[news] Forestry Hacks Point to "Consultation Process" with Pride

[Resist!ca]

The Abitibi-Consolidated owned Kenora Daily Miner and News published a story today entitled "Few objections so far to Kenora Forest harvest plan" which makes the bold and dubious claim that little opposition has surfaced to the 2006-2011 clear-cutting plan for the Kenora area which has been cooked up by government and industry officials. Have they failed to notice the over two-year long ongoing logging blockade in Grassy Narrows in response to the plan's predecessor, Abitibi's "Whiskey Jack Forest management plan"? Did they miss that many First Nations have taken to boycotting "consultations" after decades of being ignored when they've come to raise their concerns? No, the Kenora paper has noticed. Buried inside the article we find that all First Nations bodies have dropped out of the planning process, and that "there is also no First Nations representation on the local citizens committee." But the overall tone is one of relief; as long as natives aren't participating, industry can churn out PR assuring us that there was very little opposition to the plan, and that it was well received by the community. It's time to join our voices with those of the Anishinabek to protect the land, and to give the state-corporate industrial machine a whole lot more to worry about.

URL: http://resist.ca/story/2005/3/30/10112/4634