GRASSY NARROWS FIRST NATION, Ont. -- Ontario’s Ministry of Environment rejected a request for an independent environmental assessment for logging plans in the Whisky Jack Forest.
The rejection of the Grassy Narrows First Nation’s request came on Christmas eve.
Members of the First Nation have contested the land in question, and have even staged blockades, for the past 12 years.
The First Nation was concerned over the effects of clearcut logging on mercury poisoning.
The Chief is accusing the province of not caring about his community.
A Ministry spokesperson says the plan will take soil disturbance into account by harvesting shallow soil sites and only harvesting in the winter.
The move allows logging in the Whiskey Jack to begin in April.
(CKPR Radio)
