Region Archives: Canada East

Business & Politics

Townsend Lumber delivers its first outbound rail shipment

By Chris Abott
The Woodstock Sentinel-Review
May 18, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

TILLSONBURG, Ontario — It was a historic day for the company, most of the seven minutes were spent taking photos with Townsend Lumber staff. “This is Townsend Lumber’s first outbound shipment of rail, ever,” said Mike Penner, the co-owner. After its one hour and 25-minute ride to St. Thomas, the shipment of ties transferred to CN Railway for the remainder of its approximately 700-km trip to Stella-Jones Inc.’s treating plant in Delson, Quebec, near Montreal. …“This one was just the icebreaker – set up our CN account, figure out the process, what we have to do for rail and how it works.” …As southwestern Ontario’s largest sawmill and kiln drying operation, Townsend Lumber draws its lumber from the Lambton, Chatham-Kent and Middlesex areas to the Niagara region. Their mill in Kitchener draws from areas to the north including Orangeville and Durham.

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Ginoogaming First Nation aims for OSB plant

Northern Ontario Business
May 19, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

ONTARIO — Ginoogaming First Nation wants to put some underutilized hardwood resources in northwestern Ontario to work by making building material. The community, 40 kilometres east of Geraldton in northwestern Ontario, has plans to build an Indigenous-run oriented strand board (OSB) or laminated strand lumber (LSL) mill utilizing approximately 600,000 cubic metres of poplar, aspen and birch from the Kenogami Forest and the surrounding area. From that volume, Ginoogaming said that it can manufacture 550,000 square feet of OSB or LSL for the building construction and home renovation market. To further evaluate this concept, Ginoogaming announced May 18 that it has netted $300,000 in funding from the federal government’s Indigenous Forestry Initiative to do a feasibility study. …The feasibility study is due out sometime this summer. 

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Unifor Local 1291 ratifies deal with Ariva, a division of Domtar

Unifor Canada
May 17, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

ONTARIO — Unifor Local 1291 has secured a new four-year contract with Ariva, a division of Domtar. “Congratulations to the bargaining committee for negotiating a deal that addresses our members’ top priorities,” said Local 1291 President Adam Doran. “Our local benefits from gains in the pulp and paper bargaining pattern negotiated by units in Dryden and Espanola. However, a challenge we had to face was the employer hesitating to make changes with us that might set a precedent.” The contract includes increased wages, improvements to vacation entitlements, health and dental benefits including vision care and orthodontics. There were also improvements to long-term disability and life insurance benefits, shift premiums, meal allowance and increased union representation.

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Resolute intends to retain woodlands after sale of Thunder Bay pulp and paper mill

By Gary Rivne
Thunder Bay News Watch
May 9, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

THUNDER BAY, Ontario — More than six months after it went on the market, the Resolute pulp and paper mill in Thunder Bay has apparently attracted plenty of interest, but remains unsold. When the federal Competition Bureau approved the acquisition of Resolute Forest Products by Paper Excellence Group last year, it determined that the transaction would likely significantly lessen competition for certain products. To resolve this issue, Paper Excellence committed to selling both Domtar’s Dryden pulp mill and Resolute’s Thunder Bay mill. In February, a deal was struck to sell the Dryden operation to First Quality Enterprises — a tissue products. …If the mill is sold, the company intends to retain ownership of its sawmills at Thunder Bay, as well as its existing woodlands operations which supply fibre to the pulp and paper mill. This means “Resolute will continue close commercial ties” with the pulp and paper mill.

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Good times for northern Ontario’s forest industry, but a new mill wants to avoid the ‘boom-bust cycle’

By Erik White
CBC News
May 10, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

WAWA, Ontario — LP Building Solutions is buying an old strand board plant near the northern Ontario town of Wawa. But the U.S. company wants to make something else there out of wood chips and resin. …LP plans to make wood-based siding at its Wawa plant, part of a general shift the company is making away from the “boom-and-bust cycle” that’s tied to the housing market. Howald says the renovate and repair market that siding fits into is “quite a bit more stable” and “growing much more quickly,” while providing an environmental alternative to vinyl and plastic siding. “Because it’s made out of sustainably-harvested renewable wood, it’s actually carbon negative. …There’s no timeline on when the Wawa plant will be up and running, but LP figures it will create around 200 jobs in the area.

