Region Archives: Canada East

Business & Politics

Judge signals that New Brunswick private property is off the table in big title claim

By John Chilibeck
The Telegraph-Journal
June 19, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

NEW BRUNSWICK — Justice Ernest Drapeau is one of three judges hearing an appeal launched by three timber firms that fear the Wolastoqey will get a toehold on their vast woodlands where they do business. The case before New Brunswick’s Court of Appeal centres around a lower-court ruling in which the judge agreed to remove the big private owners from the claim but left their land in the lawsuit, opening the door, they fear, to future expropriation by the provincial government. …Drapeau wanted to know how a court could direct a provincial government to take away property from private owners, who both sides agree are “innocents” in the claim because they had nothing to do with awarding land grants. …The justice said he couldn’t imagine a court would order what the provincial government should do with its land because it is not allowed to do so per the Crown Lands and Forests Act.

Read More

Wolastoqey say as they fight to keep New Brunswick forestry parcels in claim

CBC News
June 19, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

The Wolastoqey Nation’s title claim over more than half of New Brunswick has been the subject of two days of arguments about whether land privately owned by forestry companies should be excluded from the litigation. The Wolastoqey say exclusion would amount to putting the property interests of private industry over the constitutional rights of the First Nation. The matter is before the New Brunswick Court of Appeal this week after a judgment last year that removed the industrial defendants from the lawsuit. …Renée Pelletier, lawyer for the Wolastoqey, says just because the companies were removed from the lawsuit doesn’t mean their land can’t be touched. “If the effect is that once the Crown gives the land away it can never be returned to the First Nation, there’s an injustice there,” Pelletier said. The Wolastoqey seek the return of the land owned by the industrial defendants — mainly the forestry companies.

Read More

No decision about us, without us, say New Brunswick forestry companies

By Rachel Cave
CBC News
June 18, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

Three New Brunswick timber companies are seeking to have their forestry lands excluded from the Wolastoqey Nation’s Indigenous title claim that’s working its way through the courts. J.D. Irving, H.J. Crabbe and Sons, and Acadian Timber say the land they harvest and privately own should be excluded from the claim because a lower court last year removed them as defendants in the lawsuit, filed by the First Nation. Lawyer Paul Steep, counsel for JDI, said his client has the right to respond in a case that puts the company’s land at risk. So either JDI is restored as a defendant with standing, he said, or JDI land is no longer targeted by the claim. …The Wolastoqey say they never surrendered their traditional territory. Last November, Justice Kathryn Gregory ruled that landowners can’t be directly sued for the return of land. She placed the issue squarely between the Wolastoqey and the Crown and dismissed the “industrial defendants.”

Read More

New Brunswick removes more interprovincial trade exceptions. The ability to cut and process Crown wood is not included

By Brad Perry
Country94.ca
June 12, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

Susan Holt

The New Brunswick government is taking more steps to try and improve trade between other provinces. The province announced that it was removing five more procurement-related interprovincial trade exceptions. …Premier Susan Holt said this is in addition to 10 other exceptions they have already removed or modified. …“Removing the exception means that their procurement will be open to competition from bidders from all over the place,” she added. With 15 trade exceptions now being removed or modified, the province still has 17 party-specific exceptions still in place. Holt said many of those are “sticky ones” that involve resource-related items such as Crown wood and the crab fishery. …“Where it’s natural resources that are critical to New Brunswick’s economy and identity, we’re not yet sure whether we want to remove the requirements to process and add value to those primary products in our province.”

Read More

Ontario Primary Forestry Council meets to build sector-wide solidarity

Unifor Canada
June 12, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada East

Forestry workers from across Northern Ontario gathered in Dryden, Ontario to discuss opportunities for the sector, challenges in their workplaces, hear from legal and pension experts, and from Unifor leadership on how the union is fighting for forestry jobs. Ontario Regional Director Samia Hashi and Quebec Director Daniel Cloutier opened the meeting with a review of the work the union is doing to push all levels of government for an industrial strategy for forestry, and to advocate using Canadian lumber and lumber products to help build us out of the housing crisis. “Unifor has been front and centre in Canada’s response to U.S. tariffs—demanding that governments defend working people and hold corporations accountable,” said Hashi. “Forestry needs to be at the heart of Canada’s industrial strategy. And that strategy must be bold, forward-looking, and rooted in justice for workers.”

