubicon territory this winter, and was in fact already logging in the traditional Lubicon territory at the time that Mr. Fjordbotten sent his letter on November 19th. In addition, contrary to Mr. Fjordbotten's statement that "Both Daishowa and the Government of Alberta support this deferral of logging plans (by Brewster)", Brewster is in fact logging in the traditional Lubicon territory pursuant to instructions by Daishowa -- which owns Brewster -- and also pursuant to a logging licence given to Brewster by the Government of Alberta -- which Mr. Fjordbotten has publicly refused to exchange for a logging licence on lands outside of the traditional Lubicon territory. Asked about these various contradictions by New Democrat Member of the Provincial Legislature John McInnis, Mr. Fjordbotten first tried to re-argue the incredible and basically irrelevant point that Brewster -- as a wholly owned subsidiary of Daishowa -- is somehow independent of Daishowa. He then made a seemingly pointless reference to the 95 square mile proposed reserve area and to negotiations which he falsely claimed "are now underway between the federal government and the Lubicons". Next he tried to argue that he wasn't talking about the traditional Lubicon territory at all when he said Brewster wouldn't be logging "IN THE AREA OF CONCERN THIS WINTER", but was rather talking about a logging licence bordering on the proposed reserve which the Provincial Government had granted to Boucher Brothers. And then he said, contrary to what he'd clearly written in the attached letter, that it would be "unrealistic to prevent all logging that takes place in the area...that's CLAIMED BY THE LUBICONS (capitalization added)". Mr. McInnis rightly rejected Mr. Fjordbotten's response as "outrageous", charging that Mr. Fjordbotten was "misleading Albertans...(by saying)...one thing in one context and quite another in another context". Mr. Fjordbotten responded by calling the charge that he was misleading Albertans "offensive", and by demanding a retraction. He said "I would ask (Mr. McInnis) to for heaven's sake do his homework". The Speaker of the Provincial Legislature asked Mr. McInnis "Is it your intention to withdraw the word 'misleading'?" Mr. McInnis told the Speaker "It's my intention to file the documents which back up my statement". Following the exchange with Mr. McInnis, and confronted with copies of his November 19th letter, Mr. Fjordbotten told reporters that he wasn't aware of Brewster's and Boucher Brothers' plans and didn't recall writing the letter. He told reporters "Daishowa said that until the issue was resolved they themselves would not be logging on that land". He said "I don't know about Brewster or Boucher". He admitted that his letter "wasn't clear on exactly where logging is taking place". The next day Mr. McInnis made another, similarly unsuccessful attempt to get a simple, straightforward and truthful answer out of Mr. Fjordbotten. Mr. McInnis recalled the agreement made between Daishowa and the Lubicons in March of 1988 and recent press reports that Daishowa had asked the Province for alternative logging sites in order to avoid a confrontation with the Lubicons. He recalled public comments by Mr. Fjordbotten's Deputy Minister Ken Higginbotham that Daishowa's request for alternative sites required "political sanction" by Mr. Fjordbotten and Alberta Premier Getty. He recalled Mr. Fjordbotten's public announcement that no special arrangements would be made to accommodate Daishowa and Daishowa related logging companies. And he asked Mr. Fjordbotten why Mr. Fjordbotten had "made a political decision to veto Daishowa's request, precipitating a useless and needless confrontation with the Lubicon people?" Mr. Fjordbotten responded to the question by claiming "The staff of the Alberta Forest Service met on two occasions late last summer with the Lubicon Lake Band". He said "Chief Ominayak attended one of those meetings". Mr. Fjordbotten claimed "All reforestation and harvesting activities that were to be carried out on what the Lubicon considered to be their traditional area within the next year were at that time reviewed with the Band." He said "The Band expressed no concerns EXCEPT FOR LOGGING IN TWO SPECIFIC NEW DISPOSITION AREAS (capitalization added)". Mr. Fjordbotten claimed "In fact those (two new disposition areas) were the two areas I referred to in the letter the hon. Member for Edmonton-Jasper Place (John McInnis) waved yesterday". He said "The logging that is taking place in the two (new disposition areas) WERE NOT RAISED AS A CONCERN BY THE LUBICON BAND (capitalization added)". Aside from the obvious problem of Mr. Fjordbotten saying that the Band expressed concern over two specific areas in one sentence and denying that the Band expressed concern for those same two