Northeast Superior Regional Chiefs’ Forum (NSRCF) Forestry Agenda

Presented at the Canadian Institute of Foresters

Annual General Meeting, September, 2015

Colin Lachance, B.A., M.E.S.NSRCF Corporate Secretary

Principled Approach

First Nations need to return to their traditional roles as stewards of the land

First Nations need to share more equitably in forest economic benefits

Canada needs to embrace reconciliationForest tenure modernization provides

opportunity

Supporting Global Trends1984 Megatrends predictions

New ISO social responsibility standards New FSC forest certification standards Evolving community forestry best practices

Twenty years of reconciliation-based Court rulings

Timeless Eighth Fire convergence prophecies

Conclusion: The NSRCF transformative process is

behind the curve, not ahead of it!

Comprehensive ApproachGovernance: NS-ESFL to start Fiscal: Forestry RRS Pilot to startEconomic: Condition # 34 AgendaEnvironmental: Guardianship Agenda Social: Learning InstituteCultural: Healing and Wellness Agenda

Conclusion: We are only as strong as our weakest link!

Governance: NS-ESFLStarted with a FN-municipal community

approachMoved to a FN-industry sustainability

approachThen gained government-to-government

tractionOMNRF commitment letter – game changer

All process stakeholders are now engaged

Conclusion: An adaptive management approach works

because it allows for shifts to be made on the fly!

Fiscal: Resource Revenue Sharing NSRCF-Ontario two year pilot projectEvaluation methodology jointly developedBig breakthrough – circular (holistic)

representation of evaluation criteria led to a common understanding

Conclusion: Convergence is not about blending two

world views but about looking at the same world from

different perspectives!

NSRCF Economic AgendaStarted with OMNRF Condition #34 petitionMoved to a business-to-business agenda with

industryNew entry focus, no displacement of status quoCommitment wavered once wood fibre

allocatedNSRCF then created a non-political business

modelEconomic agenda now moving forward

rapidly

Conclusion: No room for politics in merit based decision-making

NSRCF Ecological Agenda

Conservation Economy branding underwayAboriginal values mapping exercise

completedABIR cross-cultural methodology developedEFRI cross-cultural methodology developedFSC FPIC pilot project underway Strategic environmental assessment being

considered

NSRCF Cultural Agenda

NSRCF guided by an Elders CouncilGuardianship agenda reconnects Elders with

youthCommitment for a healing lodge in each

community Several cases of spiritual intervention that

improved government decision-making

NSRCF Social Agenda

Comprehensive community planning underway

Tied to a regional planning process Creating a regional development corporationNon-political, strategic, collaborative focusMunicipalities still invited to the table

ConclusionsTransformative change processes are not

easy People are fearful of change even when it

makes senseAdaptive management approach promotes

continual improvement through “shifting on the fly”

People working together through meaningful dialogue can overcome all of these challenges

Stakeholder and public education are key