Attachment #1: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 16, 1993
BOYCOTT WOOLWORTH DEMONSTRATION
Friends of the Lubicon (FOL) will be holding a rally at the Woolworth
outlet at the Intersection of Bathurst and Bloor Saturday, July 17, 1993.
A solidarity rally will also be held in Calgary at 11 am Calgary time to
spread the boycott to the West.
FOL has called for a boycott on all stores owned by Woolworth Canada,
Inc. to protest that company's use of paper bags manufactured by the
transnational paper company Daishowa-Marubeni Ltd. The boycott was
launched at a press conference on June 23, 1993, attended by the Chiefs
of Ontario and the National Association of Japanese Canadians.
Over 26 other companies, representing over 2,700 retail outlets, have now
joined the boycott of Daishowa paper products to protest that company's
plans to clear-cut almost the entire unceded territories of the Lubicon
Lake Cree Nation in northern Alberta. The Lubicon community has been
devastated by oil and gas development over the last 15 years and sees
clear-cut logging as the final blow to their once self-sufficient
society. The boycott has been successful in keeping Daishowa off Lubicon
lands for two consecutive logging seasons.
Despite months of attempted negotiations, Woolworth Canada Inc. has
remained obstinate in its refusal to consider choosing another supplier
for its paper bags. As past campaigns -- such as our successful three-
month boycott against Pizza Pizza -- have shown, the economic impact of
presenting such an issue to a company's consumers has proven effective in
convincing that company to find another alternative. We hope that
Woolworth Canada Inc. will listen to the rest of the buying public even
if they are unwilling to listen to the concerns of First Nations here in
Canada.
Stores which are subject to the boycott campaign include:
Kinney Canada Footlocker Karuba
Woolworth Lady Footlocker Canary Island
Northern Reflections Champs Sports Fredelle
Northern Traditions Randy River Willow Ridge
Northern Getaway Ashbrooks Silk and Satin
Reflexions The Best of Times Casuals
Woolco
For more information please contact:
Friends of the Lubicon (Toronto) 416-783-4694
or
Rosemary Brown, Calgary Daishowa Boycott Coalition at 403-282-7283
* * * * *
Attachment #2: The Edmonton Journal, Sunday, July 18, 1993
BAG BOYCOTT HITS STORE
The Canadian Press
Consumers shouldn't shop at Woolworth Canada stores until the company
finds another paper bag supplier, say supporters of an Alberta Cree band
locked in a land dispute.
Members of the Friends of the Lubicon, who demonstrated outside a Toronto
Woolworth store Saturday, say the chain is using paper bags, produced by
a company planning to clear-cut trees in territory claimed by the band.
"Such logging would be a death blow to Lubicon society," said group
spokeswoman Suzanne Methot, who grew up on the territory 340 kilometres
northwest of Edmonton.
She said her group hopes public pressure will keep the Japanese
multinational paper company, Daishowa-Marubeni, Ltd. off the land.
The group also wants to help force the federal and Alberta governments to
resume land claim negotiations with the Lubicon.
* * * * *
Attachment #3: June 15, 1993, letter from Daishowa-Marubeni to Jacques
Johnson, co-Chair, Lubicon Settlement Commission of Review
Dear Father Johnson:
I am writing this letter to express our concern about an issue raised in
the Final Report of the Lubicon Settlement Commission of Review
pertaining to Daishowa-Marubeni's activities.
As you know, we feel that the current logging moratorium has helped
provide a suitable environment for meaningful discussion to take place
directly between the Lubicons and the two levels of government. We share
the disappointment expressed by the Commission Report that substantial
progress does not yet seem to have been made to resolve this long-
standing conflict. Daishowa-Marubeni cannot resolve this dispute,
however, you can be assured that we have maintained pressure on the
Federal and Alberta Governments to give this matter the highest possible
priority.
In addition, Daishowa-Marubeni does not own the forestry lands in
question. We must obtain our harvesting authority from the Alberta
Government on an annual basis. As in past years, we are currently
preparing our plans for submission to the Alberta Government and it is
our sincere desire to continue to avoid the Lubicon area of concern while
negotiations are proceeding. We would therefore encourage interested
parties to express their concerns directly to the Alberta Government so
that the current logging moratorium can be extended as long as possible.