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New Brunswick government sets record straight on forestry royalties

By Zack Power
Global News
May 3, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

The New Brunswick government is setting the record straight on confusion in the forestry sector after it was reported that rates were set to be cut for companies by millions. The Wolastoqey First Nation denounced the royalty slashes for large-scale businesses. The Madawaska First Nation Chief said that it appeared as though the province was favouring large-scale companies over smaller mills. …It comes as the provincial government cleared the air on “only part of the information,” which has created confusion in the sector. “The Regulation to be posted is in regard to the Private Woodlot Sustainability Fund that will allow monthly upward adjustment to the base prices,” said Nick Brown. “These upward adjustments will be based on commodity performance and will ensure a more predictable system, yet flexible to changing commodity prices.” The province said that part of that royalty has not yet been posted for public comment.

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Finance & Economics

Stella-Jones updates its financial objectives building on sustained growth

Stella-Jones Inc.
May 24, 2023
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, Canada East

Montreal, Quebec—Stella-Jones Inc. today updated its three-year objectives, reflecting the years 2023–2025. The Company will be featuring its new financial targets at its Investor Day, being held this morning in Toronto, Ontario. “Following a record year in 2022, coupled with our outstanding start to 2023, we are excited to share updated financial objectives that reflect Stella-Jones’ performance and growth potential,” said Eric Vachon, President and Chief Executive Officer of Stella-Jones. “In light of our favourable position to meet or exceed our original financial targets, we are raising our 2025 sales target to almost 20% above 2022 sales and the 2023–2025 EBITDA margin goal to 16%, primarily driven by the accelerating demand for our higher margin utility poles business. …Our inaugural investor day today sets the stage for us to share our new targets and build on what we believe is a defining time for us and for the essential infrastructure businesses we serve.”

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GreenFirst Forest Products reports Q1, 2023 loss

By GreenFrist Forest Products Inc.
Businesswire
May 15, 2023
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, Canada East

TORONTO — GreenFirst Forest Products announced results for the first quarter ended April 1, 2023. First quarter 2023 net loss from continuing operations was $20.2 million compared to net loss of $25.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2022. Lumber prices dropped, reflecting economic headwinds and lower demand in Q1 2023, with an average selling price of $605/mfbm compared to $644/mfbm in Q4 2022. …Sold its two Quebec mills for gross proceeds of $94.1 million, subject to working capital adjustments, at a $3.5 million loss on disposal. …”We have strengthened our balance sheet and our recent efforts to improve operational efficiencies have begun to yield positive results,” said Paul Rivett, interim CEO. 

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Cascades reports Q1, 2023 results

By Cascades Inc.
Cision Newswire
May 11, 2023
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, Canada East

KINGSEY FALLS, Quebec — Cascades Inc. reported its unaudited financial results for the three-month period ended March 31, 2023. Highlights include:  Sales of $1,134 million (compared with $1,135 million in Q4 2022 and $1,038 million in Q1 2022); Operating loss of $(80) million (compared with $(20) million in Q4 2022 and $(4) million in Q1 2022); and Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $134 million (compared with $116 million in Q4 2022 and $58 million in Q1 2022) …Mario Plourde, President and CEO, commented: “All three businesses contributed to topline growth year-over-year, as benefits from higher selling prices and an advantageous exchange rate more than offset the impacts of a less favourable mix in Containerboard and lower volumes in Tissue Papers and Specialty Products.”

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KP Tissue reports Q1, 2023 results

By KP Tissue Inc.
The Market Screener
May 11, 2023
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, Canada East

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario — KP Tissue reports the Q1 2023 financial and operational results of KPT and Kruger Products Inc. Highlights include: Revenue was $451.0 million in Q1 2023 compared to $398.7 million in Q1 2022, an increase of $52.3 million or 13.1%; Adjusted EBITDA1 was $50.0 million in Q1 2023, compared to $29.1 million in Q1 2022, an increase of 71.9%; Net loss was $49.3 million in Q1 2023 compared to net income of $1.4 million in Q1 2022, a decrease of $50.7 million. …KP Tissue’s Chief Executive Officer, Dino Bianco. “Adjusted EBITDA increased nearly 72% year-over-year to $50 million on improved revenue of $451 million in the first quarter. 

