More and more Indigenous communities are playing an active role in the management of forest resources. In addition, there is increasing participation by Indigenous communities and businesses in the forest sector as tenure holders, mill owners, contractors, and consultants. This creates opportunities for reconciliation and full participation by Indigenous peoples in the Canadian economy. 

Canada has made reconciliation with Indigenous peoples a central policy and operational objective. An important step towards that objective has been the recognition and adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Among other things, the Declaration recognizes the Indigenous right to “freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social, and cultural development” and to “the improvement of their economic and social conditions.”