Photo courtesy of Tina Schwartz Photography
Some Metis chapters in the north feel their concerns about activity on their traditional lands are not being heard by the big companies involved in forestry and mining development in the area.
They hope to change that with an informational meeting in Ile-a-la-Crosse next Tuesday where northern leaders as well as commercial fishers, trappers and local village councils are being invited to learn about their rights.
The meeting is being put on by the Beauval comanagement board and the Ile-a-la Crosse board. The vice president of the Beauval board, Nick Daigneault, says it is important to be united in their stance.
“So we want to all be on the same page so that one person isn’t saying something and someone else is contradicting them,” he says. “We didn’t invite industry on purpose because we need to learn from each other first what our rights are so we are not over-stepping our boundaries because we have a little bit of learning to do as well.”
Daigneault says the local Metis chapters are not trying to stop the development, they simply want their concerns to be heard and to be part of the discussion process on how the logging operations should be conducted.
The meeting begins at 5 next Tuesday April 12 in the gym at the health centre in Ile-a-la-Crosse.