Read More

Provincial Government Announces Support for West Coast Truss Manufacturer

By Industry, Energy and Technology
Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
June 9, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada East

An investment by the Provincial Government will support a Deer Lake-based company as it expands and upgrades its production of roof and floor trusses. The Honourable Steve Crocker, Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology, today announced a $240,000 loan from the Business Investment Program for Western Woodworks Incorporated. Western Woodworks Incorporated is a roof and floor truss manufacturing company that also sells engineered wood products and steel beams for residential, commercial, and agricultural projects of all sizes. The company is investing in new manufacturing equipment to expand and modernize its truss manufacturing production line in response to increased demand for its products. The loan will help the company leverage more than $1 million from other sources to complete the upgrades. The new equipment will increase efficiency, improve product quality, and reduce labor-intensive processes.

Read More

Kruger Products inaugurates new tissue plant in Sherbrooke, Québec

Kruger Inc.
June 9, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

SHERBROOKE, Québec — Kruger Products inaugurated its new LDC (light dry crepe) tissue plant in Sherbrooke, constructed on a site adjacent to its TAD plant. The construction of this new facility was part of a large-scale $377.5-million expansion project that included the construction of a double-wide tissue machine featuring LDC technology, as well as the installation of two new converting lines: a facial tissue line in the new plant and a bathroom tissue line in the TAD plant. The project created 205 direct jobs, increasing the number of new jobs at the Sherbrooke Operational Centre to 378 since 2020. …All told, this major project represents a historic investment of nearly $1 billion in the region since 2018 to create a major tissue product manufacturing hub in North America. This expansion project was supported by Investissement Québec, agent for the Government of Québec, who provided $165 million in loans.

Read More

Lumber producer Remabec cuts 1,000 jobs in Quebec, citing tariffs

By Mathieu Dion
Bloomberg News in the Financial Post
June 5, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

One of Canada’s lumber producers, Groupe Rémabec, will temporarily lay off most of its workers as the industry faces rising US duties and weakening demand. The manufacturing division, Arbec Forest Products, is shutting down indefinitely, leading to more than 1,000 immediate job cuts. The number may reach 1,400 in the coming weeks, according to a company statement that blamed “persistent imbalances in both access to the resource and international markets.” Groupe Rémabec employs about 2,000 people and is headquartered in La Tuque, Quebec, about 300 kilometers north of Montreal. President Trump’s administration is poised to more than double the duties on Canadian softwood lumber.  …Rémabec said, with Arbec’s deposits representing an “astronomical amount.” …Rémabec also said a “feeling of exasperation is widespread” in the Quebec forestry industry over regulations that have created “an increasingly unstable ecosystem, without predictability or coherence.” The Quebec government has been trying to modernize its forestry legislation.

Related coverage in the Globe & Mail: Groupe Rémabec scales back operation

Read More

‘We reject your bill:’ First Nations heads urge Quebec to scrap forestry reform bill

By Morgan Lowrie
Canadian Press
June 3, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

QUÉBEC – Representatives of the Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador urged a provincial legislature committee on Tuesday to abandon a forestry reform bill that would reserve large swaths of the province’s forests for logging.  AFNQL Chief Francis Verreault-Paul and three other leaders called on the government to work with them to develop a new bill from scratch because they say Bill 97 does not respect First Nations’ ancestral rights. The proposed legislation would divide the province’s public forest land into three zones: conservation zones, multi-purpose zones and forest development zones where the forestry industry is prioritized. …The bill tabled this spring by Natural Resources Minister Maïté Blanchette Vézina specifies that activities that “restrict the carrying out of forest development activities” would be prohibited in the development zones, as would the implementation of conservation measures.

Read More

Finance & Economics

Ford government sitting on housing start data for months

By Isaac Callan and Colin D’Mello
Global News
June 11, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, Canada East

A final tally of which Ontario municipalities hit their housing targets and how many fell short last year has been finished since mid-February, according to government documents obtained, despite the province refusing to release the data for months. For the past two years, the Ford government has set targets for new homes in towns and cities, promising them extra cash if they meet those goals. The numbers Ontario uses to assess whether or not cities have hit their goals are made up of new homes, long-term care beds and additional units like basements or garden suites. The government set up a website to show which cities had hit their goals. Around October 2024, however, with housing starts across the province stuttering, the government stopped updating the tracker. …While the tracker has appeared abandoned for close to half a year, the government has had “finalized” data for months.

