These points raised in this below Objection to the Expansion of the Alberni Valley Community Forest by First Nations Wildcrafters BC would also potentially apply to other First Nations in BC that have community forests operating within their Traditional Territory as a result of new legislation that was passed this year in BC regarding area based tenures and First Nations Free Use Permits.------------ From: Keith Hunter [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: June-05-14 12:11 PM To: Morris, Rhonda M FLNR:EX; [email protected]; Edwards, Neil D FLNR:EX Cc: C. Anne Robinson ([email protected]); Hugh Braker--Tseshaht Chief Councilor; Dwayne Hearn Subject: Notification of Objection to Expansion of Alberni Valley Community Forest Greetings: It has come to the attention of First Nations Wildcrafters BC via the media coverage of the Alberni Valley Times that the Alberni Valley Community Forest has made and/or is making a request to the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources Operations (FLNRO) for the expansion of the area based tenure of the Alberni Valley Community Forest. On behalf of First Nations Wildcrafters BC and on behalf of Tseshaht First Nation Band member C. Anne Robinson (in the capacity as owner of First Nations Wildcrafters and as a Tseshaht First Nation member) please accept this as Notification of Objection to the Expansion of the Alberni Valley Community Forest (AVCF). This objection is based upon the following: Pursuant to the Forest Act Section 49.1 and 49.1 (2), the consent of the holder of this community forest agreement would be required in order for a free use permit to be obtained by First Nations Wildcrafters BC under 48 (1)(d) and/or C. Anne Robinson under 48 (1)(a),(a.1),(b) or traditional and cultural activity in 48(1)(g). Further to this, Section 49.1 (4) would effectively remove any and all lands added to and/or within the AVCF from any free permit utilizations of First Nations Wildcrafters BC and/or C. Anne Robinson. The expansion of the AVCF community forest agreement area would place lands that are currently accessible within the unceded Tseshaht First Nation Traditional Territory under the exclusive free use permit consent jurisdiction of the AVCF. This creates an infringement upon the constitutionally protected rights and title interests of C. Anne Robinson to utilize the Tseshaht First Nation Traditional Territory for both traditional knowledge based forest research needs and traditional and cultural activity and practices. It is further noted and asserted in this Notification of Objection that substantive changes to the expansion of this community forest agreement area (and application of new legislation) has been engaged in absent adequate consultation and accommodation engagement with the Tseshaht community. As noted above, the information of the expansion of the community forest agreement area was obtained by First Nations Wildcrafters via the Alberni Valley Times media articles. It is asserted in this Notification that a deeper level of consultation with the Tseshaht community is required due to the magnitude of potential impacts upon free use permits and other traditional and cultural utilizations of Tseshaht Traditional Territory that the expansion of the AVCF will likely potentially infringe upon. Thank you for your consideration of this objection and concerns. On behalf of First Nations Wildcrafters BC and C. Anne Robinson we look forward to further communication and engagement on this matter. For your convenience I have cut and pasted the relevant sections cited above below my signature block. The source document utilized in this communication is found at bclaws.ca/Recon/document/ID/freeside/96157_03#part3_division9 Respectfully, Keith Hunter First Nations Wildcrafters, BC 7000-A Pacific Rim Highway Port Alberni, BC Canada V9Y 8Y3 Office: 250-720-8907 Fax: 250-720-8981 Cell: 250-731-3998 Skype: firstnationswildcraftersbc Email: [email protected] Websites: FirstNationsWildcrafters Facebook/FirstNationsWildcrafters Relevant Sections cited above: 48 (1) A free use permit must be entered into only with (a) an occupier of land who requires Crown timber for developing the land for agricultural purposes, (a.1) a person who requires a Christmas tree for their personal use and not for sale to others, (b) a person who requires firewood for their personal domestic purposes and not for sale to others, (d) a person who requires Crown timber for the purpose of scientific investigation, (g) a person who (i) requires Crown timber for a traditional and cultural activity, within the meaning prescribed for the phrase traditional and cultural activity, and (ii) is not selling the timber to others, and 49.1 (1) In this section, area-based licence means a community forest agreement, a first nations woodland licence or a woodlot licence. (2) With the consent of the holder of an area-based licence, the minister may enter into a free use permit authorizing the holder of the permit to harvest timber from Crown land within the area subject to the area-based licence. (4) Despite subsection (3), the minister must not enter into a free use permit with an applicant described in section 48 (1) (a.1), (b), (c), (d) or (h) if, on land the applicant owns or occupies, there is sufficient timber that is reasonably accessible for the purpose specified in the application.
Posted on: Thu, 05 Jun 2014 19:45:53 +0000
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