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Stella-Jones reports positive Q1, 2023 results

Stella-Jones Inc.
May 10, 2023
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, Canada East

MONTREAL, Quebec — Stella-Jones announced financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2023. Highlights include sales of $710 million, 18% organic sales growth in infrastructure-related businesses, record EBITDA of $120 million, and net income of $60 million up 41% from Q1, 2022. …“The Company had an excellent start to the year, propelled by the momentum of our growth in 2022,” said Eric Vachon, President and CEO. “Our record results in Q1 featured strong sales, higher EBITDA and margin, and were marked by an out-performance of our utility poles product category, which saw a 29% sales increase. Our first quarter results also reflected steady sales growth in railway ties, aligned with our expectations for this product category, and an anticipated pullback in residential lumber sales compared to 2022.”

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Acadian Timber reports positive Q1, 2023 results

By Acadian Timber Corporation
The Montreal Gazette
May 3, 2023
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, Canada East

EDMUNDSTON, New Brunswick — Acadian Timber reported financial and operating results for the three months ended March 25, 2023. During the first quarter, Acadian generated sales of $22.4 million, compared to $26.6 million in the prior year period. The weighted average selling price, excluding biomass, increased 15% year-over-year benefiting from strong sawlog prices and improved pulpwood prices, driven by strong demand. Sales volume, excluding biomass, decreased 37% primarily due to limited contractor availability and unfavourable weather conditions in Maine. Biomass sales volume increased 23% due to favourable market conditions. …“Regional demand and pricing for both sawlogs and pulpwood remained strong during the first quarter of 2023, but limited contractor availability and an unusually warm winter in Maine resulted in reduced harvest levels and deliveries to customers,” commented Adam Sheparski, CEO.

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

Industry professionals get to the root of timber building through two-day course

By Angela Gismondi
Daily Commercial News
May 26, 2023
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada East

A recent mass timber course provided industry professionals with practical and theoretical concepts as well as hands-on installations into the various stages of this specialized type of construction. The two-day course, titled Theory in Practice: The Phases of Timber Construction Using a Full-Scale Model, was presented by Rothoblaas, a global player in mass timber that started over 30 years ago Trento, Italy, in collaboration with the Carpenters’ Regional Council and the College of Carpenters and Allied Trades. The training was held in Vaughan, Ont. and was part of the training collaboration Rothoschool on Tour! …The company creates solutions for the heavy and mass timber, energy efficient, net-zero and other better building practice sectors and offer a range of products including fasteners and connectors, building envelope and acoustic solutions, worker safety and tools. The agenda for the session provided detailed information on what needs to be considered when building with timber.

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Quebec sets out plan to reach 60 per cent of greenhouse gas reduction target by 2030

Canadian Press in the National Post
May 19, 2023
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada East

François Legault

MONTREAL — The Quebec government has now mapped out how it will achieve 60 per cent of its greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, Premier François Legault said Friday as he announced an updated green economy plan. …The plan also includes $1 billion to reduce the carbon footprint of buildings, which are responsible for almost 10 per cent of the province’s greenhouse gas emissions. About $215 million of that money will help fund projects for thermal waste treatment — methods that transform waste into energy that can be used for such things as heating. Legault said the government plans to create a rating system to assess the energy performance of large buildings. Patrick Bonin, a climate and energy campaigner at Greenpeace Canada, said Quebec is coasting on the fact that most of its electricity comes from renewable sources and argued the plan doesn’t go far enough.

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Indigenous knowledge centre acclaimed for wood use

Northern Ontario Business
May 9, 2023
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada East

The Shingwauk Kinoomaage Gamig Anishinabek Discovery Centre in Sault Ste. Marie has won an industry award for the use of wood in its design. Ontario Wood WORKS! selected the educational centre as one of nine award recipients during the annual general meeting of the Ontario Forest Industries Association (OFIA), which was held May 2 in Toronto. Awards are given to people and organizations that promote the use of wood in construction, through design, advocacy and innovation. “It is a privilege to recognize Ontario’s wood design leaders through our Wood Design Awards program,” said Steven Street, executive director of Ontario Wood WORKS!, in a news release.