Read More

Wood, Paper & Green Building

Ontario Launches Advanced Wood Construction Action Plan

By Ministry of Natural Resources
The Government of Ontario
June 26, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada East

Kevin Holland

KITCHENER — The Ontario government has released the Advanced Wood Construction Action Plan to increase the manufacturing and use of high-quality made-in-Ontario wood building products. To support the government’s plan to protect Ontario, the use of prefabricated and modular wood-based building materials, known as advanced wood construction, will help build more homes faster and create a more resilient forestry sector in response to U.S. tariffs by attracting investment, increasing revenues and providing economic opportunities that create and sustain local jobs. “As our government delivers on its plan to protect and build Ontario, this action plan will help promote and prioritize wood-based building with made-in-Ontario wood construction products,” said Mike Harris, Minister of Natural Resources. …Releasing the Advanced Wood Construction Action Plan advances Ontario’s Forest Sector Strategy commitments to increase wood use, grow markets and encourage forest sector innovation.

Read More

Canada Green Building Council showcases mass timber marvel Limberlost Place

By Warren Frey
Journal of Commerce
June 25, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada East

TORONTO — A mass timber showcase on Toronto’s George Brown campus is also a study in collaboration and innovation. George Brown College’s Nerys Rau, Moriyama Teshima Architects partner Philip Silverstein and PCL’s Mike Love all explained the process behind building Limberlost Place at a session titled Exploring Limberlost Place: at the Canada Green Building Council’s Building Lasting Change conference held recently in downtown Vancouver. Limberlost Place is a 10-storey mass-timber net-zero building that achieved occupancy in January. …Silverstein said the building is rated at Tier 4 of the Toronto Green Standard, adding no other building in the city has reached that metric. “It’s like LEED Platinum on steroids,” Silverstein said. Love said the number one question was “what if the wood gets wet?” “It’s OK for wood to get wet. Just remove any ponding water and let it dry. It wants to breathe,” he said.

Read More

Limberlost Place: Inside Canada’s First Institutional Mass Timber Tower

By Julian Mirabelli
Urban Toronto
May 28, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada East

George Brown College’s Limberlost Place is almost ready for occupancy. The innovative 10-storey mass timber tower is a collection of firsts for the college, the city, and even the country. …the building is loaded with sustainable design moves and boasts net-zero carbon emissions, a LEED Gold certification, and compliance with the Toronto Green Standard Tier 4. Most notably, it sets an important precedent as the first institutional mass timber tower in Canada. …The most striking aspect of the building is the quantity of exposed wood that is visible throughout. There was apparently no limit to the amount of timber that is left exposed as it is all typically treated with fire-retardant products, so the design team opted for roughly 50% of the structure to be exposed. This is complemented by wood wall and ceiling finishes, and accents throughout. There is no mistaking that this building is a showcase for the versatility of wood construction.

Read More

Forestry

Province-wide Fire Ban Lifted; Caution Urged when Lighting Outdoor Fires

Fisheries, Forestry, and Agriculture Press Release
June 25, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

The province-wide outdoor fire ban that prohibited the setting of fires on forest land or within 300 metres of forest land in Newfoundland and Labrador has been lifted. The ban was authorized under the authority of section 99 of the Forestry Act. A Permit to Burn is required to burn brush and other materials during Forest Fire Season, which is in effect in the province until September 30. Permits are free and available at provincial Forest Management District Offices. A Permit to Burn is not required for backyard fires, recreational campfires, or boil-ups located on or within 300 metres of forest land if the fire is prepared in accordance with Provincial Forest Fire Regulations. Anyone planning a fire should check Public Reminders for Forest Fire Season and the current Fire Hazard Rating for guidance.

Read More

Ontario offers $3 per hour pay increase, new title for forest firefighters

Global News TV
June 25, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

For years, forest firefighters in Ontario have been calling on the provincial government to reclassify their jobs to recognize them as an emergency service in a bid to stem recruitment and retention issues. It’s a change the Ford government promised it would take on after sustained pressure from front-line staff and union officials. The province now says work to reclassify forest firefighters — officially called resource technicians — has been “completed,” and is blaming the Ontario Public Service Employees Union for a delay in announcing the move. Whether the terms the government has put forward address the substantive changes called for by forest firefighters is contested. Draft information seen by Global News shows the reclassification involves renaming positions within the existing union structure — and moving people one category further up the grid, for a raise of roughly $3 per hour.

