Pine Creek First Nation sues Manitoba, logging company over Duck Mountain forest rights

Pine Creek First Nation is suing Manitoba and Louisiana Pacific-Canada Ltd., alleging it has not been consulted about forest management rights for more than 15 years.

A Manitoba First Nation says the province failed to consult them about logging licences in Duck Mountain and is seeking an order to prevent a logging company from continuing to harvest from the provincial park until the matter is resolved.

Minegoziibe Anishinabe (formerly Pine Creek First Nation) is suing Manitoba and Louisiana Pacific-Canada Ltd., alleging it has not been directly consulted about forest management rights for more than 15 years.

According to a notice of application filed in a Manitoba courtroom Wednesday, PCFN says the province has “failed to enforce critical conditions of Louisiana-Pacific’s forestry authorizations,” including logging in the area without a long-term forest management plan approved by the First Nation.

“In December 2021, Manitoba issued a series of Decisions which enable Louisiana-Pacific to carry out further timber harvesting in areas which are critical to PCFN Rights and way of life. The Decisions were made without any prior notice to or consultation with PCFN,” the lawsuit states.

The group says it’s been a long-standing issue and its concerns are not being heard.

One of those concerns includes the sharp decline of moose populations in the area since 1995,  prompting the province to ban moose hunting in the area since 2011.

This is interfering with band members’ way of life, says the lawsuit, pointing to human development as a large reason why moose populations are declining.

Currently, Duck Mountain Provincial Park is the “only provincial park in Manitoba in which commercial timber harvesting is authorized.”