Boycott Daishowa to Support Canadian Lubicon
1/8/96
OVERVIEW, SOURCE & COMMENTARY by EE
Friends of the Lubicon report on Canadian temperate forest protection. The
Lubicon Lake Cree Nation of northern Alberta, Canada, are engaged in a
struggle for their land. Logging by Daishowa is a major forest threat
warranting a boycott. This item came from the Taiga Rescue Network
listserver ( http://www.sll.fi/TRN/ ).
g.b.
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Date: Wed, 08 Jan 1997 13:21:32 -0800
From: Anne Janssen
Organization: Taiga Rescue Network
Subject: Daishowa boycott moves to the USA
Dec 28, 1996
Dear Reader,
The following article appeared in the Fall 1996 issue of 'On Indian Land'
and is reproduced with permission of its publisher (Marsha Shaiman in
Seattle at 206-525-5086 phone and fax) and author.
Noteworthy here is
1. the concrete action people are encouraged to take in opposition to
Daishowa's plans to level unceded Lubicon territory under a cloak of
judicial silence.
2. contact info for a person in the States working on the issue. Contact
information in the article below has been updated from the original
article.
I think it's safe to say that the more people know about the spread of the
Daishowa Boycott to the USA, the more likely this sort of legal "swording"
of citizens using the pen won't be attempted by other corporations.
Regards..........Stephen Kenda
Friends of the Lubicon (Toronto)
485 Ridelle Ave Toronto, ON M6B 1K6
T: (416)763-7500 F:(416)603-2715
email: k.thomas@utoronto.ca
SISIS web site : http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/Lubicon/main.html
Support the Lubicon Cree Indian Nation - Stop Daishowa
If you have been reading On Indian Land for at least the last year, you
should be acquainted with the intense struggle of the Lubicon Lake Cree
Nation of northern Alberta, Canada and the boycott against Daishowa.
Although the Lubicon Cree have no treaty with the Canadian government and
have never ceded their land, the Alberta provincial government has sold
logging rights to their unceded territory to Daishowa.
The paper products company was asked to wait for a land claim settlement
agreement to be completed between the Lubicon and the Canadian government
before logging. Daishowa began logging anyway, but halted their operation
shortly after the initiation of the boycott in 1991.
While a number of people across Canada and around the world responded to
the Lubicon call for a boycott of Daishowa paper products, the main
organized effort was undertaken by a Toronto, Ontario-based Lubicon
support group, Toronto Friends of the Lubicon. Because Daishowa doesn't
market its paper products directly to the public, but rather to other
corporations, the Toronto Friends of the Lubicon targeted companies using
Daishowa products.
Primarily as a result of their efforts 47 companies representing over 4300
retail outlets have joined the boycott in Canada and Daishowa reports a $5
million loss due to the boycott. So far pressure generated by the boycott
has kept Daishowa at bay and no further logging of Lubicon land has taken
place. yet.
Instead of making a clear, public and unequivocal commitment not to cut or
buy wood cut on Lubicon land until the land rights dispute is resolved,
Daishowa challenged the boycott in the provincial courts of Ontario and
eventually won an injunction against the boycott. According to Friends
attorney Karen Wristen of the Sierra Legal Defence Fund, "The court has
said essentially that the intention to cause economic harm made this
boycott illegal." Daishowa is engaging in a multi-million dollar lawsuit
against the Friends of the Lubicon for their losses.
Daishowa Boycott Picks Up In Washington
With the Friends of the Lubicon's hands tied and democratic consumer rights
squashed by the (courts of the Ontario) provincial government, Daishowa is
free to take Lubicon trees without objection from their Canadian critics.
Instead of containing the boycott within Canadian borders, this decision
has forced the boycott into the international consumer market.
Since consumer pressure in the form of a boycott is the only tactic that
has kept Daishowa out of Lubicon territory, escalating the boycott is the
only way to save Lubicon trees. As a consumer public, we need to educate
ourselves about the products we use and understand that our conveniences
are often at the expense of indigenous exploitation.
Daishowa has a mill at Port Angeles on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington
State, and a corporate office in Seattle, Washington. Products of the Port
Angeles mill include pulp and groundwood specialty papers. The Washington
Post is printed on Daishowa paper, the New York Post was cited as being
printed on Daishowa paper and probably continues to be. Gannett Publishing
was also cited as a Daishowa buyer and is most likely still a Daishowa
customer. They publish 83 newspapers including U.S.A. Today.
Most recently, GTE and U.S. West telephone directories have confirmed as
being printed on Daishowa paper. These directories claim to be at least
25% to 40% recycled paper. The Port Angeles Daishowa mill in Washington
recycles old directories and sells back the paper to GTE and U.S. West.
This might not seem so bad, but the fact remains that this is still
Daishowa, a forest industry conglomerate. There are plenty of alternatives
for 100% recycled paper and non-wood paper.
Pressure on these companies and help identifying other Daishowa customers
is greatly needed. Write to these companies and voice your objection to
their use of Daishowa paper:
Jamie Loa, GTE Directories, 1115 S. Boyal Ave., Los Angeles CA 90023.
Phone: (213) 265-6809.
Jim Pierce, Director of Printing, distribution, Recycling, U.S. West
direct, 198 Inverness Dr. W., Inglewood, CO 80112. Phone: (303) 784-2584.
Write Daishowa and let them know you are supporting the international
boycott of Daishowa.
Daishowa America, 7200 Columbia Center, 701 5th Ave., Seattle WA
98104 Phone: (206) 623-1772 or (800) 331-6314, Fax: (206)452-6576.
Shogo Nakano, President, Daishowa Paper Manufacturing Co. Ltd. Tokyo
Head Office, 6-1 Asahi Tokai Building, Otemachi 2-chome, Chiyoda-ku,
Tokyo, Japan
Tom Hamaoka, Executive V. Pres., Daishowa-Marubeni International, Suite
3500, Park Place, 666 Burrard St., Vancouver, B.C., V6C 2X8 Canada.
Phone:(604) 681-6659
Always send copies of correspondence that you send and receive to the
Lubicon Lake Indian Nation, P.O. Box 6731 Peace River, AB, T8S 1S5 Canada.
For more information, a Daishowa boycott packet, or to help with the
Daishowa boycott, contact Dan Clarke, 5317-46th Ave S., Seattle WA 98118.
Phone: (206) 723-4703. Fax (206) 525-5086