Heather Latter
With a modernized, inclusive forest tenure model in the works, the process is continuing along at the pre-engagement stage.
“I’m still trying to reach out to groups to talk about forest tenure,” noted Jeff Wiume of the Forest Tenure Implementation Team for the Northwest Region.
“The first time you meet with groups, we try to cover as much as we possibly can, however everything is new,” he explained.
“And so once people digest it, there’s always opportunity for follow up discussions and more dialogue.”
The Ministry of Natural Resources is looking to modernize how the province licences, allocates, and prices Crown forests, with the idea to move locally towards an Enhanced Sustainable Forest Licences (eSFLs) company instead of Resolute Forest Products holding the licence for the Crossroute Forest Management Unit.
“We need to modernize the way we do forest tenure, so we are transitioning away from single-entity SFLs held by large wood consumers to a more inclusive, locally-driven process,” Wiume noted.
This means Resolute will have the opportunity to become a shareholder of the new company, as will other mills, municipalities, and harvesters in the area.
“We expect eSFLs will have more flexibility in terms of how they are structured and they will include more local interests,” Wiume added.
And Wiume said the pre-engagement phase has been successful so far.
“The questions [now] are probably more specific to the local situation, which is really where I wanted to go,” he remarked.
“But it sometimes takes more than an initial meeting to get there,” he admitted, noting he’s met with some groups two or three times.
“[Some] are pretty interested in forestry and forest tenure,” Wiume said, citing he’s met with such groups as the Fort Frances Chiefs Secretariat, district municipalities, and independent loggers.
“And I continue to meet with the mills.
“So we’re getting to a point where, I think, we’re going to probably be ready to start a file,” Wiume added.
“So what I’m doing now is I’m trying to circle back one last time with everybody just to make sure everyone is ready for the discussion.”
Wiume is anticipating the discussion at a so-called participants’ table to take 16-24 months.
“It going to be a long discussion . . . to work your way through all the interests and what the concerns are, and try to end on a model that satisfies the local situation,” he explained.
He’s hoping to start the discussions by mid-fall.
Wiume said groups will be invited to participate based on their level of interest shown during the pre-engagement process.
“There have been people who have not been interested because it’s just something that doesn’t interest them and that’s fine,” he reasoned.
“So those individuals likely won’t be invited to a participants’ table.”
Wiume expects to see four main groups at the table—aboriginal people, municipalities, loggers, and mills.
“For the first couple of meetings, I think we would likely just try to have a general discussion on what is your interest in forest tenure, what concerns you about forest tenure,” he explained.
“When we can get those out on the table, I’m hoping we will find commonality amongst the participants that they have some similar interests and they have some similar concerns.
“Then we can start to look at a business model that may try to achieve most of the interests and address most of the concerns.”
The transition to eSFLs will be guided by the minister-endorsed document, “Principles for Enhanced Sustainable Forest Licence Implementation,” which is a result of a collaborative effort between the MNR and a working group, including representatives of several First Nations, members of a Forest Industry Working Group, and a Community Working Group.
It directs that transition will be the result of collaborative, inclusive processes that are locally-led and which reflect locally-based solutions.
Wiume plans to bring a neutral facilitator to the participants’ table to lead the discussions, as well as lawyers to answer questions.
“That’s important for people at the end of the day to determine how they want to participate in the eventual company,” he said.
“Or whether they are satisfied simply being at the table when the company is being created, but in the end don’t necessarily want to be part of the company.
“They want to have their fingerprints on how it was formed or designed because they have interests,” he added.
The company will have a board of directors representing shareholders with financial obligations, and will have proportional influence over financial decisions of the eSFL company while ensuring all directors, including outside ones, have a vote in all decisions.
It will be steered by an Independent General Manager, who will report to the board of directors and have the primary responsibility for sustainable forest management, as directed by the business agreement.
In addition, the eSFL company will promote the sustainable use of the full available Crown wood supply by ensuring it is used or made available to others for use.
The MNR will provide oversight and available resources, facilitate transition, and monitor progress.
“The process is moving along as I had expected,” Wiume stressed.
He sees the move to eSFLs as a positive one because anyone with an interest in forest tenure will have an opportunity to be a shareholder in the new company.