areas in another sentence, his claims regarding consultation with the Lubicon people over logging and reforestation are simply not true. There were no "meetings" with Alberta Forestry Staff to review "all reforestation and harvesting activities that were to be carried out on what the Lubicon considered to be their traditional area"; all harvesting and reforestation plans in the unceded Lubicon territory have never been "reviewed" with the Lubicon people; there's never been any discussion of two so-called "new disposition areas"; and the Band's "concern" for logging in the entire traditional Lubicon territory is a matter of long-standing public record. (The only two contacts between Lubicon representatives and Alberta Forestry Staff occurred on August 17th when Provincial Forestry Ranger Ralph Woods dropped off two sheets of paper at the Band office listing proposed timber harvesting and reforestation activities - - about which Ranger Woods was either unwilling or unable to answer questions -- and September 24th when Ranger Woods stopped by the Band office and asked if any Lubicons were interested in jobs thinning replanted trees.) Understandably not satisfied with Mr. Fjordbotten's response to the question as to why the Provincial Government hadn't granted the Daishowa request for alternative logging sites, Mr. McInnis asked the question again. This time Mr. Fjordbotten responded to the question as follows: "Mr. Speaker, the entitlement area that has been set aside for the Lubicon is some 95 square miles. That 95 square mile entitlement area is an area that is under negotiation and discussion with the Federal Government with respect to the monetary settlement that may come. On that issue the hon. the Attorney General may wish to supplement my answer." (There are of course no negotiations or discussions with the Federal Government regarding "monetary settlement" or anything else, and Provincial Attorney Ken Rostad wisely didn't try to supplement statements he knew to be untrue.) "However", Mr. Fjordbotten continued, "Daishowa is not logging in that area; they have not planned to log on that side of the Peace River this year." (Baloney.) "But let's be fair", Mr. Fjordbotten said further, "We cannot take all of northern Alberta and say nothing is going to happen there until a settlement takes place." (Nobody ever asked that all of northern Alberta be set aside -- only that portion of it still rightfully belonging to the Lubicon people.) Lastly, Mr. Fjordbotten concluded, "There is good faith on behalf of Daishowa; there's good faith on behalf of our government and the leadership shown by our Premier to try and help resolve the issue". "But", he said, "men of goodwill on the Lubicon side and the federal government side must resolve the issue". "It cannot", he said, "continue to go on forever and ever." (For Mr. Fjordbotten to talk at this stage of "good faith" and "good will" on the parts of either level of Canadian Government or Daishowa speaks volumes about the extent of his stark duplicity and utter contempt for the intelligence of his audience. Moreover, following Provincial Government reaction in June to the Lubicon draft settlement agreement, and obvious Provincial Government contrivance of the current confrontation between development companies and the Lubicons, it's no longer credible for representatives of the Alberta Provincial Government to simply attribute full responsibility for the awful plight of the Lubicon people to the Canadian Federal Government.) ***************************************************************************** Attachment #1: November 19, 1990, letter from Alberta Forestry Minister LeRoy Fjordbotten to Lubicon supporter A.S. Andrucson, dated November 19, 1990 Dear Ms. Andrucson: Premier Getty has asked me to respond on his behalf to your letter of October 15 regarding logging on lands claimed by the Lubicon Band. You will be pleased to learn that the two companies in question -- Brewster Construction Ltd. and Boucher Bros. Lumber Ltd. -- will not be logging in the area of concern this winter. Neither will Daishowa Canada, Ltd., since it never did plan to log in this part of its forest management area until the winter of 1991/92. Both Daishowa and the Government of Alberta support this deferral of logging plans, which will provide additional time for the Lubicon Band and the federal government to conclude negotiations. The Daishowa forest management agreement (FMA) was completed at a time when agreement was reached in principle between the band and the provincial and federal governments on the size and location of the proposed reserve. This area was not included in the FMA. We are hopeful that negotiations will be successfully concluded over the next year, allowing logging to proceed without any confrontation. The deferral