Read More

Ducks Unlimited Canada Conserves Essential Wetland Within Ontario’s Georgian Bay UNESCO Biosphere Reserve

By Ducks Unlimited Canada
Cision Newswire
June 26, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

MIDLAND, ON – Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) is proud to announce the acquisition of a 34.4-hectare (85.15-acre) property within Ontario’s Georgian Bay UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The newly conserved Honey Harbour Wetland near Midland, Ontario, includes 13.2 hectares (32.68 acres) of provincially significant wetlands, a crucial migratory stopover for waterfowl, and forested areas. With increasing development pressures from its proximity to Highway 400 and urban centers, Ducks Unlimited Canada supported the landowner to acquire the property to secure its vital ecological value, conserve wildlife habitat and enhance local recreation opportunities. …As wetland loss in southern Ontario continues to threaten biodiversity and the many benefits wetlands provide—such as flood mitigation, carbon storage and water filtration—this acquisition represents an essential step in conserving these vital near-urban habitats for future generations.

Read More

Volatus Aerospace Supports J.D. Irving’s Vision for Drone-Powered Tree Planting in New Brunswick

GlobeNewswire
June 23, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

Volatus Aerospace Corp. is pleased to announce a strategic collaboration with J.D. Irving, Limited to advance Spring 2025 tree planting operations in New Brunswick. This initiative supports JDI’s leadership in managing working forests by integrating advanced heavy-lift drone technology to enhance their efficiency, scalability and environmental impact. As part of the project, Volatus will provide a heavy-lift Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) capable of transporting seedlings and supplies to planting crews operating in remote and difficult-to-access terrain. All flight operations will be coordinated by Volatus’ centralized Operations Control Centre in Vaughan, Ontario, enabling real-time mission oversight and reduced environmental footprint compared to traditional ground logistics. “Forestry is a critical pillar of Canada’s economy and environmental stewardship,” said Glen Lynch, CEO of Volatus Aerospace. “We are honoured to support JDI’s long-standing commitment to well-managed working forests by contributing innovative drone logistics, training, and regulatory guidance to their Spring 2025 reforestation operations.”

Read More

Water bomber pilot shortage grounds some aircraft in Ontario

CBC News
June 20, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada East

Several aircraft used to fight forest fires in Ontario are sitting in airport hangars and on tarmacs due to a pilot shortage. JP Hornick, president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), said the province is now short three water bomber pilots and six helicopter pilots due to low pay and poor working conditions. “The Ontario pilots are the lowest paid in the country, and what the government has put on the table would bring them up to a whopping second lowest paid position across the country,” Hornick said. That pilot shortage has meant one of Ontario’s nine Canadair CL-415 water bombers has been grounded. Three of the province’s eight helicopters used for firefighting have also been grounded. Hornick said two of the five bush planes used by the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) have also been grounded because only three pilots are available to fly them.

Read More

New glyphosate study sparks questions about New Brunswick use

By Andrew Waugh
The Telegraph-Journal
June 18, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

A new study suggests small, consistent amounts of exposure to the herbicide glyphosate can lead to higher incidents of cancer – a finding that has Green party Leader David Coon calling on the province to take the issue seriously. The study, by the Italian-based non-profit Ramazzini Institute, involved exposing rats to small levels of the herbicide and two other products for 2+ years. It found that “statistically significant dose-related (amounts of glyphosate) increased incidences of benign and malignant tumors.”…Bayer, which uses glyphosate in its Roundup herbicide, denounced the study. “It is clear this study has serious methodological flaws, which is consistent with the Ramazzini Institute’s long history of making misleading claims about the safety of various products,” the company said. …A government spokesperson initially told Brunswick News that the study’s findings weren’t applicable in New Brunswick because two products studied aren’t used in Canada.

Read More

400-year-old spruce tree a window into history of dwindling New Brunswick forests

By Katelin Belliveau
CBC News
June 20, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada East

Chris Watson of Lorneville, a rural community in southwest Saint John, recently saw what he believed to be a centuries-old red spruce near Spruce Lake. He drilled a small hole into the trunk by hand and took a pencil-sized sample to have it tested. Ben Phillips, environmental lecturer at Mount Allison University, began a process known as dendochronology on the sample — a study that measures the age of trees by counting small lines otherwise known as tree rings. “This tree, I can confidently say, is over 400 years old,” Phillips, who runs the Acadian Forest Dendochronology Lab on campus, said about the sample he got from Watson. “It is probably in the top 10 oldest trees in the province that I know of.” …Both Phillips and Ilana Urquhart, Nature Trust of New Brunswick conservation co-ordinator, want to see legislation put in place in New Brunswick that would protect areas with old growth, specifically.