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Registration opens for Woodworking Machinery & Supply Conference, Canada’s national woodworking event

By Rich Christianson
The Woodworking Network
May 8, 2023
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada East

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario – Registration for the first Woodworking Machinery & Supply Conference & Expo in four years is now open. Canada’s national industrial woodworking show returns Nov. 2-4 to the International Centre. The event was last held in 2019. The 2021 edition of the show was cancelled due to the Covid-19. “We are obviously thrilled to be organizing WMS with the pandemic far back in the rearview mirror,” said Harry Urban, show manager. “As we have seen from the response to other industry events that have taken place since the wain of Covid, professional woodworkers are eager to get back to seeing live demonstrations of machinery, and software; sampling new hardware and other supplies; and meeting with vendors and their peers face to face.” The program will be augmented by WMS Live, a free conference program right on the show floor.

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Flashy Features Emerge as Timber-Framed Limberlost Place Rises on Queens Quay

By Matias Bessai
Urban Toronto
May 8, 2023
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada East

Over the last decade, Toronto’s East Bayfront community has been the focal point of a drastic waterfront revitalization effort. …George Brown College’s highly-anticipated, net-zero Limberlost Place, is coming to life. Designed by Moriyama & Teshima and Acton Ostry Architects, the mass timber-build has grown into a hive of activity above Queens Quay East. The building now enjoys seven complete floors, with timber columns already in place for the eighth. Slated to stand ten storeys in its entirety, this puts the building at about 75% completion structurally, however, with the vaulted roof design planned for the uppermost floor, the final level could prove to be the most technical of them all. …the installation of a timber-built pedestrian bridge will provide an enclosed connection between Limberlost Place and George Brown College. 

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Forestry

MP Mendès Announces 10,000 New Federally-Funded Trees for Saint-Lambert

By Natural Resources Canada
Cision Newswire
May 23, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

SAINT-LAMBERT, QC — Alexandra Mendès, Member of Parliament for Brossard–Saint-Lambert, on behalf of the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources, and Pascale Mongrain, Mayor of Saint-Lambert, announced nearly $400,000 in federal funding under the 2 Billion Trees program to support the planting of 10,000 trees in Saint-Lambert.  This project will revitalize local urban forest cover and replace aging trees and those affected by Dutch elm disease and the emerald ash borer. The trees will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions while also creating green spaces. This project will engage community organizations and encourage local participation and environmental awareness through tree planting and educational activities. …The Government of Canada’s 2 Billion Trees program is helping to clean the air, keep neighbourhoods cool in the summer, create thousands of jobs and fight climate change while protecting nature.

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Tree-planting efforts questioned 1 year after highly destructive derecho storm

By Kristy Nease
CBC News
May 20, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

Some critics say the city isn’t doing enough to get replacement trees in the ground a year after a derecho windstorm destroyed thousands of trees across Ottawa, and after Mayor Mark Sutcliffe campaigned on a promise to plant a million in his term. In a typical year the city plants about 100,000 trees. They cool urban heat deserts, shade houses and sequester carbon, and they increase property values and improve quality of life, among other benefits. Sutcliffe said during last year’s election campaign that he would get 250,000 trees planted annually. In 2023, his first full year in office, the city will continue to plant somewhere around 100,000. …To get more canopy, the city is developing a tree-planting strategy later this year. …When compared to the city’s other pressures, such as affordable housing, Paul Johanis, chair of the Greenspace Alliance of Canada’s Capital said tree canopy is a number one issue for community associations.

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What log driving can teach us about forests, past and present

By Julie-Pascale Labrecque-Foy & Miguel Girona
The Conversation Canada
May 17, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

The log drive is an integral part of Québec culture. Specifically, log driving refers to the use of waterways to float and transport logs from harvesting sites to sawmills or ports where they are exported. The intensive exploitation of forests in Québec since the time of colonization has resulted in major changes in their structure and dynamics. Few virgin forests remain accessible today, which limits our ability to study pre-industrial forest conditions. Yet this knowledge is essential in order for us to be able to manage forests in a sustainable manner. The logs that sank to the bottom of lakes during the log driving period contain information on the history of Québec’s forests. …Our research project will provide new knowledge about pre-industrial forests and how they have responded to climate change in the past, which will help guide practices for sustainable forest management.

