[IPSM] Domtar leads attack on Aboriginal women

[Devin Butler]

(an earlier press release regarding the attack on members of the community 
follows the first press release and statement from the community)

LUMBER GIANT DOMTAR INC. LOCKS ITS DOOR TO PREVENT ABORIGINAL WOMAN FROM 
ENTERING
ITS OFFICES
A Group Of Concerned Aboriginals Is Left Wondering How Committed Domtar Inc. 
Is To
Its Policies Of Social Responsibility

Val D'Or, Quebec, December 3, 2004;  A coalition of Algonquin communities 
near Val
d'Or Quebec have been embroiled in a dispute with Domtar and its largest
shareholder, The government of Quebec, over fears that their aboriginal way 
of life
is being steamrolled in the name of corporate profits.  On November 24, 
2004, it all
came to a head as Domtar Inc. refused a diplomatic solution and authorized 
its
Logging Trucks to "force" the issue with the Algonquin's. The group of 
Native woman
which were brutally attacked by the Quebec Riot Police while they peacefully 
sat on
a Logging Road (some 60 kilometers in the forest), visited the Domtar mill 
in Val
d'Or Quebec on December 2, 2004.  They came bearing peaceful ceremonies and 
singing
song's.  One woman hoping to have a constructive word with Domtar, made her 
way to
the offices but found the door locked and no one to see.

"I wanted to just ask the Manager why he decided to force the confrontation 
which
resulted in my back being bruised and my going to jail." Stated Marlene 
Jerome.
Jerome explained further that the woman just wanted someone to explain to 
them why
they choose this path as opposed to the path of helping the government of 
Quebec
simply accept the recommendations of their own hand picked mediator.

The delegation of some fifty people sang song's as they walked continuously 
in a
circle in front of Domtar.  Frustrated that Domtar claims its policies of 
being open
and transparent are important to them, the Algonquin's vow to push on.  They 
plan on
expanding the demonstrations to other Domtar facilities, and are beginning 
to
explore the possibilities of addressing Domtar's largest customers, the 
American
People, directly in the near future.

Chief Steeve Mathias addressed the crowd by saying, "we are people of honour 
and
dignity and deserve to have someone from Domtar give them the common 
courtesy of
explaining to them why they feel that violence against Aboriginals is 
acceptable
when a diplomatic solution, developed by a mediator, exists on the table".



STATEMENT

It is another dark day for Democracy in Quebec. Human dignity and Human 
respect have
taken a back seat to totalitarian rule of conservatives in red coats.

Quebec has had options from us since November 11th, 2004 which would have 
seen the
checkpoints lifted, and wood flowing in exchange for a commitment to a 
process to
follow. On November 22nd, we deposited the following proposition to Quebec:

  ·   Judge Paul’s recommendations



  ·   A communication committee consisting of representation from the unions 
and
the region, and allowing this committee to choose who would sit at the table 
as an
observer

On November 4th , Quebec claimed that we did not accept Judge Paul’s
recommendations (which is not true) and brought in the Surete du Quebec’s 
Riot
Squad. When we proposed their own (same) proposition back to them on 
November 20th,
they use the Riot Squad anyway.

They say they won’t negotiate with a gun to their head. But even when there 
is no
“gun”, as was the case before the checkpoint, they still don’t negotiate.

When we dropped off this proposal with Quebec’s negotiator, he indicated 
that he
needed time to get up to speed on the file, and would call us Monday 
afternoon.

On Monday morning, Quebec and Domtar forced the wood out anyway.

We continued to stay on the high road and allowed this as a test to see if 
Quebec
would be genuine and follow the rest of Justice Paul’s recommendations as he
intended.

Two days later, we approached Domtar to explain the details to them and 
inform them
that we have Quebec’s mediators’ proposal on the table and that it would 
only
take hours to resolve.  We asked them to stop the trucks, that they contract 
to do
this, and join us in fixing the problem diplomatically.  Absent of this we 
would
have no choice but to intervene.  They called us back later in the morning, 
turned
us down and said we were on our own.

We are very disappointed in Domtar and the role they played in creating this
confrontation. They made an informed conscious choice to trivialize their 
own
policies and advertisements by choosing the brutal arrest of our defenseless 
women
and trampling our dignity while having a simple diplomatic solution 
available to
them.