Read More

Remembering a key player behind the Sault’s ‘bug lab’

By Darren Taylor
The Soo Today
June 19, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada East

Family members and local scientists gathered at the Great Lakes Forestry Centre on Monday to remember James MacBain Cameron. Cameron spearheaded the Centre’s growth from modest roots to its modern day status as a large, respected scientific facility. An entomologist, Cameron was born in Scotch Hill, Nova Scotia in 1910. He moved to the Sault in 1945 and was the original director of the Insect Pathology Research Institute, dedicated to protecting forests in the ongoing fight against threats posed by insects.  The Insect Pathology Research Institute eventually became known as the Great Lakes Forestry Centre in 1976, one year after Cameron’s death in 1975. Cameron is remembered in a professional sense for making the Centre grow through his ability to recruit scientists to work at the Queen Street East lab.

Read More

Edmonton keeping eye out for ‘relentless killer’ in tree canopy

By Brittany Ekelund
CTV News
June 16, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

The City of Edmonton is keeping an eye out for what it calls a “deceptively attractive” and “tremendously damaging” invasive pest that has been spreading in Canada. The emerald ash borer is a bright metallic green beetle the city said has proven to be a “relentless killer” of ash trees in North America – with 99 per cent of trees in an infested area dying within 6 years of the beetle’s arrival. The insect, which is native to eastern Asia, lays its eggs in ash trees. The larvae then chew through the cambium layer of the bark and create tunnels that stop the flow of nutrients in damaged areas and eventually kill the tree. Mike Jenkins, senior scientist with the City of Edmonton, said the beetles were first found in North America in the 1990s.

Read More

Tent caterpillars are back

By Julianna Balsamo
CTV News
June 16, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

They slither in silence, drape trees in silk and chew through lively leaves. This year, the forests of Ontario are full of a very distinctive, creepy crawler – the tent caterpillar. Eastern tent caterpillars are appearing in large numbers across the province marking what experts describe as an ‘outbreak year’ for the species. While noticeable, the current outbreak is not as severe as previous ones, according to Dan Rowlinson, forest health field coordinator with Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources. According to the Government of Ontario, periodic outbreaks occur roughly every 10 to 12 years and typically last three to six years in a particular areas. The tent caterpillar, often mistaken for their close relatives; the spongy moth, is known for having a similar looking larvae.

Read More

3 Ontario water bombers grounded due to pilot shortage, union calls for better wages

By Kris Ketonen
CBC News
June 12, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada East

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) is calling on the province to increase wages for water bomber pilots, as a shortage of pilots has led to the grounding of some aircraft. OPSEU said in a news release that pilots it represents have “resoundingly rejected an offer that would have made Ontario second to last in terms of wages for these dangerous and critical jobs.” OPSEU president JP Hornick told CBC that Ontario water bomber pilots are leaving for other provinces because they can earn better wages. “We have a government that is touting the fact that they’re purchasing six new water bomber planes, but they can’t even actually address the staffing needs that they have on the existing planes,” Hornick said. “This isn’t somebody taking off of a regular tarmac, right? They’re flying planes into the worst possible conditions, active wildfires, dipping down into lakes, filling it with water.”

Read More

Ontario Woodlot Association announces Colleen Drew-Baehre as new president

Northern Ontario Business
June 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

Colleen Drew-Baehre

The Ontario Woodlot Association (OWA) is pleased to announce that Colleen Drew-Baehre has been appointed as the organization’s President, effective immediately. Colleen has served as an elected officer on the OWA’s Executive Committee for several years now, and she is also the current Vice-Chair of the Bancroft-Haliburton Chapter of the OWA. Colleen is a retired secondary school teacher who has lived and worked in the North Hastings/Eastern Haliburton area for over 30 years. She lives on a forested property with her husband Ralph, her mother Sidney, a highly energetic Border Collie named Joey, a crazy cat, and occasionally, their two grown children. She graduated from the University of Guelph with an Honours Bachelor of Science (Agriculture) degree majoring in Natural Resource Management (with a wildlife biology add-on), followed by a Master of Science in Rural and Natural Resource Planning and Management.

