Millar Western Forest Products Ltd. and Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation announce signing of major economic development agreement
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada – H. MacKenzie Millar, President and CEO of Millar Western Forest Products Ltd., and Chief Roderick Alexis of the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation today announced the signing of an important economic development agreement between the company and the community.
Four years in the making, the Forestry and Economic Development Agreement (FEDA) formalizes and expands upon past undertakings by Millar Western and the Alexis Nation to work together in the responsible development of forest resources in areas where the parties have usage rights and traditional ties. It is a comprehensive agreement on cooperative resource use and protection that sets a progressive standard for industry and First Nation relations in the province.
Among the key features of the Alexis/Millar Western FEDA are a commitment to develop forest resource management, use and protection processes, including establishment of an Environmental Co-Stewardship Committee, and provision for the advancement of training and employment opportunities for Alexis members in Millar Western forestry operations, including contracts provided by the company to community contractors for harvesting and reforestation work.
The agreement signing took place May 26, 2004, at a ceremony attended by elders, councillors and residents of the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation and other First Nations, representatives of Millar Western, Yellowhead MP Rob Merrifield, Alberta Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Pearl Calahasen, and Whitecourt-Ste. Anne MLA George VanderBurg. The signing ceremony was conducted during a gathering of First Nations hosted in Edmonton by the Alexis Nation, and featured traditional songs and dances in addition to remarks by the attending dignitaries.
In describing the significance of the agreement to the gathering, Chief Alexis emphasized that the Alexis people would gain both economic opportunities and the ability to directly influence resource management, stating, “We look forward to working with Millar Western to share in the employment and other benefits generated through responsible resource development.” Mac Millar commented on the importance of sustaining the forest resource, saying, “Jobs and income can be the lifeblood of a healthy community, but there are other important values in the forest, like water, wildlife, medicinal plants and sacred places, that we must work together to protect. If we work together to take good care of it, the forest will provide these values forever.”
Representing the Government of Canada, MP Rob Merrifield remarked that the Alexis people had worked hard to create new economic opportunities, and that Millar Western had worked diligently to assist, acting more as a good neighbour than a corporation. “It is no surprise to me,” said Mr. Merrifield, “to see this progressive company and this progressive community come together to achieve such an historic agreement.”
Bringing greetings on behalf of the Government of Alberta, MLA George VanderBurg noted that he had worked closely with the Alexis Nation for more than 10 years toward achievement of such an economic development opportunity, saying, “I commend Millar Western for taking this major step, and will encourage other companies and other industries to follow this lead.”
The Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation is a nation of 1400 people of Nakota-Sioux heritage, most living in communities near Glenevis and Whitecourt, Alberta. The Alexis Nation has ties to Traditional Territory within Treaty Nos. 6 and 8.
Active in the forest sector for close to a century, Millar Western is one of Western Canada’s largest privately held forest products companies. The company has its head office in Edmonton, owns and operates sawmills in Whitecourt and Boyle, Alberta, and a bleached chemi-thermo-mechanical pulp (BCTMP) mill in Whitecourt, and employs more than 600 people. It also manages a BCTMP mill in Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan, co-owned by its parent company and the Province of Saskatchewan and employing 200 people.
For more information, please contact:
Millar Western Forest Products Ltd.
Janet Millar, Communications Manager, 486-8249
Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation
Chief Roderick Alexis, 920-1633