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MPP Michael Mantha focuses on staffing issues in Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry

By Rosalind Russell
My Espanola Now
May 17, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

Michael Mantha

Michael Mantha, the MPP for Algoma-Manitoulin, pressed Graydon Smith the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry on staffing issues in his ministry during Question Period this week. He says conservation officers and wildland forest firefighters have raised alarms about staff leaving their positions in search of better pay. Mantha states if employees are not paid a fair wage, they will end up looking for work elsewhere adding despite the demands placed on them, they are being grossly underpaid by this government. For example, he adds, In Chapleau, there are four fire crews set to operate this season, down from 10 last season. Mantha called on the Minister to immediately address the wage concerns raised by both the conservation officers and the wildland fire fighters. [END]

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Working Capital Loans for Forestry Contractors

By Natural Resources and Renewables
The Government of Nova Scotia
May 17, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

A new pilot program will let forestry contractors borrow working capital to help their businesses succeed. “The Timber Loan Board provides flexible lending solutions to meet the unique needs of Nova Scotia’s forestry businesses,” said Agriculture Minister Greg Morrow. “I’m pleased that the board found a solution to help forestry contractors who need to bridge the gap between harvesting timber and getting it to the sawmill.” The shutdown of Northern Pulp and the significant amount of wood that is being salvaged after Hurricane Fiona have highlighted a need for a working capital loan program for forestry contractors. Through the Timber Loan Board, contractors can borrow up to $50,000 at a competitive interest rate. Loans are repayable within one year.

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Conservation of 20 hectares of old-growth forest, first of its kind

Huntsville Doppler
May 13, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

Haliburton Forest & Wild Life Reserve Ltd., the parent company of Huntsville Forest Products and Almaguin Forest Products, has moved to conserve an old-growth forest in Ontario, with trees more than 150 years old. On April 27, The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) along with owner Haliburton Forest & Wild Life Reserve (Haliburton Forest), announced the first recognized other effective area-based conservation measure (OECM) within a privately owned commercial forest in Canada. It is also the country’s first OECM led by the forestry industry. The South Freezy Lake old-growth forest has been recognized by both the Governments of Ontario and Canada as conserved and entered into Canada’s Protected and Conserved Areas Database. The database monitors progress toward Canada’s target of protecting 30 per cent of its lands and waters by 2030.

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Team of Dalhousie researchers to study Nova Scotia forests

By Pat Healey
The Laker News
May 14, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

HALIFAX: A team of forestry researchers led by Dalhousie University is receiving $1.57 million to undertake research on Nova Scotia’s forests and the industries and communities who depend upon them. The new project forms the cornerstone of a Research Nova Scotia forestry program that will support Nova Scotia’s transition to an ecological forestry model. Operated in partnership with the Forestry Innovation Transition Trust, the program includes economic, ecological, and social components of forestry, to develop a holistic understanding of where the sector is going, and how to help get there in a sustainable and equitable way. …The five-year project will measure how changing forestry practices impact biodiversity and landscape connectivity, evaluate recreation opportunities arising from changing forestry practices, value carbon as part of forest lands in the province, investigate and undertake effective knowledge exchange with woodlot stewards and operators and registered professional foresters, and support Mi’kmaq-led forestry. 

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Sault area forest harvesting company receives nearly $770K in funding

The Soo Today
May 12, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

Sault Ste. Marie — Meakin Contracting Ltd., a local company that provides logging and road construction services to the Sault area forestry sector, has been given $769,000 in Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation funding. The money is earmarked for the company to expand business operations, increase employment, and create a stable wood supply for local mills. …Sault MPP Ross Romano announced the funding late Friday morning. Romano called the forestry sector “an important pillar of the northern economy.” Minister of Northern Development Greg Rickford called the province’s investments into the forestry sector “targeted investments that make real improvements to operations.” Rickford added that the Meakin Contracting Ltd. funding will help “increase the capacity for log shipments to local mills that depend on stable and predictable wood supplies.”