Read More

Cree Nation Government Affirms Paix Des Braves Prevails over Bill 97

By Nadia Saganash, Director of Quebec and Indigenous Relations
Cree Nation Government in Nation Talk
June 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

Nemaska, Eeyou Istchee – The Cree Nation Government confirms that the Adapted Forestry Regime, as established under Chapter 3 of the Agreement. Concerning New Relationship between le Gouvernement du Québec and the Crees of Québec (Paix des Braves) and the James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement (JBNQA) takes legal precedence over the provisions introduced in Bill 97 – An Act mainly to modernize the forestry regime and the governance of forests in Québec. This precedence is explicitly affirmed in the bill itself under section 8.2, which states: “The provisions of Chapter 3 of the Agreement Concerning a New Relationship between le Gouvernement du Québec and the Crees of Québec, entered into on 7 February 2002 and approved by Order in Council 289-2002 dated 20 March 2002 (French only), as well as any amendment to that chapter approved by the Government, prevail over the provisions of this Act […].”

Read More

Newfoundland and Labrador Government Monitoring Detections of Japanese Beetle

By Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture
Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
June 6, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada East

The Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture is working with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and industry stakeholders to respond to increased detections of Japanese beetle in the St. John’s area. Japanese beetle, an invasive species in Canada, is regulated under the Plant Protection Act by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s Pest Surveillance Program. The agency has detected isolated and sporadic occurrences of Japanese beetle in Newfoundland and Labrador since 2014. In 2024, Japanese beetles were detected in the environment in St. John’s, indicating potential overwintering since there is no evidence linking the detections to imported plant material, as in previous occurrences. …Japanese beetles can spread quickly, especially via wind, or through transportation of soil and plants. If not controlled, this insect poses a serious threat to agriculture, horticulture, landscaping and forestry industries…

Read More

Why Quebec’s forestry reform is facing backlash from Indigenous groups, conservationists

By Cassandra Yanez-Leyton
CBC News
June 6, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada East

Quebec’s sweeping reform of how forests are managed is causing concerns among Indigenous leaders, conservation groups and unions, who warn the changes prioritize logging over long-term health of the ecosystem. Bill 97, tabled this spring by Minister of Natural Resources and Forests Maïté Blanchette Vézina, proposes to divide the forest into three zones: one that prioritizes conservation, one focused on timber production and a third zone for multiple uses. At least 30 per cent of Quebec’s forests will fall into that second category, Blanchette Vézina said. Speaking at the legislative hearing on Bill 97, Lac-Simon Anishnabe Nation Chief Lucien Wabanonik says he wants to see it scrapped and rewritten from scratch in collaboration with First Nations people. “They call it triade in French, meaning 30 per cent of the territory will be specifically used by the industry in exclusion of other users,” he said. “It’s very negative on our rights as First Nations.”

Read More

Forest Fires

After weeks of escalation, rainfall has reduced wildfire hazards across northwestern Ontario

By Sarah Law
CBC News
June 25, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

Recent rainfall has reduced the wildfire hazard across northwestern Ontario, though the region’s largest wildfire is now more than 194,000 hectares large. Red Lake 12 — the fire that has forced community evacuations in Deer Lake First Nation and Sandy Lake First Nation — remains not under control. However, precipitation and cooler temperatures have given FireRangers more breathing room over the past few days and have also reduced smoke levels. However, thunderstorms this past weekend have created the potential for holdover fires caused by lightning, which crews will be monitoring over the next week. Red Lake 12 has 23 firefighting crews assigned to three divisions on the fire’s south and eastern perimeters, supported by 18 helicopters, including four heavy helicopters with increased bucketing capacity, Ontario Forest Fires said in its latest update.

Read More

Some residents allowed to return after forest fire in Halifax area prompts evacuation

The Canadian Press in City News
June 22, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

MUSQUODOBOIT HARBOUR — Halifax officials say some people who had to flee a forest fire on Sunday afternoon were being allowed back home, with provincial officials noting rain was falling and the blaze was being held. RCMP began helping evacuate people earlier in the day after issuing a statement about a forest fire in Musquodoboit Harbour, about 45 kilometres east of downtown Halifax, and police also asked other residents to avoid the area. Later, the Halifax Regional Municipality said some of the evacuees would be permitted to return home, while an evacuation centre would be opening for those not being allowed back. Nova Scotia’s Natural Resources department posted to social media late Sunday that the fire was being held at about 30 hectares in size and that rain was falling.

