Resolute Forest Products not honouring SFL agreement, says First Nations leader: Treaty 3 chief calls out forest products giant, throws support behind Fort Frances mill revival.

• Date: 01 April 2019
• Author: Ross, Ian

A northwestern Ontario First Nations leader maintains Resolute Forest Products shouldn't be permitted to take Crown wood out of the Fort Frances area.

Ogichidaa Francis Kavanaugh, Grand Chief of Treaty 3, said the conditions of the provincial sustainable forest licence (SFL) agreement that the Montreal forest products company holds for the Crossroute Forest "does not appear to have been honoured."

"Resolute not only closed its Fort Frances mill, but has been cutting trees from our forest for its operations outside of Treaty 3. It is unclear who authorized this change," he said in a March 7 news release.

"Certainly, no authorization for this arrangement was ever sought from the Treaty 3 First Nations, nor would an authorization likely have been granted, because our traditional law requires that our resources support the local...