If I may, there is one error of fact in the Commission Report that I
would like to bring to your attention so it may be corrected for the
record. Specifically, page two, fifth paragraph reads as follows:
"Lubicon negotiators presented a draft settlement agreement to
provincial negotiators June 1, 1990. Negotiations with the
provincial government broke down at the end of the month. In the
fall, despite verbal understanding to the contrary, Daishowa
confirmed that four companies would log in the disputed territory.
In November some logging equipment was torched on Lubicon traditional
territory. Seventeen Lubicon were arrested. Trial was set for
January 1993."
These statements incorrectly say that there was a verbal understanding
between Daishowa and the Lubicons involving the Lubicon traditional
territory. Daishowa has stated publicly many times that no such
understanding ever existed. We believe that the alleged existence of an
"agreement" may have been based on a miscommunication originally, but the
fact remains that there is no such understanding. In addition, the
logging companies referred to are in fact sawmill operations that have
logged in the region for many years, and in some cases, several decades,
without incident. For example, the logging equipment that was torched
belonged to a contractor for an independent sawmill that is totally
unrelated to Daishowa-Marubeni's operations. It is therefore incorrect
to imply that Daishowa-Marubeni has control over independent sawmills and
their contractors, which of course have separate coniferous timber quota
agreements with the Alberta Government.
Finally, we were disappointed that the Commission Report was silent on
the fact that some Lubicon support groups continue to spread false
information about Daishowa-Marubeni's activities and plans, and initiate
boycotts and other hostile actions against us. This is a fundamentally
dishonest approach that only serves to undermine the credibility of those
involved. It is difficult for us to remain committed to helping the
Lubicon Band achieve a fair and just settlement if such irresponsible
actions continue.
We certainly hope that 1993 is a year in which this complex matter is
finally resolved and that we can find a way to work constructively
together to assist in the process.
Yours truly, Daishowa-Marubeni International Ltd., J.P. Morrison, General
Manager, Edmonton Office
* * * * *
Attachment #4: July 13, 1993, letter from Jacques Johnson, co-Chair,
Lubicon Settlement Commission of Review, to Daishowa-Marubeni
Dear Mr. Morrison,
Thank you for your letter of June 15th regarding the report of the
Lubicon Settlement Commission of Review.
I agree with you that "the current logging moratorium has helped provide
a suitable environment for meaningful discussion to take place directly
between the Lubicons and the two levels of government". Indeed I
remember writing a letter to Mr. Tom Hamaoka on September 27, 1991,
asking specifically that Daishowa desist from its intentions of pursuing
logging in the disputed area. I was most pleased that your company
demonstrated the wisdom that it did and maintained the moratorium on this
territory.
I also appreciate the fact that Mr. Hamaoka has brought public pressure
on the governments to come to the negotiating table and bring a fair
resolution to this long-standing issue. Such pressure is the kind of
talk our governments are bound to hear and act upon.
Our Commission expressed regret that your company chose not to present
evidence to our hearings at any time, despite an explicit invitation to
do so while we were holding hearings in Peace River. Our final report
was, of necessity, compiled on the basis of evidence presented to us,
rather than on the basis of evidence withheld. The evidence presented
convincingly by the Lubicon to members of this Commission is that your
company had agreed to a moratorium on logging pending a settlement. This
position of yours would have been taken, the Lubicon tell us, on March
7th, 1988, at Daishowa's Vancouver office. They tell us there was a
demonstration of Lubicon supporters outside your office and Chief
Ominayak and his consultant as well as Haida Chief Miles Richardson and
President of the United Native Nations Ron George went in and had a
congenial meeting with Mr. Kitigawa and Mr. Wakabayashi. Immediately
following the meeting the Chief went outside and reported the good news
to the demonstrators that an agreement had indeed been achieved between
Daishowa and the Lubicons, ie, that there would be no logging until a
settlement was achieved. It does not appear probable that the Chief
would have invented such an important matter had he not heard it with his
own ears. Could the real scenario be that your leaders, after having
taken a fair and courageous stand in the meting with the Lubicon reversed
it as they started to appreciate the real consequences in terms of
possible delays and other costs to the company? It is our understanding
that since that meeting Daishowa has made several claims about the nature
of that agreement, and only relatively recently has Daishowa started
denying that there was any agreement at all. Your letter appears to be
part of a public relations campaign designed to re-write history in your
favor and against the Lubicons' stated position on this issue.