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Deep cuts in New Brunswick timber royalties were ‘a bit surprising,’ top logging executive says

By Robert Jones
CBC News
May 12, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

Adam Sheparski

The head of one of New Brunswick’s largest logging companies says he is puzzled at deep and retroactive discounts the province is proposing to make in its timber royalty charges to mill owners, eight months after raising them… said Adam Sheparski. …Sheparski is president of Edmundston-based Acadian Timber, New Brunswick’s second-largest private landowner and a major supplier of wood to New Brunswick lumber and pulp mills. He was asked whether plans New Brunswick has to lower what it charges mill owners to supply themselves with publicly owned trees would undermine prices Acadian will be able to charge for its trees. …He cited access to out-of-province markets and some contractual price protections on in-province sales as two reasons Acadian might be able to weather price cutting by the province, at least temporarily. New Brunswick posted a list of royalties it is proposing to charge forest companies for wood they cut on Crown land in 2023. 

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Drones and lasers in the forest

Brockville Recorder and Times
May 11, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

Ben Gwilliam

IVANHOE — What is in your woods? The Ontario Woodlot Association recently bought two drones, to help private woodlot owners gather information about their forests. Ben Gwilliam, private lands inventory analyst for the association, will tell local woodlot owners about the drones and other new forest tools at a gathering next month of the OWA Quinte Chapter. …“Particularly, the use of drones in aerial photography and photogrammetry has made it more accessible than ever for landowners to produce the high-resolution forest inventory and monitoring that was once only available to well-resourced industry on Crown land,” said Gwilliam. …Along with drones and LiDAR, the OWA has plans to help members with forest certification, climate change mitigation, an enhanced private lands forest inventory and forestry cooperatives.

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Minister Guilbeault Announces Federal Support to Plant Over 275,000 New Trees Across Montreal Region

By Natural Resources Canada
Cision Newswire
May 10, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

Today, as part of the Montreal Climate Summit, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, announced over $40 million in federal funding under the 2 Billion Trees program for three tree-planting initiatives across Montreal and Vaudreuil-Dorion, which will collectively support the planting of over 275,000 trees. The first project, led by Société de verdissement du Montréal métropolitain (Soverdi) and Alliance forêt urbaine, aims to plant 200,000 trees by 2030 on private and institutional lands through thousands of projects in schoolyards, hospitals, parking lots and company grounds where citizens live and work. The Government of Canada is investing $19.9 million in this project, which is also receiving $40 million in funding from municipalities, including the City of Montreal, and $20 million in private funding.

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More than 11.5 million tree seedlings destined for Quebec forests were destroyed last year

CBC News
May 7, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

While reforestation efforts are at the heart of the fight against climate change around the world, more than 11.5 million tree seedlings destined for Quebec forests were destroyed last year. Ironically, it was extreme weather conditions that forced plant nurseries to discard those that did not meet the government’s criteria. The significant losses, valued at $3.6 million, represent almost 9% of the trees that were poised to be planted. …The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry said… 83% of the trees destroyed in 2022 were related to extreme weather events. Stéphane Boucher, president of Quebec’s forest plant producers, says that over the past 10 years, the weather has been the source of headaches. …Producers and experts believe that many wasted trees could have been planted in forests to sequester carbon. Professor Jean-François Boucher is calling on Quebec to rectify the situation, considering that many of the quality criteria for seedlings are not supported by science, he says.

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400-year-old trees found in Algonquin Park spark calls to limit logging

By Kristin Rushowy
Toronto Star
May 8, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

Researchers have discovered six trees in Algonquin Provincial Park that are more than 400 years old — located in a logging zone they are now urging the government to protect from logging, the Star has learned. …The “very old, unprotected forest is about 1.7 square kilometres in size, roughly equivalent to Toronto’s Sunnybrook, Wilket Creek, Glendon and Serena Gundy Parks combined,” said Mike Henry, a senior ecologist and lead researcher of the Algonquin Park Old-Growth Forest Project. …“There are a number of large, roadless areas in Algonquin Park that are unprotected; some are at imminent risk of being logged,” he said, saying the current rules “are no longer viable.” Algonquin was Ontario’s first provincial park and is the oldest in the country, created in 1893. Logging has always been allowed, though it is the only such park in the province — and one of two in the country — where that is the case.

