Region Archives: Canada East

Ryann Fineberg

Ryann Fineberg remembers her journey to help the planet. When she was eight, she was handed a picture of a trapped coyote, with facts on how they and other animals are hunted for their fur for the fashion industry. “I was shocked. I wanted to learn so much more,” she said. Seven years later, the now 15-year-old’s quest for information has led her to play a role at the world’s biggest conference on biodiversity. Ryann, who is from Toronto, and other kids from around the world are attending the COP15 United Nations Biodiversity conference in Montreal. They are making sure that the voices of young people influence decisions that will affect how life on the planet evolves. …Ryann is attending on behalf of  Care About Climate, which promotes youth advocacy in climate action. …She said her activism has given her a sense of control … replacing eco-anxiety with purpose and joy.

Steve Guilbeault Jim Irving

MONTREAL — Nearly 10,000 hectares of privately held Acadian forest, coastline and dunes in New Brunswick will be recognized as another effective area-based conservation measure, thanks to the visionary leadership of J.D. Irving, Limited (JDI). The initiative was shared during an event hosted by the Nature Conservancy of Canada where global experts profiled emerging conservation solutions, presenting leadership and investment opportunities to accelerate the nature agenda. This announcement by JDI is a concrete example of a whole-of-society approach to accelerating conservation. The lands held by Saint John-based JDI boast a variety of ecosystems, which provide habitat for animals like pine marten and endangered piping plover. These lands represent some of the province’s most unique and biodiverse areas, including the Irving Nature Park in west Saint John, Bouctouche Dunes, Ayers Lake and the headwaters of the Miramichi and Restigouche rivers.

The Nova Scotia government announced plans today to protect 9,300 hectares of Crown land by creating six new nature reserves and expanding seven wilderness areas. As well, Environment Minister Timothy Halman says the province will spend $20 million to help private conservation groups acquire land for protection. Halman says the new nature reserves and expanded wilderness areas will help the province reach its goal of protecting 20 per cent of Nova Scotia’s land and water by 2030. The latest designations bring the amount of protected areas to 13 per cent. The minister says protected areas play an essential role in fighting climate change and help conserve the province’s biodiversity. …Halman made the announcement in Middle Sackville, N.S., near the Sackville River Wilderness Area, which received its designation in February 2021. It covers about 800 hectares of mature forests, wetlands, lakes and waterways.

Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp. announced more than $5 million in funding. The biggest allotment is $2 million for Mikro-Tek Inc., a biotechnology company. It’s to buy equipment to plant over 50 million seedlings and study the benefits of its seeding-fortification technology. “Ontario government funding will allow us, along with our Indigenous partners at Wahkohtowin Development GP Inc., to introduce a technology to be used in Boreal reforestation, herbicide reduction and mine land reclamation projects across the province,” said Mikro-Tec president Mark Kean in a news release. “Following an initial five-year pilot project in Ontario, we plan to fully commercialize the technology and replicate these carbon sequestration projects across Canada in partnership with additional Indigenous and industry partners.”

ONTARIO — The province says it’s “considering input and developing options” for next steps when a moratorium on logging on a “large portion” of the Crown Whiskey Jack production forest near Kenora expires two years from now.   Logging has been off-limits in that part of the forest under a provincial forest management plan covering the period between 2012 and 2022, reflecting concerns by Grassy Narrows First Nation that areas it considers its traditional lands have been over-harvested and prevented from regenerating naturally.  “Much of the Whiskey Jack Forest is in a young, fragmented state, having been recently disturbed by large amounts of fire, wind damage, road building, and logging,” a Grassy Narrows backgrounder says.  It added: “Approximately 50 per cent of Grassy Narrows’ land has been logged.”

…Environment Minister David Piccini has quietly passed up a golden opportunity in Peterborough County to demonstrate Ontario cares about nature conservation. On Nov. 25, the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) rejected a request from the community-led Catchacoma Forest Stewardship Committee (CFSC) to support a process to consider protected status for a 662 ha old growth forest on crown land known as Catchacoma Forest, located in the Kawartha Highlands. Despite reams of ecological data shared with the Ministry by the CFSC over years, and multiple requests to meet with the minister, the rejection letter offered absolutely no rationale for the decision. It did not address the many scientific reports from studies by non-profit group Ancient Forest Exploration & Research (AFER) outlining the natural heritage, biodiversity and carbon storage values of the Catchacoma Forest…

CORNER BROOK, Newfoundland — The hydro plant’s white walls rise up over the shores of Deer Lake like a fortress, obscuring the large pipes known as penstocks, which suck raw water from the reservoir up the hill and send it downstream, where it makes enough energy to power the paper mill in nearby Corner Brook. The whole operation takes place on private property, but it’s a public water supply: it’s watched over by a large national company, even though the town uses the water from that same reservoir to keep taps flowing in every household. …In the 1980s, Kruger bought the operation and now owns Corner Brook Pulp and Paper, Deer Lake Power, and the water itself….There’s no evidence that there’s anything wrong with water in Deer Lake. …No toxins, no higher rates of illness. But Dewey isn’t convinced.

