There is finally a glimmer of hope for the protest of the Algonquins of Barrière Lake, whose blockade of a logging road is entering its ninth week.
The community is getting support from an unlikely new source in its battle against clearcutting and Ottawa’s interference in the band’s affairs.
Guy Chevrette, Quebec’s minister of Native Affairs and Natural Resources, has sent a forceful letter to Indian Affairs Minister Ron Irwin, taking Ottawa to task over its dealings with the community.
Barrière Lake has had no school, band services or officially recognized chief since last January, when Irwin stepped in and removed the community’s long-time chief.
“I am at a dead-end which is the direct result of your decision to stop recognizing the existing Band Council,” Chevrette wrote to Irwin.
“This state of affairs imposes serious economic hardships on the area and is a threat to social peace between the different communities,” Chevrette added.
“It is your responsibility to take a stand on this issue since the local situation can become very sensitive.”
Chevrette said the blockade threatens the forestry operations of Domtar, which cuts on Algonquin land and has pulled 100 workers off the job due to the blockade.
Chevrette says in his letter that another 250 jobs are at risk if the conflict isn’t resolved. Domtar is 43-percent owned by the Quebec government.
Ironically, Domtar is the company that many Algonquins believe helped engineer the current crisis in Barrière Lake. A Domtar lawyer in Winnipeg has admitted that she advised the group of Algonquin dissidents who convinced Irwin to remove Chief Matchewan from office.
Matchewan’s supporters believe that Domtar wanted Matchewan out because of his militant campaign against forestry.
Michel Thusky, a spokesman for the protesters, said the blockade on Clova Road just off Highway 117 will stand until the community’s goals are met.
“We were seeking recognition. They were trying to set up an ad hoc committee, which means nothing to us.
So the blockade still remains,” he said.
