Elected officials in the communities of White River and the Pic Mobert First Nation are breaking new ground that will provide a positive and useful case study for other neighbouring municipalities and First Nations. Separated by only a few miles and sharing a population that barely exceeds 1,000, these two communities have recently merged their cultures and destinies in a unique partnership for community economic development.
The communities’ respective councils have partnered with the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities to establish a community adjustment committee formed in response to Domtar Inc.’s decision to downsize and temporarily close its operations at White River. This decision idled most of White River’s workforce and the First Nation’s entire workforce connected with the surrounding forests.
The communities’ collaboration has already yielded funding for a labour adjustment centre that provides services to laid-off workers from the communities, and resources to support their individual efforts in economic development. For the first time, community leaders are providing political advocacy in support of each other’s priorities, and together they are assessing an impressive roster of joint development intiatives that will provide long-term benefits to the residents of both places. Recently, both the chief and mayor sat together with Domtar’s senior executives to express their collective concerns with the company’s decisions for the local mill and also to provide a joint position on what the future should hold for their forest. Sadly, this cross-cultural collaboration is still unique.
The jurisdictional lines of government have no doubt contributed to the development of walls between First Nations and municipalities. As many of the affairs of First Nations fall under the care of federal agencies, there is a lingering impression in many locales that First Nations may not be compatible with their muncipal neighbours who were created by, and are under the care of, the province. This divide has been kept alive by a lack of understanding between the two cultures, along with an unfortunate yet lingering legacy of racism.
The Township of White River and the Pic Mobert First Nation have instead identified, and are building on, an important point of unification. The unification is the reliance of their respective economies on the forest and the resolve to overcome the chaos that the decisions of an absentee owner caused for their respective economic well-being - to take back control of their economic destinies. Their visionary leaders have looked beyond history to see that unity provides greater strength and promise than individual effort.
Soon these communities will participate in a joint community economic development forum entitled Moving Beyond. The objective of the forum is to provide local leaders and residents with the information and tools to both see beyond the current dominance of the local sawmill, and to organize their journey to move beyond their current circumstances. Together they will explore and identify small and more aggressive opportunities in tourism, the arts, bioproducts and forest products. An important outcome of the event will be the development of a joint economic development strategy that will provide a long-term framework on how the communities will support each other in the interest of the economic health of their area. The event is being held in White River; the event co-ordinator is from the Pic Mobert First Nation.
The Moving Beyond forum also provides both a symbol and a tool for the residents of White River and Pic Mobert to overcome the lack of understanding and misunderstandings that have divided their efforts for many years. It should also send a clear and encouraging message to the governments and corporations that are connected with these places. That message is that they must be ready to respond to an organized and powerful collaboration of Native and non-Native leaders, communities and interests who will accept no less than a strong and bright future for their economies and their people.
Norman Jaehrling is a “freelance” economic development officer and owner of the Possibilities Group. He can be reached via e-mail at possibilities@sympatico.ca.