Read More

Wet weather expected to help fight Badger wildfire, says N.L. fire officer

By Elizabeth Whitten
CBC News
June 19, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada East

Jeff Motty

A wildfire is still threatening the community of Badger but wet weather is expected to help crews fight the fire, says Newfoundland and Labrador’s fire officer. The forest fire started on Tuesday, ignited by a lightning strike near the community. On Wednesday, the province ordered residents of the town to evacuate and head to the nearby community of Grand Falls-Windsor. The provincial government also brought in a province-wide fire ban. Forestry protection supervisor Jeff Motty anticipates Thursday will be a “bust day” fighting the wildfire that’s threatening Badger. “If everything holds through, the [fire weather index] should decrease down to a level of moderate,” he told CBC News on Wednesday evening, “which will be good for our crews to be able to get in and just start working that fire and trying to put out any hotspots and anything in between that they can get out.” 

Read More

Wildfire burning near Badger, Churchill Falls fire being held

By Elizabeth Whitten and Alex Kennedy
CBC News
June 17, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada East

A wildfire has started near the Newfoundland community of Badger following a lightning storm in the area Tuesday afternoon. Craig Coady, the director of Newfoundland and Labrador’s wildfire program, told CBC News Tuesday evening the fire is burning about six kilometres from the community, and is burning east from the south side of the Exploits River. Crews received word of the fire just after 4 p.m. NT, Grand Falls-Windsor Fire Chief Vince MacKenzie said Tuesday. Torrential rain and lightning was reported in the area around the time, which prompted a short power outage for more than 8,500 people in the region. …It wasn’t the only fire crews were fighting on Tuesday. A wildfire burning near Churchill Falls, Labrador is now being held. The fire broke out on Monday but is being managed on Tuesday. It was considered out of control until Tuesday morning when the status changed to being held.

Read More

As 2 dozen wildfires burn across northwestern Ontario, 3 First Nations still under evacuation

By Sarah Law
CBC News
June 15, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada East

©Ontario.ca

While burn bans have been lifted across much of northwestern Ontario, provincial authorities warn people to remain cautious while crews contend with two dozen fires in the region. Meanwhile the First Nations communities of Deer Lake, Webequie and Sandy Lake remain under evacuation orders. As of Friday, all evacuation and restricted access orders had been removed from the Kenora district, with implementation orders also lifted in areas near two wildfires known as Kenora 20 and Kenora 32. “Wildland fire suppression activities are ongoing on Kenora 20 and Kenora 32 but public safety relating to these fires is no longer a concern,” Ontario Forest Fires said Saturday night. …The region’s largest wildfire — Red Lake 12 — saw more activity on Saturday due to clear skies and north/northwest winds. The fire, described as a ‘sleeping giant,’ is more 175,000 hectares, and triggered evacuations from Deer Lake First Nation and more than 2,000 people from Sandy Lake First Nation.

Read More

More than 1,400 evacuated by military as fires rip through northern Ontario

By Isaac Callan
Global News
June 10, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

More than 1,400 people have been evacuated from a remote community in northern Ontario using massive military transport planes as out-of-control wildfires spread across the province. On Sunday, Ontario asked the federal government to dispatch military personnel to help evacuate the community of Sandy Lake after a nearby fire expanded, doubling in size toward the edge of town in a few hours. Defence personnel said they had evacuated more than 1,400 people by 2 p.m. Tuesday afternoon. The evacuations mark the latest twist in an already busy fire season in the province, one critics argue the Ontario government failed to prepare for. Data from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre shows that the area of Ontario burned so far this year is already 38 times higher than it was last year.

Read More

Forest fire near Deer Lake now simply huge

By Mark Stimpson
NWOnewswatch.com
June 4, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

The forest fire west of Wabaseemoong is no longer the largest in Northwestern Ontario now that a blaze farther north has grown to more than 65,000 hectares. The Red Lake 12 fire that caused the evacuation of Deer Lake First Nation last week was blanketing 65,186 hectares as of Wednesday afternoon, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources. That’s more than 3.5 times the size estimated on Monday. Smoke from fires to the west hurt the ministry’s ability “to monitor the growth of Red Lake 12 consistently throughout the operational window,” MNR fire information officer Allison Lake told Newswatch in an email. “After several days of reduced visibility, conditions improved, allowing for high-level infrared scanning of wildland fire Red Lake 12. “As a result of the scanning, the fire has now been remapped at 65,186 hectares, which accounts for growth that has occurred over the past few days.”