will not be possible the following year, as companies will need timber from the area to supply their mills. We have an obligation to allow these companies to exercise their legal rights to access this wood. Recent threats by the Lubicon make their dispute even more sensitive. Premier Getty has worked with the Lubicon in a sincere attempt to facilitate the settlement of their claim. He has also encouraged the federal government to work, as quickly as possible, to settle the Lubicon claim. A reserve area, of approximately 95 square miles, has been identified, and deleted from all resource extraction commitments. We, as a Province, have done all possible to facilitate a quick resolution of the claim, the decision now rests with the Lubicon and the federal government. I, like many, feel it is inappropriate for the Lubicon to hold Albertans ransom in their dispute with the federal government. Thank you for taking the time to express your concerns about this sensitive issue. Yours truly, LeRoy Fjordbotten, Minister of Forestry, Lands and Wildlife ***************************************************************************** Attachment #2: Letter from Brewster Construction President L.M. Brewster to Chief Bernard Ominayak, dated September 24, 1990 (note: letter is posted as was presented to Chief Ominayak, typos and misspellings were in original letter) Chief Omieniak & fellow members of your council: 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 and S15 licenced areas, of which you are all aware of their specific locations. In doing so, the entry to S15 will be done rom Highway 88 directly east of the licence, it is approximately 6 miles off of 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 either with the Government or the Native people by carrying out our work. Your consideration on 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. Sicerely yours, Brewster Construction Ltd. L.M. Brewster, President Attachment #3: October 07, 1990, Edmonton Journal article entitled "Daishowa to abandon logging on Lubicon land" (previously posted) ***************************************************************************** Attachment #4: October 10, 1990, Edmonton Journal article entitled "Land Claim Stymies Daishowa" Richard Helm Journal Staff Writer Edmonton There will be no new forestry deals to compensate Daishowa Canada for delaying a timber harvest in land claimed by the Lubicon Lake band, a government minister says. Alberta Forestry Minister LeRoy Fjordbotten expressed sympathy for Daishowa Tuesday, saying the company had every right to expect the band's claim settlement by now. "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," Fjordbotten 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." The company has dropped plans for a winter timber harvest in a 10,000-square- km area claimed by the Lubicons. ***************************************************************************** Attachment #5: Excerpt from November 27, 1990, Alberta Hansard Mr. McInnis: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A question for the Minister of Forestry, Lands and Wildlife. The government has been heavily criticized by many Albertans, not least the independent expert panel on forest management, for failing to obtain the knowledge, consent, and involvement of local residents before timber is cut in the area. Now, on August 17 of this year a Forest Service officer named Ralph Woods handed Chief Bernard Ominayak of the Lubicon band a document showing that the Alberta government had granted five timber leases for harvesting this year in disputed Lubicon lands. The Daishowa company was involved. On September 24 Lyman Brewster, the president of Brewster Construction, a Daishowa subsidiary, wrote to the Lubicon band and said, and I quote: "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 subsidiary of Daishowa have no alternative but to cut timber in the designated areas to keep our Mill in operation." I emphasize "no alternative". I ask the Minister of Forestry, Lands and Wildlife why he has chosen to provoke confrontation with the Lubicon people by directing Daishowa to log disputed lands this winter. Mr. Fjordbotten: First of all, I didn't direct Daishowa to cut in any disputed territory. In fact, Daishowa themselves are not logging at the moment. There are two subsidiary companies that have ben there for some time, and the area they're logging in at the present time is some distance from the Lubicon land entitlement that is presently under negotiation with them. We established some 95 square miles that would be set aside for a land base settlement for the Lubicons, and negotiations are under way now between the federal government and the Lubicons. The area that was bordering that is one area where there would not be any cutting done by any of the