You go on to deplore the fact that Lubicon support groups have been
successfully mounting opposition to your company through boycotts and
other actions and you deplore the fact that our Commission has not
condemned such activities. Again, are you not a bit late to lodge such a
protest with us? I'm convinced that the best way to remove this irritant
would be to state in writing, publicly and unequivocally, that the
company will under no circumstances engage in logging, or cause or allow
others to engage in logging in its behalf, in the area claimed by the
Lubicon people as their ancestral territory, until the Lubicon land
claims have been resolved to the satisfaction of the Lubicon Nation. My
understanding is that, if such an undertaking were made, the boycott of
Daishowa products would be called off immediately, and I for one, would
urge those engaged in the boycott to abandon it.
Sincerely yours, Jacques Johnson, OMI, Co-Chair
* * * * *
Attachment #5: "DAISHOWA FACT BOOK"
May 27, 1993, Cover letter from T.R. Cochran, Director, Corporate
Development
Thank you for your telephone call regarding the Friends of the Lubicon.
As I mentioned, we want to help our customers as much as possible to
understand what is going on with this group. We know that it is very un-
nerving to be threatened in this way, especially in the case where you
and we are both innocent victims of something that can only be resolved
by the Federal Government.
As promised, I am sending you a couple of copies of a brochure prepared
by Daishowa-Marubeni (the company that has the mill in northern Alberta)
which attempts to explain the background to this situation.
Please do not hesitate to call if you or any of your colleagues wish to
discuss this further. If need be, I am also available to meet with you
personally if you think that might be useful.
Yours very truly, T.R. Cochran
--------------------------------------
FACT BOOK
DAISHOWA BOYCOTT
CONTENTS
1. Introduction/Background
2. Daishowa-Marubeni's Position
3. Questions and Answers
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION/MATERIALS
4. Daishowa Customer Contact
5. Sample Boycott Letters
6. Sample New Release/Public Statement
---------------------------------------------
1. INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND
A Toronto-based native rights organization called "Friends of the
Lubicon" initiated a national boycott of Daishowa consumer products on
the grounds that the Peace River pulp mill and forestry operations in
northern Alberta threaten the lives and well-being of the local Lubicon
Lake Indian Band. Similar organizations have also been formed in
Edmonton and Calgary that mimic this approach.
Daishowa has been targeted for this boycott action because Daishowa-
Marubeni International Ltd.'s Forest Management Agreement with the
Alberta Government covers territory over which the Lubicon Band claim
jurisdiction, in their ongoing dispute with the Federal Government.
The boycott action usually takes the form, initially, of a letter (see
item 5) addressed to the principal of a retail business, requesting that
they cease using Daishowa products -- bags or packages -- to support the
case of the Lubicon Band against the Federal Government. If the business
refuses to comply, the letter continues, the general public will be asked
to withdraw their patronage.
These letters also indicate that copies, naming the retail business, are
being sent to a wide range of provincial and federal government officials
(the Prime Minister, Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs, provincial
premiers, etc.) -- a step which is calculated to cause considerable
concern to the average retail business.
These businesses will also be identified on an international,
environmental, computerized bulletin board.
It is important to Daishowa-Marubeni that any customer who receives such
threats clearly understand the situation, the facts, and the issues
involved before they respond to such correspondence.
This briefing package provides that information.
------------------------------------------------------
2. DAISHOWA-MARUBENI'S POSITION
In summary, Daishowa-Marubeni's position is that this boycott is
unjustified, because:
1. Daishowa-Marubeni's Peace River operations are in no way harming the
Lubicon people,
2. Daishowa-Marubeni has asked the federal and provincial governments to
give the Lubicon land claim the highest priority.
Because Daishowa-Marubeni is completely confident that the boycott is
unjustified, the company urges:
any customer that receives such correspondence, or any other form of
boycott threat, should contact Daishowa-Marubeni at the address
provided in this document (see item 4).