Read More

Wildfires prompt air quality statements across northwestern Ontario as evacuations continue

By Sarah Law
CBC News
June 2, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

A number of special air quality statements are in effect across northwestern Ontario, as wildfire activity remains rampant throughout the region. Statements were issued early Monday morning for well over a dozen communities, including several First Nations… “Wildfire smoke is expected to move into the area early this morning and may remain in place for the next several days for some areas,” the statements say. “As smoke levels increase, health risks increase. Limit time outdoors.” Evacuations are continuing in Deer Lake First Nation and Webequie First Nation. Meanwhile, members of Wabaseemoong Independent Nations have been under an evacuation order since mid-May. Webequie First Nation first declared a state of emergency on Thursday. Chief Cornelius Wabasse said high demands for aircraft in other communities affected by wildfires delayed his community’s evacuation. “There is a shortage of planes and also other resources,” Wabasse said on Monday morning.

Read More

Wildfire activity persists in northern Ontario

By Dan Bertrand
CTV News
June 2, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) continues to monitor wildfires across the province, with varying conditions in the northeast and northwest regions. While some fires have been brought under control, others remain active, prompting ongoing suppression efforts and precautionary measures. The northeast region reports two active wildfires, with one recently contained. Sudbury 13, a 0.5-hectare fire near Wikwemikong that was identified on Saturday, was declared out Sunday morning. Cochrane 2, an 8-hectare fire northwest of Attawapiskat, is now under control. Cochrane 3, burning 48 kilometres west of Attawapiskat, remains not under control at 150 hectares. Though the MNR confirms no immediate threats to communities or infrastructure at this time. The northwest region remains a focal point, with 15 active fires and persistent high-risk conditions.

Read More

Nova Scotia wildfire season off to a slow start after cool, wet spring

By Danielle Edwards
CBC News
May 31, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

The wildfire season in Nova Scotia has been off to a “slow” start, according to the manager of forest protection with the province’s natural resources department. Scott Tingely told CBC News that so far, the number of fires and the amount of hectares burned are both below average at this point. “We had a pretty cool, wet spring so far, so that has certainly helped kind of mitigate the conditions and the risk,” Tingley said. As of Thursday, 39 fires have burned about 35 hectares across the province so far. …The wildfire situation in Nova Scotia has changed rapidly over the last week, according to data from Natural Resources Canada. On Tuesday, the department listed the fire danger across most of the province as low. And as of Thursday, that classification was raised to high for the bulk of the mainland and Cape Breton.

Read More

Massive expansion of restricted fire zone

By Matt Prokopchuk
The Thunder Bay News Watch
May 29, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

THUNDER BAY — A huge additional swath of Northwestern Ontario, including the city of Thunder Bay and surrounding areas, will be under a fire ban as of midnight. The Ministry of Natural Resources announced Thursday it is extending its restricted fire zone in the region at the end of the day. In a related move, Thunder Bay Fire Rescue said it is also implementing a fire ban for the city. Starting at 12:01 a.m. Friday, the fire ban will extend from its initial boundaries in the west to as far north as to include Wabakimi Provincial Park. …Chris Marchand, a regional fire information officer with the MNR’s Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services in Dryden said the region is exceedingly dry.

Read More

Highway reopened as fire burns near Churchill Falls

By Maddie Ryan
CBC News
May 28, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

Emergency crews are dealing with a fire in the woods east of Churchill Falls — an area of central Labrador currently under an extreme fire risk warning. The provincial government confirmed the fire is moving east, away from the town. It said crews and two water bombers were deployed. The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary closed part of the Trans-Labrador Highway between the company town and Happy Valley-Goose Bay, 300 kilometres east along the isolated road, for a stint Wednesday night. It has since reopened. N.L. Hydro said helicopters fought the fire from the air. The fire knocked out the power in Labrador City and Wabush for nearly three hours. N.L. Hydro restored electricity to all customers shortly after 9 p.m.

Read More