  ·    they could have contributed to the solution constructively but choose 
to
agitate it instead



  ·   however, there is still time for them to be the solution

Sadly, despite the brutality forced upon our powerless women by Domtar and 
Quebec,
not one human rights group has contacted us to offer their support. We begin 
to
appreciate this further after reviewing a newspaper article in Le Devoir, 
where
Minister Chagnon of Public Security states “It is cultural to beat native
women”. It is not difficult to understand why this government ordered the 
S.Q. to
what they did, despite the diplomatic option they had.

We find it quite concerning that the Charest government rewards companies 
and
contractors with $1.6 million of tax payers money when they shout about 
their
rights, but what we get is the S.Q. beating our Women and Chiefs, and 
throwing us
all in jail.

The Algonquin Chiefs have met and wish to state the following:

  ·   We are appalled at what Quebec and Domtar have done to our people 
despite
having other options.



  ·   We support the Coalition’s movement to protect Algonquin land, and 
urge
Quebec and Domtar in a balanced negotiation process.



  ? We urge Quebec and Domtar to revisit the proposition received from the
Coalition, consisting of their own hand picked mediator’s recommendation, 
and
realize that our members are appalled and will expect nothing less.

As we started out saying, it is a dark day for democracy in Quebec. This is 
not just
our problem, it is a problem for anyone in this province that expects to 
have their
interests dealt with diplomatically. Is this the type of democracy Quebecers 
choose
now, despite being once considered the pillar of democratic and social 
reform in the
country?

We invite anyone of any nationality or creed to please feel free to join us 
in a
demonstration as we have a common cause in defending our democratic values.

We are establishing a hotline for anyone who wishes to join us to call and 
we’ll
get this out soon.

In the meantime, we urge Domtar and Quebec to immediately take the 
initiative to
solve the problem by stopping the log trucks temporarily and seeing the 
merit in
their own mediators recommendations.

If this isn’t resolved by Wednesday evening, we will not walk away and feel 
that
we have no choice but to take action ourselves. Our people have become more 
and more
energized by the attacks and a movement is sweeping across the region. As
Aboriginals we do no accept brutal beating over diplomacy, and we are coming
together to prove it.

- 30 -

Source:

Mr. Jean Cotten, Chief of Communications


(previous press release regarding the original attack)

Lumber Giant Domtar inc. Opts for Brutal Attack on Defenseless Aboriginal 
Woman
over Diplomacy
    Despite Knowing That A Diplomatic Solution Was Merely Hours Away, Domtar
    Mobilizes Its Log Trucks To Roll Through Aboriginal Check Point

    TWIN RAPIDS, Quebec, Nov. 25 /CNW Telbec/ - A coalition of Algonquin
communities near Val d'Or Quebec have been embroiled in a dispute with 
Domtar
and its largest shareholder, The government of Quebec, over fears that their
aboriginal way of life is being steamrolled in the name of corporate 
profits.
Today, it all came to a head as Domtar Inc. refuses a diplomatic solution 
and
authorizes its Logging Trucks to "force" the issue with the Algonquin's. 
With
the blessing of Domtar, and in a shoving match reminiscent of the tanks 
moving
through Tiananmen Square in China, Quebec's special Riot Task Force wheeled
their baton's and charged the crowd of woman, while the Algonquin Men were
trapped by the Police behind a barricade. The result being defenseless
aboriginal woman being beaten with batons, brutally dragged to waiting Patty
Wagon's, and hauled off to jail by Quebec's special Riot Task Force, while 
the
Men were indignantly forced to witness the whole thing. The few that managed
to intervene were ganged upon and treated the same way.
    On Monday November 22, 2004, despite the two Negotiators between Quebec
and the Algonquin's only being hours away from a diplomatic solution to the
crisis, which would have seen the Check Point lifted, and the wood being
transported to Domtars Mills the next day, Domtar gave the order to its Log
Trucks to begin rolling. Notwithstanding the fact that Domtar has been
inconspicuously absent from the discussions thus far, The Algonquin 
Coalition
met with Domtar officials in the morning the same day as the attack. "We
wanted Domtar to understand the unnecessary nature of their sudden decision 
to
mobilize their workforce against us", stated Lucien Wabanonik. A plea was 
made
by the Chiefs to Gildas Mainville, Domtars Vice President, to stop the 
hauling
as it was exasperating the issue, join them as a concerned Broker, and to
allow themselves two days to finalize the solution to the crisis. The Chiefs
explained to Domtar that absent of their help, the Algonquin's would have no
alternative left but to take action on the road, and that this is not
necessary. Later in the morning after deliberating among themselves, Domtar
told the Aboriginals that they would continue the provocative action, and 
that
they were on their own.
    When asked what is next, George Wabanonik states, "if you stood outside
of your home protecting it from exploitation, and you were punched in the
belly and held down, while your wife was brutally thrown to the ground,
chained, and dragged off by men in masks, what would you do?" The man next 
to
him, Bear McMartin interjects with, "eventually people just become tired of
being pushed around. First we will free our woman, then we will regroup and
put an end to this once and for all."
    Peter Politis, Lead Negotiator for the Algonquin's states, "In all my
years of negotiating arrangements between governments and aboriginal
communities, I have never seen such an unnecessary and irresponsible
provocation by a multinational corporation as I've seen today. Politis goes 
on
to say that, "flashy Corporate Policies and image are only as good as the
people behind them. When being asked to take a couple of days to iron out 
the
final details, as opposed to brutally asserting your power over an oppressed
people simply looking for a fare shake, and you consciously choose the 
latter,
it raises a lot of questions about what you really stand for".