Daishowa-Marubeni will then provide any public/media information, legal
advice, and spokespersons required to support any customer experiencing
boycott pressure.
----------------------------------------------------
3. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Q. Is Daishowa-Marubeni cutting or using forest resources from anywhere
within the Lubicon area of concern?
A. No. Daishowa-Marubeni does not harvest or utilize any logs or
residual woodchips obtained from the Lubicon area of concern to
support its Peace River pulp mill operations. In the past, a small
owner operator sawmill, which became a subsidiary of Daishowa-
Marubeni (Brewster), traditionally harvested trees for 15 years
without incident, from an area recently defined by the Lubicons as
their area of concern. The Lubicon people objected to this practice
after Daishowa-Marubeni's acquisition, therefore alternate sources of
timber have been found for this sawmill.
Q. Has Daishowa failed to honour a pledge given to the Lubicons not to
cut or use forest resources from the Lubicon area of concern until
the land claim issue is settled with the Federal Government?
A. No, although there is a difference of opinion on this question.
Daishowa believes it has honoured its commitment not to harvest on
the proposed Lubicon "Reserve Area", and to consult with the Lubicons
prior to harvesting near the reserve area. This is the area that the
Lubicons negotiated with the Alberta Government. In any case,
neither Daishowa-Marubeni nor its subsidiary (Brewster) or
contractors are currently harvesting or purchasing timber from the
area of concern to the Lubicons.
Q. Has Daishowa-Marubeni agreed not to cut or use forest resources from
the Lubicon area of concern until the Lubicon land claim has been
settled with the federal and provincial governments?
A. No. To agree not to cut, for an indefinite time -- could mean the
closure of the Brewster sawmill if alternative harvesting sources are
unavailable.
Daishowa-Marubeni does not believe the Lubicon people or their
supporters wish to threaten the jobs of the Brewster sawmill workers,
who had traditionally used a small quantity of logs from the disputed
Lubicon area of concern for 15 years without incident.
Q. Is Daishowa-Marubeni (or its subsidiaries or contractors) practising
harmful and unrestricted clearcut logging?
A. No. Daishowa-Marubeni uses a two pass harvesting system, whereby we
"patch cut" less than 1% (5,000-6,000 hectares) per year of our
productive forest area in about 150 scattered blocks which average
about 40 hectares each in size. Patch cutting in this way, combined
with other forest management techniques helps protect wildlife
habitat and ensures as much diversity as occurs through natural
events such as forest fires.
Q. Does the Daishowa-Marubeni Peace River pulp mill utilize advanced
protection technology to meet environmental standards?
A. Yes. Our pulp mill uses advanced process technologies that reduce
the amount of chlorine bleaching required. These systems, combined
with modern effluent treatment equipment and processes, ensure that
the water and air resources are protected. Daishowa-Marubeni
operates well within very strict licenced limits for major effluent
quality parameters, including biological oxygen demand, total
suspended solids, and absorbable organochlorides.
Q. Does Daishowa-Marubeni replace what it cuts down?
A. Yes. All areas logged by Daishowa-Marubeni in Alberta are reforested
and must meet strict Alberta Government "free-to-grow" standards.
Q. Is the forest ecosystem in northern Alberta threatened by Daishowa-
Marubeni management practices?
A. No. On the contrary, Daishowa-Marubeni is managing the forest
resources on a sustained yield basis through a well planned
harvesting and reforestation process, incorporating public input,
which parallels the natural cycle of burning and renewal. (80% of
the northern Alberta forest has had a forest fire in the last 80
years.)
Q. Do any Daishowa paper bag or cardboard products contain fibre from
the area of concern to the Lubicons?
A. No. All Daishowa paper bags and cardboard products are manufactured
using other sources of commercially available fibre. In fact, no
Daishowa products of any type contain fibre from the area of concern
to the Lubicons.
Q. Is Daishowa-Marubeni cutting or using timber from the Wood Buffalo
National Park?
A. No. Daishowa-Marubeni does not have a logging lease in the Park, or
manage a logging operation there.
---------------------------------------------------
4. CUSTOMER CONTACT
Daishowa-Marubeni International Ltd.