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County unveils billboard as part of forestry education campaign

Barrie Today
May 4, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

County of Simcoe warden, county councillors, and representatives from the county’s forestry department and Forests Ontario gathered to unveil the new #ItTakesAForest billboard located in the Simcoe County Forest’s North Barr Tract. It Takes a Forest, an awareness initiative led by Forests Ontario, began in 2016 as a grassroots billboard campaign, featuring fact-based messaging used to build awareness for sustainable forestry in Ontario and directly address misconceptions of forestry. The billboard network has now expanded across the province with more than 35 signs and support from over 45 organizations. “Our Simcoe County Forest is a real point of pride, as it plays a key role in our community’s environment, economy, as well as social and physical well-being,” said Warden Basil Clarke. …“Forests clean our air and water, protect biodiversity and contribute to healthy communities and economies,” said Rob Keen, registered professional forester and departing CEO of Forests Ontario. “

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Confessions of a tree planter

By Ariel Tozman
The Bull and Bear, McGill University
May 4, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

Ariel Tozman

ONTARIO — Two summers ago, I planted trees near Thunder Bay. This was an unprecedented decision for me: I am a vicious materialist and I wear a lot of pink. I had no experience in camping, nor engaging in demanding physical activity. Hold that image in your mind and place it in the backwoods of northern Ontario. Plus, during the height of the pandemic, I was spending most of my time inside, wallowing in the doom-and-gloom. I was addicted to social media and deeply unhappy. Suffice to say, when I told people, they laughed in my face. And yet, motivated by the fact that my family members had placed actual monetary bets on how long I would last, I did not back out. Not letting my fear get the best of me was the best decision I ever made. In the pine and spruce forests of Ontario and Alberta, I re-learnt myself. Alone for hours, through scorching heat and freezing rain, I was forced to.

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Newfoundland calculates losses from Bay D’Espoir forest fire, prompting replanting and salvage plans

By Barb Dean-Simmons
The Saltwire Network
May 4, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

MILLTOWN-HEAD OF BAY D’ESPOIR, N.L. — It’s going to take time, and money, to plant and grow new trees in the central Newfoundland area that was destroyed by fire last summer. Over 22,647 hectares of land went up in flames, according to the province’s department responsible for forestry. It was determined that a lightning strike created the spark that grew to a large fire in very hot, dry and windy conditions. The central Newfoundland fire complex consisted of three individual burn areas: Bay d’Espoir Highway, Southern Lake and Paradise Lake. About 7,000 hectares within those burn areas were considered productive forest, including 791 hectares of recently planted areas. The total volume of lost timber is estimated at about 615,000 cubic metres, the department told SaltWire.

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Minister optimistic regarding gaining co-operation to protect endangered animals

By John Nagy
The Chronicle Journal in the Fort Frances Times
May 2, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

Thunder Bay, Ont. — After holding a caribou roundtable, Conservation and Parks Minister David Piccini said on reintroducing endangered caribou to different areas in Northwestern Ontario, “ultimately, there would be nothing more embarrassing than moving caribou just essentially serving up a caribou buffet to wolves.” Piccini announced last month that the provincial Progressive Conservative government will spend $29 million over a four-year period to support caribou habitat restoration, protection and conservation activities such as monitoring, research and new protected areas. …Wendy Landry, mayor of Shuniah and president of the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association, who is also a member of the Red Rock Indian Band, said a protection order for the caribou can lead to a vast ripple effect. …Landry also said protection orders can also hinder the hunting of moose in the region, the lifeblood of many Northwestern Ontario and First Nations’ residents.

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Biomass fuel plant proposed for Kensington, P.E.I., residents turn out in droves for info

By Colin MacLean
The Saltwire Network
May 24, 2023
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada East

KENSINGTON, P.E.I. — A new biomass fuel production facility proposed for construction in Kensington is garnering a lot of interest from its potential neighbours. …SustainAgro is proposing to build a facility that will process 40 metric tons of wood chips annually into several marketable products, the primary of which is renewable diesel. Secondary byproducts include biochar and wood vinegar. These products would be created by burning wood in a low-oxygen, closed-loop, environment. The wood would come from P.E.I.’s own forestry sector and specifically from Dan DuPont’s sustainable forestry business, Working Forests P.E.I. Joachim Stroink, a spokesperson for the SustainAgro, said the company is aware of the feelings of Islanders towards clear-cutting practices,  and it is unequivocally committed to avoiding contributing to that problem.

