History of Athlii Gwaii Legacy

The Athlii Gwaii Legacy (AGL) is a fund managed by the Gwaii Trust Society, currently valued at $64 Million. In March 2024, the Athlii Gwaii Legacy Trust Act was passed, facilitating the transfer of the fund to the Gwaii Trust Society, unlocking new opportunities for economic development, job creation, and sustainability.

Where It All Began


The Athlii Gwaii Legacy Trust began in 1988 as the South Moresby Forest Replacement Account (SMFRA), comprised of a total of $24 million from the federal and provincial governments. The goal of the SMFRA was to reduce the negative effects on timber supply and forest jobs caused by the creation of Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site. It aimed to create new jobs in sustainable forest management, research, education, and training. The plan was to use the funds in a six-year spending spree managed by federal and provincial interests, however the people of Haida Gwaii had a different vision. In 2003, based on extensive community consultation and input from the federal and provincial governments, the decision was to adopt a guiding vision of “Resource, Sustainability and Community Stability.”

Elders and allies at the line of Athlii Gwaii in 1985.

In the spring of 2007, the fund was turned over to the communities of Haida Gwaii to be managed under the same model as the Gwaii Trust Society. The federal and provincial governments decreed that the Trustees of the then named Gwaii Forest Charitable Trust be represented by three Trustees:

  • One corporate Trustee, the Gwaii Trust Society as a whole entity
  • Two individual members, from the Executive committee of the Gwaii Trust Society

The trust halted granting in 2008, stemming directly from the financial crisis of 2008. In 2014, the trustees changed the name to the Athlii Gwaii Legacy Trust (AGLT). Then Provincial legislation covering AGLT forced a potential tax issue, freezing the use of the fund until March 2024, when new legislation enabled the fund to be wound into the Gwaii Trust Society. Officially renamed Athlii Gwaii Legacy (AGL) in 2025, the Gwaii Trust Society Board of Directors are planning the next steps for the AGL perpetual fund.

Those who stood the line and their allies hold the line in 1985, as forestry officials approach.

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