Growing their forestry business and support for community development are two of the benefits from the Seabird Island Indian Band's new Forestry Consultation and Revenue Sharing Agreement.

Mary Polak, Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation, and Attorney General Barry Penner, who is also the local MLA for Chilliwack-Hope, joined the Seabird Island Indian Band today to celebrate the signing of the new forestry agreement which will directly benefit the community's social and economic development.

The new agreement has a three-year term. Seabird Island will receive $252,000 as an initial bridging payment from the old to the new model and approximately $230,000 in the first year of the agreement. Future payments will reflect the level of forestry activity in their traditional territory. As the forest industry rebounds, Seabird Island can receive greater amounts in the future.

Quick Facts:

• Forestry Consultation and Revenue Sharing Agreements (FCRSA) replace the previous Forest and Range Opportunity Agreements (FRO), which based payments on a community's population rather than linking them directly to harvesting activity. Since November 2010, B.C. has replaced 50 FROs with the new FCRSAs.
• Since September 2002, the provincial government has signed agreements with 168 First Nations providing access to over 44 million cubic metres of timber and $243 million in revenue sharing.
• Seabird Island Indian Band is located in the upper Fraser Valley, three kilometres northeast of Agassiz.

Learn More:

Forest Consultation and Revenue Sharing Agreements

View photos from the signing of the Agreement here (flickr.com) .

Contact:

Karen Williams
Communications
Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation
250 360-6222 (cell)