Mr. Tom Hamaoka
Executive Vice President
Daishowa-Marubeni International Ltd.
Suite 3500 - Park Place
666 Burrard Street
Vancouver, B.C. V6C 2X8
Phone: (604) 684-4326
Fax: (604) 681-8659
--------------------------------------------------
5. SAMPLE BOYCOTT LETTERS
COMMITTEE AGAINST RACISM
P.O. Box 3085, Station B
Calgary, Alberta
T2N 4L6
(403) 282-6845
January 11, 1992
BOYCOTT OF DAISHOWA PRODUCTS
Your business has been identified as presently using paper products
manufactured by the Japanese pulp & paper company Daishowa.
We have enclosed an article from the TORONTO GLOBE & MAIL, of Friday,
December 27, 1991, as a summary of where things stand for the Lubicons at
the end of 1991, a letter to Mr. Tom Hamaoka, Vice-President, Daishowa
Canada, and a Media Release which shows Daishowa's role in the impending
destruction of the traditional Lubicon Indian society by trying to break
an agreement struck between Daishowa and the Lubicons in March of 1988.
Based on the information contained in the enclosed material we request
that you stop using Daishowa products.
This letter also serves as a notice to you that a boycott of your
company, including a series of rotating information pickets, will be
initiated unless we receive from you written confirmation, by January 24,
1992, of your intention to stop using Daishowa paper products.
We are looking forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely, Roland Leitner, on behalf of a coalition consisting of:
Calgary Labour Council, Calgary Rainforest Action Group, Committee
Against Racism, Northern Light and the Plains Indian Cultural Survival
School
cc: Lubicon Lake Indian Nation, Ovide Mercredi, Regena Crowchild, Brian
Mulroney, Audrey McLaughlin, Jean Chretien, Don Getty, Ray Martin,
Laurence Decore, Tom Hamaoka, Takashi Saito, Daishowa Japan
----------------------------------------------------
DAISHOWA BOYCOTT COALITION
CALGARY, ALBERTA
27 March 1992
LETTER TO PAPER USERS AND VENDORS, RE: BOYCOTT OF DAISHOWA PRODUCTS
This letter is being sent to consumers and businesses that use and/or
distribute paper products, cardboard or wood chips. Its purpose is to
ask that your organization or business join the boycott of paper and wood
chip products made by the Daishowa corporate group and its subsidiaries.
This boycott is international in scope and has the following objectives:
- (1) to force Daishowa Canada Ltd. to honour its 1988 pledge not to
conduct timber cutting operations on lands in northern Alberta that are
the subject of the on-going land claims dispute between the Lubicon Lake
Indian Nation and the Canadian federal and Alberta provincial
governments.
- and (2) to pressure Daishowa Canada Ltd. and the Alberta government to
change the terms of the current Forest Management Agreement between them,
so as to ensure the survival of the present forest ecosystem.
Please ask your paper product or wood chip supplier to identify the
producer of the products you use or sell. If the name of the producer is
Daishowa Canada Ltd., Daishowa Forest Products, or any other member of
the Daishowa corporate group please refuse to purchase or stock any more
Daishowa products. Please make your reason for doing so clear to the
supplier.
Your participation in this boycott will support the cause of the Lubicon
Lake Indian Nation in their struggle with the giant multinational
Daishowa group. Your participation will show industry and government
that moral and environmental concerns cannot be ignored when agreements
are made. Good corporate citizenship is a must in the modern world, and
this includes the need for consumers and business to demand ethical
behaviour in resource development.
The boycott of Daishowa paper and wood chip products is sponsored by a
coalition of citizens' groups consisting of the Committee Against Racism
and Northern Light. We request that you contact us at the address and/or
telephone number listed at the head of this letter so that we may know if
you are joining the boycott.
Sincerely, Stuart J. Baldwin, Boycott Co-ordinator
cc: Lubicon Lake Indian Nation, Ovide Mercredi, Brian Mulroney, Audrey
McLaughlin, Jean Chretien, Don Getty, Ray Martin, Laurence Decore, Thomas
Hamaoka, Daishowa, Takashi Saito, Daishowa
----------------------------------------------------
6. ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
Daishowa-Marubeni International Ltd. knows that our employees and the
natural environment are our greatest assets.
