On 15 June 2005 the Ministry of Natural Resources announced that the Ontario government would provide $2.0 million to be used by far north First Nation communities. These funds supported projects related to land use planning and the collection of background information necessary to evaluate the feasibility of commercial forestry in the far north. All funds have been dispersed through three rounds of applications by the Forestry Futures Trust Committee.
The Committee established the following purpose for this funding initiative: “To provide funds to First Nations working with MNRs Northern Boreal Initiative to engage in work related to consultation activities, community-based land use planning, and the collection of Aboriginal and forest values in support of forest-based economic development in the forest, including commercial forestry”.
Eligible activities for funding under this initiative include:
community-based land use planning
community consultation
collection, analysis and documentation of bio-physical data
collection, mapping and written documentation of indigenous values and traditional knowledge
feasibility and business planning studies
Thirteen First Nations within the program area were eligible to apply to the Forestry Futures Trust for these funds. In total 13 projects were funded for a total funding allocation of $2,030,725. It is expected all Far North projects will be completed within the 2010/2011 fiscal year.
Table 7: Summary of FNFD Applications and Approvals Fiscal Year 2005-06