companies. With respect to the large portion of northern Alberta that's claimed by the Lubicons, of course it would be unrealistic to prevent all logging that takes place in the area, but I want to emphasize Mr. Speaker, that there is no logging taking place on the land entitlement area of the Lubicons that's presently under negotiation with the federal government. Mr. McInnis: Well, Mr. Speaker, that's an outrageous answer. He says that because they're subsidiary companies, it doesn't count. He said that because they're not within the 95 square kilometres where he wants to make the settlement, it's okay. The fact is that when he writes to Albertans -- I have a letter signed by the minister a week ago stating that Daishowa or Brewster Construction or Boucher Bros. "will not be logging in the area of concern"; that is, lands claimed by the Lubicon people -- he's misleading Albertans. I ask him to explain why he says one thing in one context and quite another in another context. Mr. Fjordbotten: Mr. Speaker, I find that offensive, saying that I'm misleading Albertans. I would ask him to retract that, because there is no basis in fact for that at all. I have to ask the question: what area of concern are we talking about? It's not good enough to read a statement like that without knowing the background. I would ask the Member for Edmonton- Jasper Place to for heaven's sake do his homework. Speaker's Ruling, Parliamentary Language Mr. Speaker: Hon. member, is it your intention to withdraw the word "misleading"? Mr. McInnis: It's my intention to file the documents which back up my statement, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker: All right. Then the Chair understands that you are refusing to withdraw the use of the word misleading. Is that correct? Mr. McInnis: That's precisely correct, Mr. Speaker. ***************************************************************************** Attachment #6: November 28, 1990, Edmonton Sun article entitled "Tory 'misleading' on logging" (previously posted) ***************************************************************************** Attachment #7: November 28, 1990, Edmonton Journal article entitled "Logging continues despite vandalism" (previously posted) ***************************************************************************** Attachment #8: Excerpt from November 28, 1990, Alberta Hansard Mr. McInnis: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In March of 1988, more than two years ago, vice-president and general manager of Daishowa, Mr. Kitagawa, promised the Lubicon people that they would not log Lubicon lands until there was a settlement and that afterward they would consult regarding any logging within the traditional Lubicon area. True to their word, they approached the government earlier this year with a request to log outside the Lubicon area, which, according to Mr. Higginbothem, the assistant deputy minister, was passed on to the Premier and the minister. He said: that decision requires some political sanction; this is not strictly a forestry matter. I would like the minister to stand up and explain today why he made a political decision to veto Daishowa's request, precipitating a useless and needless confrontation with the Lubicon people? Mr. Fjordbotten: Mr. Speaker, that just is not so. I'll answer the question of the hon. member to clear up any confusion there may be in his mind as follows. The staff of the Alberta Forest Service met on two occasions late last summer with the Lubicon band, and Chief Ominayak attended one of those meetings. All reforestation and harvesting activities that were to be carried out on what the Lubicon considered to be their traditional area within the next year were at that time reviewed with the band. The band expressed no concerns except for logging in two specific new disposition areas. In fact, those were the two areas I referred to in the letter the hon. Member for Edmonton-Jasper Place waved yesterday. The logging that is taking place in the two that were not raised as a concern by the Lubicon band: one of them is about 90 kilometres away from the Lubicon and Little Buffalo reserve entitlement area; the other one is about 45 kilometres away from that entitlement area. Mr. McInnis: Well, Mr. Speaker, I think the confusion that the minister has is that he can't really determine what the Lubicon lands are until such time as there's a settlement. We have no settlements. I put it to him again, because Mr. Hamaoka, who is now in a senior capacity with Daishowa, said that he has approached the government and has asked for alternative logging areas to carry the Boucher Bros. and Brewster's operations through the winter. My question is quite simple: why did the government refuse to honour that request? Mr. Fjordbotten: Mr. Speaker, the entitlement area