“FSC recognizes the genuine will of all parties to arrive at a speedy resolution of the issues and is pleased to hear of this agreement” said Francois Dufresne, President, FSC Canada.
The situation began in May 2013, when the Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee) publicly challenged the issuance of Resolute Forest Product’s Lac St-Jean Forest Management certificate and submitted a formal complaint, to Accreditation Services International (ASI), related to the lack of respect to the Baril-Moses Agreement.
On July 16, 2015, the Grand Council of the Crees (EI) formally withdrew their complaint to ASI stating that the dispute had been resolved through the conclusion of the agreement.
“This process illustrates one of the core values of FSC which is working to ensure that responsible forest products are sourced with consent from Aboriginal Peoples with the intention of protecting their rights” said Mr. Dufresne.
FSC acknowledges that there is still some work to be done as the Innu First Nation are still in the process of negotiating with the Government of Quebec, but FSC is confident that the remaining issues will be resolved in the near future.
Baril-Moses Agreement
Signed by Quebec Natural Resources Minister Gilles Baril and Grand Chief Ted Moses, this Agreement details how forestry operations are to be conducted on 14 Cree traplines covering 7245 km2 east of the Mistissini/Oujé-Bougoumou height of land.
Media Contacts:
En Francais:
Francois Dufresne,
President, FSC Canada
f.dufresne@ca.fsc.org
514-394-1137
English:
Monika Patel,
Director of Programs and Communications
m.patel@ca.fsc.org
416-778-5568 x26
International:
Karen Bennett Van der Westhuizen
Communications Director
FSC International
Bonn, Germany
k.bennett@fsc.org