Media
Ecosystems at risk in Far North as development rush trumps planning
Groups call on Ontario government to rescue Premier's Far North vision before it's too late
July 14, 2010- On the second anniversary of Premier Dalton McGuinty’s historic Far North planning and conservation announcement, intrusive industrial developments are going forward with no plan and no oversight by Ontario’s resource management agencies. Six public interest groups are questioning why Ontario government staff are not implementing the Premier’s promise to put proper land use planning before development for this vast natural region.
Two years ago today Ontario promised to create a globally significant interconnected network of conservation lands across the Far North. The announcement was greeted with much fanfare in Canada and around the world. The plan promised to enshrine a new respect for and working relationship with First Nations, including new approaches to resource benefit sharing and a greater say in the future of their communities and traditional lands.
Full release and backgrounder | Additional backgrounder - Notherners support conservation planning
Toronto Star: Far North Plan still incomplete
Industry and Environmental groups applaud release of Far North report
Report shows strong support for funding and First Nations lead on planningJune 23, 2009 – Today Ontario Waterpower Association and CPAWS Wildlands League applaud the release of the consensus advice of the Far North Advisory Council by MNR Minister Donna Cansfield. The groups were members of the Far North Advisory Council — a public committee struck by Minister Cansfield to provide advice and input on how to protect at least half of the Far North in a network of conservation lands while balancing social, economic and environmental priorities.
The multi-stakeholder Council met intensively over a six-month period from September 2008 to February 2009 and achieved a surprising amount of consensus and good will. For example, all agreed that:
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Resources required for the Far North Initiative should be regarded as a cost-effective return on investment, resulting in an overwhelming net benefit for local communities, the province and country as a whole;
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Decision-making authority in the Far North is held by First Nations and the Province and that all planning and development activities require community agreement before proceeding; and
- A comprehensive planning framework is required that includes all relevant sectors and reflects the unique culture, geography and global significance of this part of the province.
The entirety of the advice can be found at http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/274245.pdf.
Full releaseConservation and Prosperity in the North
June 19, 2009 - Toronto Star Opinion piece authored by Monte Hummel, President Emeritus of WWF-Canada, and Chris Hodgson, President of the Ontario Mining Association, and a former Ontario Minister of Natural Resources
Ontario's northern boreal region is beyond most of our mental maps. Bigger than California and found north of the 50th parallel, it is a region of as much water as forests. It is home to 36 First Nations communities, many rare or endangered species (including Ontario's own population of polar bears), a massive store of carbon in peat lands, and perhaps some of the best mineral potential in the world. It is 99 per cent "undeveloped" now, but like everywhere on Earth, change is coming.
Last July, Premier Dalton McGuinty announced he would protect at least 50 per cent – some 225,000 square kilometres of this region. The premier said he would do this in a way that protected ecosystems, stored carbon, reflected the aspirations of aboriginal communities, and set the stage for sustainable economic development. He also said he would enshrine this new planning approach in legislation.
Earlier this month, the premier kept his promise when the province introduced the Far North planning and protection act.
As the government recesses and heads north to hold committee hearings that will consider amendments to the new act, there are important sources to look to for advice. First and foremost are aboriginal communities themselves. They have long wished to lead and control planning within their traditional territories. Their ability to share in development of the North's resources, while securing a place for their culture and lands, is long overdue.
First Nations' aspirations have some important support, especially through the work of the Far North Advisory Council, on which both of us served. This body, comprised of industry and environmental stakeholders – a grouping not always known for their ready agreement – worked for several months to produce a concise, action-oriented set of recommendations for the Ontario government on how to implement the premier's commitment. Our report calls for real decision-making power to be vested in a new planning body that will ensure aboriginal leadership. It also advises that communities must share in the benefits that come from both the development and protection of the Far North's riches.
It is not easy to merge the needs, hopes and aspirations of a community into a land-use plan. But we have seen the unfortunate results of projects that have been approved without such planning. Conflicts between aboriginal people and new business ventures have been all too common.
