Manitoba First Nation seeks court order to halt logging in Duck Mountains

A Manitoba First Nation is taking the provincial government to court to halt logging at Duck Mountain Provincial Park until it provides an approved plan for how it will protect the area and fulfil its Treaty 4 obligations.

Minegoziibe Anishinabe, also known as Pine Creek First Nation, filed the application on April 12 in the Court of King's Bench.

It seeks an order to terminate the province's decision to extend its agreement with Louisiana-Pacific Canada Ltd. that allows it to harvest timber in the western Manitoba provincial park.

The province quietly extended its agreement with the U.S forestry giant through an order-in-council at the end of March.

The application names the province and Louisiana-Pacific.

It also asks for a court order to prohibit the province from licensing forestry activities in the area known as Forest Management Licence 3 – which includes the Duck Mountain Provincial Forest and surrounding area – until it fulfils its obligations to surrounding First Nations.

Three Manitoba First Nations – including Minegoziibe Anishinabe – raised concerns about the licence in February, asking the province to involve them in the decision-making before further forestry activities with Louisiana-Pacific are approved. 

At the heart of the argument is a forest management plan (FMP) that the First Nation alleges has not been approved and goes against Manitoba's Forest Act.

Such plans require the licence holder (in this case Louisiana-Pacific) to submit a complex blueprint outlining its 20-year plan for the area. They must consult with First Nations before the province reviews it and approves it.

"In 2012 Manitoba agreed to consider other logging practices to protect moose habitat," Minegoziibe Anishinabe Chief Derek Nepinak said in the February press release.

"More than 12 years later Manitoba is still without a viable plan. This failure has negative impacts on our ability to bring our traditional healthy foods home to our families."

Minegoziibe Anishinabe is located in the southwestern side of Lake Winnipegosis, east of Duck Mountain Provincial Park and about 100 kilometres north of Dauphin. 

The province first entered into a 20-year agreement with Louisiana-Pacific in 1994, and a 10-year FMP was approved in 1996, the application states.

However, since its expiration in 2006, no further management plans have been approved. Instead, the application says, the provincial government has continued to extend the agreement.

Louisiana-Pacific submitted a draft plan in 2019 that would extend the licence for 20 years starting in December 2021. The application says the FMP submitted by Louisiana-Pacific was not approved. 

Meanwhile, a 2021 extension allowed Louisiana-Pacific to cut and remove "millions" of cubic metres from the areas that are critical to Minegoziibe's treaty rights, the application alleges.

In 2022, three First Nations – including Minegoziibe – each applied for a judicial review of the agreement extension. 

The court actions were discontinued at the end of 2022 after a memorandum of agreement was entered with the First Nations and Louisiana-Pacific, the application states.

The agreement required Louisiana-Pacific to have an approved FMP. Without that, the agreement would expire March 31, 2024.

The application alleges the government ignored a series of reports by independent experts regarding issues with Louisiana-Pacific's FMP and its impact on the moose population, the sustainability of the forest and the protection of wetlands.

Both the province and Louisiana-Pacific were given four expert reports in 2024 that "identified flaws and deficiencies" with the FMP, according to the application.

The First Nation and the province worked to resolve those issues during talks held from Feb. 15 until the end of March.

On March 29, a memorandum of understanding given to the First Nation to sign did not include a process or timeline to implement measures that would protect its treaty rights, the application alleges.

That same day the province told Louisiana-Pacific it was extending its agreement by three months. The next day the order-in-council was signed, extending the agreement to the end of June. 

Louisiana-Pacific is operating "on the unapproved, fundamentally flawed draft FMP which fails to substantively address critical considerations," the application says.

The application alleges the province:

• Failed to comply with the terms of the Forest Act.
• Breached the Crown's treaty obligations.
• Breached the honour of the Crown.
• Breached its duty to consult.
• Failed to enforce its licensing conditions. 

Louisiana-Pacific and the province have not filed a response to the application. 

In a prepared statement, Louisiana-Pacific said it cannot comment on active litigation, but is committed to engaging with Indigenous communities regarding sustainable forest management. 

A spokesperson for Jamie Moses, minister of economic development, investment, trade and natural resources, said the ministry's ability to respond is limited as the matter is before the courts.

Caedmon Malowany said the ministry is working to find a solution that responds to the "needs and concerns" of all parties. He said the licence was extended for three months to protect jobs and give time to develop a "path forward" with the First Nations. 

The next court hearing is scheduled for May 13.