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Green energy business eyes opportunity in P.E.I.’s net-zero plans

By Lisa Catterall
CBC News
May 22, 2023
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada East

Joachim Stroink

The town of Kensington, P.E.I., may soon be home to an innovative renewable diesel production facility.  SustainAgro, a Canadian renewable diesel and agricultural product manufacturing company, plans to build a new biomass energy facility in the park, bringing with it new jobs for the community. Mayor Rowan Caseley says he’s excited about the proposed project. “Well, we’ve been talking with them now for a few months, and actually what they’re proposing sounds very interesting,” he said. The facility will take biomass — such as waste wood — and turn it into renewable diesel through a process called pyrolysis. Joachim Stroink, chief of global partnerships and government relations with SustainAgro, said the facility will be the first of its kind in the country.

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Health & Safety

Air quality in parts of Northwestern Ontario impacted by Alberta fires

The Thunder Bay News Watch
May 15, 2023
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada East

THUNDER BAY — Environment Canada has issued special air quality statements for parts of Northwestern Ontario as a result of smoke drifting east from forest fires in Alberta. So far in the Thunder Bay area, the smoke has not dropped to ground level, but smoke in the upper atmosphere has caused a gray and hazy sky. “Of course the big concern is if the smoke is reaching the ground,” meteorologist Gerald Cheng said. “There are already air quality statements for places like Sandy Lake and Deer Lake.” Smoke can impact human health in various degrees, from mild to more severe. Cheng said Environment Canada will continue to monitor the situation, and will issue additional advisories if necessary. …Firesmoke.ca is tracking the movement of smoke from the Alberta fires.

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Forest Fires

Pictou County wildfires under control, extinguished

By Jake Boudrot
The Pictou Advocate
May 25, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

Crews have contained or extinguished four separate wildfires in Pictou County this week. On May 24, someone alerted the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables (DNRR) to four “small fires,” including 1.5 hectares in Sunny Brae, two hectares in McLellan’s Mountain, as well as half a hectare on both Gray Road and Union Centre. “The cause of the fires is under investigation,” spokesperson Patricia Jreige wrote in an email. “But it’s unclear exactly when they began.” …Jreige said there were no reports of evacuations. “No homes were at risk,” she wrote. “There are roads and other buildings in the area, but no damage done to them.”

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Forest fire hazard climbs to ‘high’ across much of Northwestern Ontario

The Thunder Bay News Watch
May 15, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

THUNDER BAY — Only one active forest fire was reported in Northwestern Ontario as of Monday, but the wildfire hazard has become a concern. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry reports that the hazard has reached high across the entire southern portion of the region, and extreme in parts of the Red Lake district near the Manitoba border. Elevated temperatures, wind and an absence of rain are contributing factors. The lone forest fire in the region is in the the MNRF’s Thunder Bay district, near Rushbay Lake which is southwest of Armstrong. The blaze, which is not under control, was discovered Saturday evening and has consumed about six hectares so far. [END]

Additional coverage in the Bay Today, by Jeff Turl: Forest fire danger rated as high

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‘High hazard’ for forest fires in northeastern Ontario

The Soo Today
May 14, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

While wildfires in Alberta are big news, the service that monitors wildland fires in Ontario says most of the northeast region of this province is showing a “high hazard” for forest fires. And the service says an “extreme hazard” exists for fires for several areas in particular: to the northwest of Onaping Falls (northwest of Sudbury), along Highway 69, Killarney, French River, Magnetawan, and the Kawartha Highlands. The northeast region includes Algoma, Sudbury, Manitoulin, Cochrane, Nipissing, Timiskaming and Parry Sound districts. The service was reporting one new fire on Sunday. Algonquin Park District fire No. 1 measures 0.1 hectares and is “being held”, Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services for the Northeast Fire Region said in a news release. 

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