Announcer: Friends of the Lubicon is restarting its boycott against the
pulp and paper giant Daishowa. Ten days ago an Ontario court refused to
make permanent a three-year-old injunction stopping the boycott. At that
time, the lobby group gave Daishowa a deadline to make a public promise not
to log on land in Alberta claimed by the Lubicon Nation. As Sandra Bartlett
reports, Friends of the Lubicon says the deadline is up ... and the
boycott is on again.
Kevin Thomas, Friends of the Lubicon: ... in Quebec, Manitoba, the United
States, Europe and in Japan ...
Sandra Bartlett: Kevin Thomas of Friends of the Lubicon says the group is
keeping its promise to be back bigger and better than ever. That news
disappoints Daishowa's Tom Cochran. He says they asked the group for the
boycott to be delayed until May 15th.
Tom Cochran, Daishowa: We told them that we were putting a lot of pressure,
all the pressure that we could bear on to the Alberta government. We were
trying our best and we told them it would take quite a while to solve these
things.
Sandra Bartlett: The company has begun talks with the Alberta government
over its logging rights on the disputed land. Those talks could see an
exchange: Daishowa would give up the rights on the land claimed by the
Lubicon and get the right to log elsewhere. But Thomas says Friends of the
Lubicon thought the negotiations sounded too vague. However, Thomas says if
Daishowa strikes a deal with the Alberta government, the boycott will be
stopped immediately. In the meantime, friends of the Lubicon on three
continents will be contacting Daishowa customers and asking them to find
another paper supplier. Sandra Bartlett, CBC News, Toronto.