May 19, 2005. /Lesprom Network/. A legal fight by Quebec natives against tree harvesting could be just the start of a long series of cases against companies with cutting rights between the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the tundra line. Lawyer Helene Rioux, representing the Innu in their bid to prevent Kruger Corp. from cutting timber on some of their traditional land, said she has a mandate to undertake actions against other companies including Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. (TSX:A), Bowater (TSX:BWX) and Uniforet (OTC:UFTAF). "It's on the way," Rioux told Justice Danielle Grenier of Quebec Superior Court. The Innu have been trying for months to prevent privately owned Kruger from harvesting in a vast territory in the Manic region, including Rene-Levasseur Island, a large round island created by the Daniel-Johnson Dam. The Innu say they consider the island sacred, as it holds one of the oldest softwood forests in North America. Kruger and other companies have been granted cutting rights in the vast region, provoking native complaints that the Quebec government violated commitments in a 2003 agreement in principle, which among other things promised consultation on the exploitation of resources. Cutting on Rene-Levasseur Island is set to resume in June, once the ice around it has melted.