Resolute Forest Products held a signing ceremony for a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with six First Nations Chiefs to set out a framework for negotiating business agreements concerning the company’s operations in northwestern Ontario.
The official signing ceremony was held Feb. 10, but an actual agreement has been in place since June 2013.
The framework deal involves Couchiching, Seine River, Nigigoonsiminikaaning, Mitaanjigamiing, Lac La Croix and Lac des Milles Lacs.
Resolute said the agreement has resulted in contracts for construction at the company’s sawmills, transportation for hauling chips, biomass and lumber from sawmills, yard services to manage loading and unloading of logs, lumber and by-products, and log harvesting and delivery.
"Already, this initiative has resulted in $100 million in new business for our six First Nations MOA partners," said Resolute president and CEO Richard Garneau in a statement. "This agreement underscores the commitment of both Resolute and its operating communities to work together to create jobs and economic opportunity for northwestern Ontarians."
"Speaking for all Chiefs here today, this agreement is ground-breaking and incredibly important to our First Nations," stated Chief Earl Klyne, Seine River First Nation. "It reflects a balanced approach to sustainability, not only supporting environmental goals, but the social and economic goals of the region as well."
Resolute said it’s invested $90 million in the northwest with the construction of a new sawmill in Atikokan, the restart of an Ignace sawmill, increasing production at its Thunder Bay sawmill and built a wood pellet plant to supply the Atikokan Generating Station. The company also permanently closed its Fort Frances pulp and paper mill last year and shuttered its Iroquois Falls paper plant in the northeast.
