Region Archives: Canada East

I would like to comment on your article titled “Ontario needs to press reset on the forestry sector” and add some additional information from my research on the Impacts of pulp mill closures in Espanola and Terrace Bay, Ontario. First, I thought the article was right on target with their statement, “Sustainably produced forest products are climate-friendly…” I applaud the government’s recent announcements on their investments into developing a bioeconomy from forest products. It would be great if the mills in Espanola and Terrace Bay could somehow be retooled to utilize this new technology. I know most people in Ontario don’t fully understand the full impacts that the closing of these two mills will have. Usually only the direct job losses are reported.

DEMO International is gearing up to make its mark in Ottawa/Gatineau from September 17 to 21, 2024. Organized by the Canadian Woodlands Forum, DEMO International is an event for forestry professionals, showcasing the latest innovations and technologies in action amidst a woodland backdrop. As part of the festivities, the DEMO International Pre-conference will kick off at the Delta Ottawa City Centre on September 17 to 18, offering attendees an opportunity to delve deeper into key industry topics. From presentations on research, automation, and digitalization to discussions on logging and trucking, biodiversity, and sustainability practices, the pre-conference is expected to be an enriching experience for all participants. Additionally, insights into international forestry outlooks from Sweden and Finland will provide perspectives on global forestry trends and best practices. …DEMO International is known for its demonstrations of forestry equipment, providing attendees with a firsthand glimpse into the future of the industry. 

GATINEAU, QC – The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, issued the following statement today: Today, the world celebrates the International Day for Biological Diversity. This year’s theme is, “Be Part of the Plan” to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. We Canadians love our natural surroundings, but few of us stop to think about the absolutely vital importance of nature and biodiverse ecosystems to our economic well-being, our health, and our ability to tackle and adapt to climate change. With biodiversity declining faster than ever due to human activity, now is the time for urgent and transformative action to ensure our children, grandchildren, and many generations to come live in a world where people and nature co-exist and thrive.

Marc Hébert

SUDBURY, Ontario — At the annual Minister of Colleges and Universities Awards for Excellence ceremony, Marc Hébert, who teaches in the forestry and wildlife programs at Collège Boréal’s School of Environment and Natural Resources, received one of these prestigious awards today in the Everyday Hero category. Hébert’s achievements for 2022–2023 include a significant contribution to the City of Greater Sudbury Council’s Regreening Advisory Panel (VETAC). Among other things, Marc Hébert identified improvements needed in the region’s tree production process and proposed concrete solutions. Professor Hébert’s commitment has also fostered close ties with Indigenous communities in Northern Ontario. One notable initiative is the establishment of an Indigenous medicinal garden catering to these communities’ needs for traditional plants.

Jordan Brown

As the forest fire season formally begins, western Labrador’s MHA is calling on the Newfoundland and Labrador government to put back in place a local resource that had been in place for more than three decades. “I would like to have my water bomber back,” Labrador West MHA Jordan Brown said Thursday. …Brown pointed out none of the province’s four water bombers has been stationed in the area since 2018. Brown, who told the House of Assembly that the climate in the vast terrain of western Labrador has changed, said Environment Canada has already listed Labrador West in drought condition. “We’ve had very little snowpack this year. The forests are drying up very quickly in Labrador West,” said Brown, who had raised the issue in the House of Assembly and later spoke about it with reporters.

OTTAWA, ON – Stopping the spread of invasive species such as box tree moth is the most effective way to safeguard forests and native plants, as well as protect Canada’s forestry and horticulture-related businesses. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has expanded the regulated area for box tree moth beyond the province of Ontario, adding Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador. This change is intended to stop the spread of box tree moth to new areas where it is not yet established. This means that boxwood plants can be moved freely between and within these provinces, but they cannot be moved outside of this regulated area without authorization by the CFIA. This decision follows interceptions of box tree moth in Quebec and the Atlantic provinces in the summer of 2023, and subsequent confirmation of established populations in Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. 

MONTREAL – Workers with Quebec’s forest fire agency have voted 99 per cent in favour of a strike mandate as the summer wildfire season approaches. The Unifor union, which represents provincial fire service workers including firefighters, communications staff and mechanics, says the mandate allows members to strike “at the opportune moment.” Workers with the fire service — the Société de protection des forêts contre le feu, or SOPFEU — were kept busy last year during a record-breaking wildfire season. Unifor says that despite the participation of a mediator, negotiations have stalled over such issues as salaries, vacations and workforce mobility. Quebec law requires SOPFEU workers to maintain essential operations during a strike.

…In April, the Société de protection des forêts contre le feu (SOPFEU) announced it would hire 160 people, including 80 firefighters, in the next two years — increasing its staff by 32 per cent. Although SOPFEU says 50 firefighters have already been hired for this year’s wildfire season, retaining experienced workers for a second potentially difficult season is both a priority and a challenge. While the hiring is positive news for the organization, Nicolas Boulay, a forestry firefighter for 14 years and union president of the Syndicat Pompiers Forestiers Côte-Nord, says it will only make a difference if SOPFEU finds ways to retain them. “A very big concern is that not that many people have a lot of experience at SOPFEU,” said Boulay, shortly after SOPFEU announced its hiring blitz. “With this many new firefighters coming we need to be very, very, aware of any dangerous situation. We don’t want any accident to happen this summer.”

