First Nation advances sawmill project

A northwestern Ontario First Nation community has been painstakingly assembling the wood building blocks for a community revival.

Forest products will be the economic cornerstone behind the development of Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek (BNA), an Ojibway community once displaced by the Ontario government in the 1950s.

Last August, the community held a land designation vote to ratify and proceed with a sawmill proposal.

It was a long time in the making, said Jordan Hatton, BNAs lands and resources manager. Its a positive step for the people that want to see the community move ahead.

Located on the southeastern shore of Lake Nipigon, the former Sand Point First Nation is a community thats still very much in the planning stages.

There is no current infrastructure in place for housing and the communitys population of 250 off- reserve members.

Originally, there were ambitious plans calling for a large volume cedar sawmill, a wood pellet mill and a one-megawatt co-generation plant to power the community.

But the members told the leadership that was too much, too soon.

Instead of having a two-shift, 20-employee sawmill, the leadership are re-examining the business and marketing plan.

They want us to start small and if its successful we can expand. Well build it incrementally rather than go big, said Hatton.

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First Nation advances sawmill project