Completing plans before development starts offers greater security for business, communities and ecosystems alike. Industries such as mining are not interested in going where they are not wanted. Experience shows that projects proceed to approval and operation more quickly when communities are part of the planning process and when the needs of ecosystems are addressed up front. Further, the products that come from the forests or lands where communities approve resource development plans are more likely to be accepted by a marketplace increasingly concerned about social and environmental performance.
When MPPs visit northern communities this summer, we expect they will hear strong support for legislation that will deliver a new relationship between aboriginal people and the Ontario government. From our perspective, effective legislation will require aboriginal leadership and participation in both community and regional planning bodies. It needs to ensure effective and accountable decision-making. And it must make funding available for implementation.
With the remarkable consensus that now exists across such different sectors as miners and conservation groups, we are confident that the premier can deliver a precedent-setting law that enables a positive new future for Ontario's Far North.
New law promises to protect northern Boreal Forest
June 2, 2009 - A coalition of leading environmental groups applauds legislation to be introduced today that would enshrine Premier Dalton McGuinty’s commitment to protect at least 225,000 square kilometres of the northern boreal forest. The Far North Planning and Protection Act, if passed, could help Ontario fight climate change, protect ecosystems and ensure First Nations have control over land-use decisions as they plan for cultural renewal and future economic prosperity. Full release and backgrounder (pdf file).Groups launch coalition to call for action on Premier's commitment to protect boreal
April 16, 2009 - Today a coalition of five environmental groups is calling on the Provincial government to create a new land-use planning law for Ontario's Great Boreal Forest. Full release
July 14, 2008 - Premier announces protection for vast area of boreal forest
Responses to the Premier's Boreal Protection Announcement
Group welcomes Ontario premier’s announcement of landmark conservation vision for Boreal Forest
Today CPAWS Wildlands League congratulates Premier McGuinty on his vision to protect 225,000 km2 or 22.5 million hectares of intact Boreal Forest in Ontario in an interconnected network across the Far North. The future of Ontario’s northern Boreal lands and waters will be determined through an innovative Land Use Planning initiative with First Nations. The announcement includes an important commitment to work with First Nations to ensure their consent is given before any industrial projects go forward and resource benefit sharing.
NAN encouraged by requirement for consultation and accommodation for new mining development
Chief Stan Beardy is encouraged that new mining development in the Far North Boreal region will require early consultation and accommodation with local Aboriginal communities under the Government of Ontario's Far North Planning initiative announced today.
Ontario to spare boreal forests
Karen Howlett - The Globe and Mail
TORONTO – One half of Ontario's vast boreal forest will be permanently protected from mining and other resource development projects as part of a sweeping plan unveiled by Premier Dalton McGuinty to combat climate change.
The government will protect at least 225,000 square kilometres from development, representing one half of the boreal region in the far north and an area 1.5 times greater in size than all the Maritime provinces combined, Mr. McGuinty said Monday at a news conference.
Ontario to protect vast tract
Kerry Gillespie - Toronto Star
Ontario has made the largest conservation commitment in Canadian history, setting aside at least half the Northern Boreal region – 225,000 square kilometres – for permanent protection from development, Premier Dalton McGuinty announced yesterday. It's an area almost the size of the United Kingdom.
The Great Canadian Tour
Glen McInnis - CPAC
John Glen McInnis as he travels 600 kilometres north of Thunder Bay to Big Trout Lake where the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) have lived for thousands of years surrounded by the Boreal Forest. It is one of the last, great, undeveloped spaces on the planet and is one of the world's largest intact ecosystems. Glen talks with KI community leaders who were recently incarcerated after protesting the development of a mineral exploration site on their land without consultation. He'll also talk with the Wildlands League, an environmental group that has been lobbying the Ontario Government to protect this valuable and essential ecosystem. We'll also learn more about the Ontario Government's recent plan to safeguard the forest by reforming and modernizing the Mining Act.