The safe, cost effective, and environmentally responsible production of
high quality wood products for the world market is our primary goal.
In order to achieve this goal, Daishowa-Marubeni International Ltd. is
committed to safeguarding the environment.
We protect the quality of air, water, and forest resources by meeting or
exceeding local, provincial, and federal regulatory requirements.
We practice sustained yield forestry and follow the principle of multiple
use of the forest resources entrusted to our stewardship.
We value public input and we promote environmental awareness in our
organization and in our communities.
Thomas Hamaoka, Executive Vice President, Daishowa-Marubeni International
Ltd.
* * * * *
Attachment #6: RESOLUTION PASSED, July 29, 1993, at the XIV ANNUAL
CHIEFS ASSEMBLY at TSUU T'INA FIRST NATION, Resolution No. 37/93
WHEREAS an independent, broadly-based citizen's commission, called the
Lubicon Settlement Commission of Review has reviewed and assessed both
Lubicon and Canadian Government proposals for settling Lubicon land
rights; and
WHEREAS the Chief of the Lubicon First Nation has indicated publicly and
to the Chiefs of the First Nations of Canada that the Lubicon people
accept and are prepared to work with the findings and recommendations of
the Lubicon Settlement Commission of Review; and
WHEREAS the Commission has found that the Canadian Government has not
negotiated in good faith but that the Lubicon people have; and
WHEREAS the Commission has found that Lubicon settlement proposals are
reasonable and would provide the Lubicons with the means to once again
achieve economic self-sufficiency while Canadian Government proposals
aren't reasonable and would not provide the Lubicons with the means to
once again achieve economic self-sufficiency; and
WHEREAS the Commission has therefore recommended that the Canadian
Government agree to settle Lubicon land rights along the lines proposed
by the Lubicons, or, alternatively, to refer any items in dispute to an
independent three person tribunal consisting of one person selected by
the Lubicons, one person selected by the Canadian Government and a third
person selected by the first two; and
WHEREAS the Commission has also recommended that the decisions of such an
independent three person tribunal be binding upon both the Lubicon First
Nation and the Government of Canada and not be appealable to the Canadian
Courts; and
WHEREAS the Commission has also recommended that any resource royalties
derived from Lubicon lands prior to settlement of Lubicon land rights be
held in trust and that there be no more resource exploitation permits or
licenses issued by the Alberta Government in the unceded Lubicon
territory until the issue of Lubicon land rights is resolved to the
satisfaction of both the Lubicon First Nation and the Government of
Canada; and
WHEREAS the Commission has also recommended that extinguishment of the
Aboriginal land rights of the Lubicon people not be a condition of
settling Lubicon land rights; and
WHEREAS the Chiefs of the First Nations agree with and support the
findings and recommendations of the Lubicon Settlement Commission of
Review; and
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Chiefs of the First Nations gathered in
Annual Assembly at the Tsuu T'ina First Nation this 29th day of July,
1993, do hereby resolve to demand that the Governments of Canada and
Alberta accept and implement the recommendations of the Lubicon
Settlement Commission of Review, and, to this end:
1. undertake a public information campaign to educate our peoples
and Canadians generally about the findings and recommendations
of the Lubicon Settlement Commission of Review; and,
2. encourage our peoples and Canadians generally to support the
recommendations of the Lubicon Settlement Commission of Review,
including candidates for election in the up-coming federal
election and the leaders of Canadian political parties; and,
3. insist that candidates for Parliament in the up-coming federal
election and the leaders of Canadian political parties spell
out in detail exactly how they propose to settle Lubicon land
rights and end this long-standing injustice, especially if they
are not prepared to support the recommendations of the Lubicon
Settlement Commission of Review; and,
4. direct that the Assembly of First Nations Land Rights and Lobby
Units assist the Lubicon Lake First Nation to lobby the federal
government and all opposition parties to accept and implement
the recommendations of the Lubicon Settlement Commission of
Review.
MOVER: Chief James Ahnassay
Dene Tha' Tribal Band
SECONDER: Grand Chief Joe Norton
Mohawk Council of Kahnawake