Region Archives: Canada East

TORONTO — We are proud to announce the launch of a major reforestation project to plant 3 million trees in the Ogoki Forest, a region 400 km northeast of Thunder Bay, Ontario devastated by catastrophic wildfires of 2023. This initiative marks a pivotal step in restoring a landscape critical to both ecological health and the cultural heritage of local First Nations communities. In 2023, two massive wildfires ravaged 40,188 hectares of the Ogoki Forest, leaving behind widespread ecological damage. The Ogoki Wildfire Reforestation Project aims to heal these scars by focusing reforestation efforts on the most severely affected areas. …A cornerstone of this initiative is the restoration of critical caribou habitat. The Ogoki Forest is home to two vital caribou ranges, the Nipigon and the Ozhiski, that were heavily impacted by the wildfires. …This project is driven by the support of Forests Canada, Tree Canada, and the Arbor Day Foundation, Chilly Moose Ltd., and Orca Intelligence Inc. 

OTTAWA, ON – Today, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced an investment of more than $900,000 to Integrity Reforestation for a major reforestation project that will help to restore wildfire-impacted land and caribou habitat in Ontario’s Ogoki Forest. With this funding, Integrity Reforestation will: plant 800,000 trees, covering 450 hectares of the Ogoki Forest; rehabilitate ecosystems destroyed by wildfires using native species to restore the habitats of woodland caribou, moose and black bears; and create over 40 tree-planting jobs in the region. With this agreement, Canada and Integrity Reforestation are leveraging their shared commitment to habitat restoration and climate action. Canada will continue to work with provinces, territories, local communities, organizations and Indigenous Peoples to create a greener, healthier and more resilient Canada while reinforcing our country’s ability to respond to wildfires, especially in the face of changing climate.

New Brunswick — Dr. John Kershaw didn’t plan a career in forestry when, as a young man, he left the family farm in southern Indiana to study at Purdue University. He wanted to be a veterinarian. However, a summer experience in Colorado during his first year at Purdue sparked his forestry interest, leading him to switch majors and embark on a journey that would take him around the world. …After over three decades of research, teaching and pursuing international partnerships, Kershaw has been recognized with a prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from his alma mater, which will be presented in April. Kershaw, a professor at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) since 1991, was caught off guard when he received the news of the award. …Kershaw is deeply engaged as the assistant vice president for partnerships at UNB … he has worked to diversify the university’s international pathways and build strong partnerships with other universities worldwide.

A new $30 million province-wide fire grant is going to help Timmins firefighters stay protected from hazardous carcinogens when fighting wildland fires, their deputy chief says. Timmins will be receiving $49,382 from the province through the office of Solicitor General Michael Kerzner, who oversees the office of the fire marshal. Local Deputy Fire Chief Scott Atkinson told the Daily Press those funds will be used to purchase 156 wildland fire jumpsuits. “The cancer-preventative measure we’ve put forward for that would be coveralls for almost every firefighter in the city,” Atkinson said. The grant applies to municipal firefighters, but the Timmins Fire Department is often called upon to fight grass fires and other wildland fires within the Municipal Protection Area of the city. “We’re in partnership with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. They’re the experts on forest fires, but we often work together,” said Atkinson.

Kevin Holland, MPP for Thunder Bay-Atikokan, and associate minister of forestry in Doug Ford’s Conservative government, says healthy communities make a stronger economy and one can’t exist without the other. …“Forestry has been the cornerstone of our economy for generations,” he said. “While we see mining ramping up — and we’re going to see investments coming into Thunder Bay, particularly around processing — we have to continue to make sure that we’re not losing track of forestry.” In the role of associate forestry minister, Holland says it’s a “real priority for him. “We’re developing new strategies to help the forestry industry when the pulp market starts dropping off so it’s not volatile for the forestry sector,” he said. “We can do that by bringing on new value-added businesses associated with forestry to use up our biomass and our forest and mill residuals so that we don’t experience these dips in the system.”

Prince Edward Island is becoming greener once more. Recently, the provincial government launched the P.E.I. 2 Billion Trees program to help restore nature, create healthy forest ecosystems and increase carbon capture across the Island. Across the country, the federal government has set the goal of planting two billion trees in the next 10 years. Heather Laiskonis, executive director of the P.E.I. Watershed Alliance, which administers small landowner applicants of the provincial tree planting initiative, explained how it works in an interview with The Guardian. She said the watershed alliance group administers 2.5 acres or smaller sites. “The province recognizes the benefit of having the watershed groups and having those relationships with landowners,” Laiskonis said. For the next seven years, P.E.I. Watershed Alliance will plant approximately more than 100,000 trees each year. …red maple, white pine, yellow birch, white spruce, white birch, and eastern hemlock the tree-planting program, Laiskonis said.