Untapped Potential

About 15 years ago Janice and I made the decision to move back to Northwestern Ontario. At the time we were living in Northern Manitoba. One thing for certain, especially for me, was that we would not remain there as the winter’s are too long and the summers too short. For me returning to the area I grew up in was easy; I like the temperate climate with its full four seasons, the general beauty and the broad spectrum of outdoor activities available, even if not as broad as before we left for Manitoba back in 1991.

Having returned I have noted many changes, some subtle and others not, but none that are positive. An illustration is the state of the forest industry that was the keystone of the local economy. A simple illustration is that when we left Ontario there were 10 operating paper and/or pulp mills operating in Kenora and Thunder Bay Districts. Now there are only 3. In a related fashion I have been on the Lake Nipigon Forest Local Citizens Committee on a volunteer basis. Over time on the committee I have come to realise a major impediment to the forest industry is over regulation, including the fact that any business interested in a forest-based activity has no choice but to follow the rules set out in the “Forest Management Planning Manual” and its related guides. Together all regulate how forestry practices must be done with little if any consideration of economic sustainability. In other words, the government, rather than just providing a framework of targets to guide development, through the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, is telling people how to run their business. And we all know, or should, that the one organisation that does not know how to do things efficiently is government.

The past Liberal government is largely to blame but unfortunately that even if the current Conservative government had any desire to roll back these impediments, the current bureaucracy will not help as they love these restrictive regulations.

To illustrate, I tried writing the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry about the above and several other matters and included a suggestion on increasing revenues. I proposed that more recreation lots be made available. First, I doubt very much that the letter was ever seen by the minister and secondly the response to my suggestion was “Crown land is no longer actively marketed, rented or sold for private recreational or residential use”. As most of the land in our area is “Crown Land” that does not bode well.

We look at what has taken place in Minnesota just south of us and it is like night and day. While very anti-mining even though Northern Minnesota was developed by mining and it still provides a significant contribution to the local economy, they have developed their tourism industry immensely whether through government or private development. The Sibley Peninsula closer to home has some development but not much. Then we get to the Black Bay Peninsula, a true gem in the rough with fantastic and impressive natural features that few can see. 

Through much lobbying by some local interests Nipigon Bay has been declared a significant part of the Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area, managed by Parks Canada. A “park” conserving what, I do not know. But why not transfer the Black Bay Peninsula and even the Nipigon Bay bounding islands to the Federal government to make a real “National Park” rather than the current ephemeral “Conservation Area”? That, I think, would truly be a great boon as an area of profound beauty would become accessible by the general populace, even if under controlled access. Our very own Banff.

An alternative that could have similar positive benefits for our area is if those signatories to the Robertson Superior Treaty, the Ojibwe of the north shore of Lake Superior, decided to negotiate for a modernisation of said treaty. Why do I even suggest this? Read the treaty and you quickly see that it amounts to putting all Ojibwe on welfare and under protection of Queen Victoria and her successors. In effect treating them as children. Back in 1850 there is no question that the two cultures were quite different. I will not comment as it simply was a different world then. But 170 years later it is time it be updated as both sides now are now on equal footing when it comes to deciding what is right and without question the Ojibwe are “all grown up” and should not be treated as children any more. They are very capable of being much better managers of their own future. A key to life in the present is control over the land you live on. So why don’t the Ojibwe trade getting annual welfare payments and have title restored to them of lands that they can then take responsibility for, such as the Black Bay Peninsula and associated islands?

Of the “modern” treaties, those signed in the latter half of the twentieth century, such as the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement or the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement set the precedent; self-management of some of the “Crown” land. Just a thought for my fellow citizens of this country who are Ojibwe. I for one am open to anything that foretells of a future of hope. Not the current one of despair thanks to disdain of those at Queens Park.