that has been set aside for the Lubicon is some 95 square miles. That 95 square mile entitlement area is an area that is under negotiation and discussion with the federal government with respect to the monetary settlement that may come. On that issue the hon. the Attorney General may wish to supplement my answer. However, Daishowa is not logging in that area; they have not planned to log on that side of the Peace River this year. But let's be fair, Mr. Speaker. We cannot take all of northern Alberta and say that nothing is going to happen there until a settlement takes place. There is good faith on behalf of Daishowa; there's good faith on behalf of our government and the leadership shown by our Premier to try and help resolve the issue. But men of goodwill on the Lubicon side and the federal government side must resolve the issue. It cannot continue to go on for ever and ever. ***************************************************************************** Attachment #9: The Edmonton Journal, Sunday, December 02, 1990 LOGGER WITH FIRE EXTINGUISHER SCARED VANDALS -- PRESIDENT Owners plead for Lubicons, gov't. to work out problems Jac MacDonald Journal Staff Writer Edmonton Vandals who burned logging equipment last weekend were scared off by one of the loggers brandishing a fire extinguisher, says the president of Buchanan Lumber. "Lawrence (Noskey) came out of the light plant shack and pointed the fire extinguisher at them. That was the end of it, and they ran of," Gordon Buchanan told The Journal Saturday. Buchanan was in Edmonton on company business when he described the scene last weekend where vandals burned about $20,000 worth of logging equipment on lands claimed by the Lubicon Lake band, about 50 km northwest of Red Earth Creek, which is about 100 km northeast of Peace River. The equipment was owned by Buchanan subcontractors Walter Kulikov of Plamondon and Lawrence Noskey of Peavine. The group of men covered their faces in ski masks and got out of their vehicles some distance from the logging camp in order to avoid detection, he said. The men knocked on the door of the first trailer, and set it on fire when nobody answered. After setting several other fires, they knocked on the door of another trailer and ordered two men inside to get out, he said. In a written statement, Noskey said one of the men ordered out was his 65- year-old father Frank, who was threatened by a man wielding a large knife. "These individuals set fire to all of our equipment and threatened my 65- year-old father with a large hunting knife," Noskey said in his statement. The vandals fled when confronted with the fire extinguisher, and before they could set fire to the second trailer, Buchanan said. Noskey pleaded for government and Lubicon representatives to sit down and talk before someone is killed. "It is about time the three parties involved, the Lubicon band, the provincial government (and) the federal government, got their act together and stopped involving innocent parties. "Do we wait until someone is killed?" Noskey said. Logging will continue in lands claimed by the Lubicon Lake band because there are no alternative cutting areas, and because if work stopped it would throw at least 14 people out of work who are now employed with Noskey and Kulikov, Buchanan said. "We have to go in there because that is where our wood is that has been allotted by the province," he said. The company has been logging in the area, part of the 10,000-sq-km territory claimed by the band, for the past 20 years without incident. "We have been going for years into that area. We were there last year," he said. In a news release issued Saturday, Peace River RCMP confirmed that they searched a cabin in the Fish Lake area. Band advisor Fred Lennarson said the cabin belonged to Chief Bernard Ominayak, who could not be reached for comment. The stalemate in attempts to reach a land claim settlement has worsened because of poor advice being given to the band, Buchanan said. "I think the offer that has been made is more than fair. I think the natives have been given bad advice," he said. "The problem lies with the fact that there isn't money on the table to pay off the lawyers," he said. Buchanan's mill has been operating since 1957 and is the largest employer in the Town of High Prairie. It produces about 75 million feet a year of white spruce studs, and has a workforce of 178 with an annual payroll of about $4 million. Over half of Buchanan's workforce is native, but none are Lubicons because the band discourages its members from working for him, he said. ***************************************************************************** For more information contact web:car by e-mail or in writing Aboriginal Rights Support Group Committee Against Racism P.O. Box 3085, Station B Calgary, Alberta T2M 4L6