"Tsimshian requests denie

The Tsimshian Tribal Council
has been told by the co-chairman
of the province’s Major Project.
Review Process steeting commit-
tee that it is not a government
and therefore cannot have a
position on the steering commit:
tee evaluating the Orenda pulp
and paper mill proposal. ;

The Tsimshian Tribal Council
represents native bands with
traditional territories in the

region around Prince Rupert and -

Terrace, including the Kitsum-
kalum and Kitselas people.

_Ina letter Sept. 17 tribal coun-
cil {president Art © Sterritt.
‘requested a seat for the tribal
council] on the committee

because the mill, if- approved, -
will be built.on their territory. °
‘Sterritt also asked for approxi-

mately $50,000 to enable. the
Tsimshian to do a_ technical
evaluation of the Orenda pro-
spectus. |

- Sterritt said last week the tribal
council was told by David Par-
sons, ‘the Ministry of Environ-

ment co-chairman on the steer-

ing committee, that the Tsim-
shian -‘inferests . would be

~ addressed by the federal Depart-

ment of Indian Affairs and the

Affairs, making the funding

grant for research unnecessary.”

_: Neither of those agencies have
‘communicated with the Tsim-
shian regarding the Orenda pro-
ject, Sterritt said.

The tribal council is governed
by elected representatives and
‘has responsibilities comparable
to a regional district, and its

provincial Ministry of Native’

member bands are structured in

a manner comparable to a muni-.

cipal government, Sterritt said.
"They don’t even recognize that
we’re here." |

Even Orenda was "amazed" at
the steering committee’s attitude,
he said, noting that the company
had made some efforts to hear
the tribal council’s concerns and
has offered a training program
for focal native people to open
the possibility of employing
them at the mill. But Sterritt
said the Tsimshian will not

~ Steering committee nearly done
~ wading through Orenda materiat

The Major Project Review
Process
should be finished sometime this
week with the last of over 200

stecring committee

individual submissions regarding
the proposed Orenda pulp and
paper mill project. Steering
committee co-chairman David

Environmentalists, -
wood workers agree
to end battle

"It’s industry and government’s
worst nightmare come true" was
the way Joe Foy of the Western
Canada Wilderness Committee
described an accord reached by
four unions: representing forest
workers and four environmental
activism groups this week.

Called "Peace in the Woods",
the agreement created a commit-
tee with the objective of saving
forests and forestry jobs at the
same time. Foy said the idea is
modeled on the South Island
Accord, an agreement struck
after a series of violent incidents
and arrests over the Walbran
Valley logging controversy.

"They [forest workers and
environmentalists} realized that
they’re the ones who are eye-
ball-to-eyeball, with the police
in between, in these situations
and they’re both being portrayed
as the bad guys by the media,"
said Foy. In discussions about

the Walbran the two sides came’

to the realization that they had
primary interests in common, he
said: "The forests and the em-
ployment from forests is de-
creasing at the same time."

The committee is composed of
representatives from the Interna-
tional Woodworkers of America,
the United Fishermen and Allied
Workers, the Canadian Paper-
workers. Union,,.the Pulp ‘and
Paperworkers of Canada, the
Canadian Parks and Wilderness
Society, the Valhalla Socicty,
the Western Canada Wilderness
Committee, Greenpeace Canada,
the Wilderness Tourism Council,
Earthlife Canada and the Sierra
Club of Western Canada.

Foy pointed out that no log-
ging road blockades or other
types of physical confrontation
over forest and land use are
taking place in B.C, at the pres-
ent time. "We now have hope,
but it won’t last forever," Foy
said. "At least in B.C. there is
some time left, we have room to
manoeuvre."

The Kitlope watershed south of
Kitimat and the Khutzymateen
valley near Prince Rupert are
widely believed to be probable
sites for the next major environ-
mental confrontations in the
province.

&

Ministry of Social Services & Housing
Due to the Postal Dispute ALL income
assistance cheques will be available for pick up
at the District Office #34 - 3412 Kalum Street

from
Wednesday Oct. 23 to
Wednesday Oct. 30
between the hours
of 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon
and 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Please have 2 pieces of I.D.
available on request.

Parsons, and official with the
Ministry of Environment in
Victoria, said that next weck the
committee should conclude its
examination of comments from
government agencies.

Orenda Forest Products is
proposing the. construction of a
pressurized groundwocd pulp
mill and attached coated paper
manufacturing plant south of
Lakelse that would produce
173,000 tons of coated magazine
paper per year. Estimated cost of
building the plant is $365 mil-
lion, and it would employ about
140 people when finished.

- The deadline for submissions

“té ‘the committee for the general

public was Oct. 10; government
agencies had until Oct. 17 to
forward their comments.
-Parsons said it is difficult to
predict when the committee will
have some concrete conclusions
io offer the public on the. pro-
ject. "There have been a lot of

questions raised on this project.
The agencies have to be satisfied
that their concerns are being
addressed. Some of it requires
clarification from Orenda," Par-
sons said.

He also noted that the govern-
ment agencies will want to exa-
mine the public submissions.
The wide range of potential
impacts of the project has made
the review a wide-ranging and
complex exercise, he remarked.

Parsons said the change in
government last week will prob-
ably not have a significant effect
on the Orenda review, but he
added that it may in the long run

change the nature of the review |

process. "I would expect it to be
an important component of the
NDP’s environmental manage-

‘ment strategy," he said.

"Fhe committee takes each
project as a learning step," he
said.

Terrace Review —- Wednesday, October 23, 1991 5

d by MPRP

pursue that issue further until
their concerns about the environ-
mental and socio-economic
impact on native interests are
satisfied, particularly the effects:
on fish and wildlife from the
increased activity in the region.

Sterritt believes the stecring
committce’s failure to recognize
the tribal council is an indication
that the government’s attitude
toward natives hasn’t changed
despite the creation of a cabinet
portfolio to deal with native
interests and the start of tripar-
tite negotiation of the Nisga’a
land claims. oa

"It’s not acceptable to go back

to the old patronizing system,"
‘Sterritt said. "We’re being left

out and we’re not going to take
it." . 7

In the Sept. 17 letter to Par- —
sons, Sterritt said, "It is my-

sincere wish that we do not
allow this project to develop into
a major confrontation between
Orenda and the Tsimshian
Nation, but, if we are not
afforded the opportunity to par-
ticipate in a meaningful way
then I am afraid we will have no
choice."

After receiving the answer to
that letter last week, Sterritt
remarked, "I’ve never.seen a
process with more apathy toward
native people." ,
_ The tribal council has hired a
research biologist to examine the
Orenda - project, but Sterritt
expects the work will extend
well beyond the deadline for
submissions to the MPRP. The
Tsimshian, he said, have made
no submission to date.

The deadline for submissions
from all concerned parties —
except government agencies —
was Oct. 10.

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