    BACKGROUND:

    -    The Algonquin Coalition began the struggle in late August of this
         year and has met a steady barrage of what it calls "George Bush /
         Mike Harris" style tactics from Jean Charest Quebec Government.
    -    Quebec hand picks a Mediator from the Quebec Court system, and
         unilaterally drafts his mandate, and imposes him upon the
         Algonquin's,
    -    The Quebec "Mediator" met the Algonquin's one time before making 
his
         recommendations, to make introductions and meet the community
         people. No mediation was conducted.
    -    On November 4th, Quebec brought in it's special Riot Team from
         Montreal (some 700 km's away) after it claimed that the Algonquin's
         refused a recommendation of Quebec's self appointed Mediator.
    -    In a gesture of good faith, the Algonquin's decided that it would 
be
         best to allow the movement of Forestry Workers and their equipment
         through its "Check Point, but warned Quebec and Domtar that they
         needed to come to a diplomatic solution before the Check Point 
would
         be completely lifted, fostering the transportation of some 800,000
         trees clear cut and stockpiled in the forest by Domtar during the
         summer.
    -    The Algonquin's offered Quebec multiple solutions that were built
         around their Mediators recommendation's and that would have seen 
the
         Check Point lifted, and all the wood transported to the mills long
         before this week.
    -    Finally, The Algonquin's deposited a proposal to Quebec's 
Negotiator
         on November 20th that consisted of Quebec's Mediators
         recommendation's and the already agreed to inclusion of observer's
         at the table,
    -    The Algonquin's essentially had agreed to follow the 
recommendations
         of the governments Mediator, and simply asked them to follow the
         mediators own recommendation of signing a letter to this effect
         before lifting the Check Point.
    -    As Quebec's Negotiator had just been mandated the file that On
         November 20th, he needed Monday November 22nd this week to become
         familiar with the file.
    -    While expecting to finalize the proposal in a matter of hours with
         Quebec's Negotiator on November 22nd, as it virtually represented
         what Quebec said the Algonquin's refused two weeks earlier, Domtar
         mobilizes their Log Trucks to force the issue.
    -    The Algonquin's meet Domtar on the morning of the attack to ensure
         that they are properly informed, and to explain the file clearly to
         Domtar asking them to see the unnecessary danger in their action.
    -    The Algonquin's ask Domtar to stop the log trucks for two day's and
         to help them during that time to finalize the arrangement with
         Quebec,
    -    Later that Morning Domtar refuses the offer of the Aboriginals and
         tells them that they are on their own.


    FACTS:

    -    Domtar clear cuts some 70,000 football fields of forest every year
         on the territories of the two aboriginal communities.
    -    Domtar has not participated in the discussion's since they began in
         August, despite being asked to by the Algonquin's,
    -    In 2001, Quebec's Auditor General has warned Quebec's National
         Assembly that their forests are in disarray, and drastic action
         needed to be taken,
    -    The Algonquin Coalition consists of the Anishnabe Nation of Lac
         Simon, and the Long Point First Nation,
    -    Between them they represent some 3,000 members of the 8,500
         Algonquin's in Western Quebec



For further information: Mr. Jean Cotten, Chief of Communications,
819-949-2298/819-722-2441, 819-722-2579 FAX, www.forevergreen.ca/news.htm;
Video can be made available upon request