An invasive forest insect known as the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (Adelges tsugae, HWA) has been confirmed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency in the City of Port Colborne, Niagara Region.  HWA is a species native to Eastern Asia that targets hemlock and spruce trees. First discovered in Virginia in the 1950s, it has since spread across North America and is relatively new in Ontario. This insect is problematic to our native Eastern hemlock trees, relying on them as their host. …Left unmanaged, this pest can severely disrupt our forest ecosystems. Although they may not contribute a significant economic value to the forestry industry, hemlocks are often sold as nursery stock, posing a possible threat to the horticultural industry.    …Please report suspected infestations to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. A good report includes an accurate location of the suspect tree and photos of the symptoms. 

TORONTO – The Ontario government is investing an additional $6 million in the Provincial Forest Access Roads Funding Program to help construct and maintain forestry roads used for regional travel between communities, the transport of goods and emergency preparedness and response along with providing access routes for the tourism sector and industry. The investment will increase funding for the program to over $59 million in 2024-25. “Many people rely on this road network every day for travel between work and home and everywhere in-between,” said Graydon Smith, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry. “This investment will keep people and vehicles moving safely, support efficient business operations and build safer, stronger communities.” The Provincial Forest Access Roads Funding Program provides funding for new construction and maintenance of over 19,500 kilometres of public forest access roads and other essential infrastructure. …Public forest access road infrastructure is vital to Northern, rural and Indigenous communities. 

Steven Guilbeault

GATINEAU, QC – The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, has issued the following statement in response to the measures announced today by the Government of Quebec for the Boreal and Mountain Caribou in the Gaspé Peninsula. “I would like to thank the Government of Quebec for presenting their plans before the May 1 deadline. However, several critical elements are missing, particularly the Quebec government’s August 2022 commitment to reduce the rate of disturbance in caribou habitat so that at least 65 percent of the territory for each caribou population is undisturbed. In addition, today’s announcement does not mention several caribou populations. The Government of Quebec must publish a strategy for all Boreal Caribou populations in Quebec, including immediate interim measures.”

An independent review of the fires that destroyed more than 200 homes and burned 25,000 hectares of Nova Scotia forest last year is generally positive about how the province deployed resources, but noted many areas for improvement. The Nova Scotia government paid Calian, a consulting and research firm, $45,500 to do an “after-action report” on the wildfires that started on the South Shore at Barrington Lake, and in the Halifax-area community of Tantallon. The more than 200 email responses to their survey included agencies, first responders, municipal and provincial governments, including Department of Natural Resources (DNR) staff. The review highlighted a number of strengths in the province’s response to the wildfires… [and] it found gaps in a number of areas, including training and department response plans. …The review also found staffing levels were inadequate, and some of those involved in responding to the fires lacked training for the jobs they were called on to do.

More than a dozen wildfires have been reported in Ontario and the union representing forest firefighters says their crews are still short about 25 per cent of their staff. As of April 29, there have been 14 wildfires recorded in Ontario, compared to two last year. …Noah Freedman, vice president of Ontario Public Service Employees Union Local 703 and a provincial forest fire crew leader, said the province is still missing about 25 per cent of its firefighting staff. “Ontario is supposed to have 800 firefighters, which represents 200 fire crews,” Freedman told CTV News Toronto. “The more crews we have, the more incidents people can respond to at one time. It’s not uncommon in a bad fire season to have … 12 fires in one area when you wake up in the morning.” …A spokesperson for the Minister of Natural Resources says that 630 fire crew positions have been filled and said it was “well within” their recruitment range.

Twenty-five members of Ottawa’s wildland firefighting crews have completed a special training program that certifies them to fight forest fires in an urban setting. The crews were already doing that work, but this weekend’s training has brought them up to the standard set by Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. It’s part of a provincial mandate to have all firefighters properly certified for the fires they’re tasked with fighting. The course focused on a scenario that firefighters in Ottawa would more regularly deal with: the “urban interface,” a situation where combustible forests and grasslands are close to urban developments. Tackling an urban interface fire is typically a less intensive undertaking than fighting an out-of-control forest fire, which can require crews to camp remotely for weeks at a time, said Ottawa Fire Services rural sector chief Tom Miller.

Jeff Jackson

As forest fire season draws near, volunteer fire crews in rural Newfoundland are preparing. A new proactive approach was a year in the making. Departments from Blaketown to Heart’s Content along Trinity Bay are partnering up to have clear plans in place in the event of worst-case scenarios. “It is a drill, and at the end of it we’re going to have a postmortem or a debrief of it and pick it apart and say, ‘Boys, we could have done this better’ or ‘That was a really good point’ and we can follow it from there,” said Jeff Jackson, a 39-year veteran firefighter in Whiteway. …Wildfire season in Newfoundland begins on May 1 and ends on Sept 30. In Labrador, the season begins May 15. Jackson said it’s about being in the right place — protecting the communities — while provincial fire teams battle the fires from inside forested land.

Islanders are invited to provide input on forestry priorities at upcoming public meetings across the province. Towards A New Forest Policy, a discussion paper by the Prince Edward Island Forestry Commission, outlines 13 key issues related to our forests and the forestry sector. These include the future legislative framework, government assistance to woodlot owners and the forest industry, the protection of forest ecosystems, and the need to develop more resilient forests. The public meetings will help the Commission understand more about Islanders’ forestry priorities and the issues facing PEI forests.