Canada therefore has a key role to play in stemming the loss of primary and old-growth forests. But our federal government is sending conflicting messages about its commitment to act. On the one hand, it has committed to halt and reverse the loss of nature — including forests — by 2030, promised to protect 30 per cent of land and ocean by the same year, and invested significantly in Indigenous-led conservation and restoration initiatives. Canada also has also joined 144 countries at COP26 in committing to halt deforestation and land degradation by 2030. On the other hand, Canada has been actively fighting against actions by other countries to protect global forests. Last week, Canada’s ambassador to the European Union… urged them not to adopt a regulation that would prevent the import or export of timber and agricultural products linked to deforestation and forest degradation.

Barrie, Ontario – Forests Ontario has planted nearly 11 million trees in Eastern Ontario since 2008. Now, thanks to a partnership with the Government of Canada’s 2 Billion Trees program, Forests Ontario plans to plant another 7.2 million trees across the province over three years. The Ministry of Natural Resources announced a $12.7 million contribution to Forests Ontario through the 2 Billion Trees program, which aims to plant two billion trees over 10 years. “Forests Ontario and our partners have developed the expertise and infrastructure to grow and track tree planting from seed to successful forests and are the only Canadian charity with this capability,” says Rob Keen, Chief Executive Officer of Forests Ontario, and Registered Professional Forester.

FORT WILLIAM FIRST NATION — An up-and-coming Indigenous-owned environmental management company in the northwest is hoping a new grant will help it expand throughout the region through new marketing initiatives. “With this grant we hope to focus more on the marketing side of our business and really become a little more noticed within the community and northwestern Ontario region as an environmental service company,” said Brian Ludwigsen, CEO of Maamigin Environmental and Relations Inc. …Maamigin Environmental and Relations Inc. is an environmental services company that focuses on water sampling, including surface water, ground water, wildlife management, and a variety of other services. Ludwigsen said he wants the company to become a leading Indigenous environmental service in northwestern Ontario.

OTTAWA – Prime Minister Trudeau was unequivocal when asked if Canada was going to meet its goal to protect one-quarter of all Canadian land and oceans by 2025. “I am happy to say that we are going to meet our ’25 by 25′ target,” Trudeau said. That goal is just the interim stop on the way to conserving 30 per cent by 2030 — the marquee target Canada is pushing for during the COP15 biodiversity conference. But what does the conservation of land or waterways actually mean? …Most of the criteria are centred on how the sites are managed and protected. One allows for resource extraction, hunting, recreation and tourism as long as these are both compatible with and supportive of the conservation goals outlined for the area. In many cases, industrial activities and resource extraction are not allowed in protected areas. But that’s not always true in Canada. …In some provincial parks, mining and logging are allowed.

PIC RIVER and MICHIPICOTEN ON — At a time when recognition of First Nations’ importance in ecological stewardship is being increasingly recognized around the world, including at the ongoing COP15 conference on Conservation of Biodiversity in Montreal, Ontario is going in the opposite direction. Two First Nations are calling on Ontario to withdraw a controversial effort to contract out development of a plan for the management of a threatened caribou herd. For the last several years, Biigtigong Nishnaabeg and Michipicoten First Nations have repeatedly appealed to the Ontario Government, through its Ministry of Environment Conservation and Parks (MECP) to save the last caribou in the Lake Superior Caribou Range (LSCR), which is the southernmost extent of woodland caribou in Canada. The First Nations’ expertise and conservation ethics have been snubbed in a recent effort by MECP to contract out the development of a management plan for the caribou range.

MONTRÉAL – Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), Fondaction, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS Quebec), the Québec Centre for Biodiversity Science (QCBS) and Université de Sherbrooke have joined forces to conduct research with the goal of creating a series of biodiversity indicators specific to the Québec territory and its investors. These indicators will be used to provide a better measurement of the impact investments have on biodiversity. Once created, they will allow a first in Canada: mobilizing players in conservation, biodiversity, research and finance to rally around protecting Québec’s biodiversity. …The two-year research project, which aims to develop tools to better inform investors’ choices to preserve and protect nature and essential services for communities, is led by Félix Landry, a postdoctoral student of Professor Dominique Gravel at Université de Sherbrooke.

Pikogan, Quebec – The Abitibiwinni First Nation Council and GreenFirst Forest Products … are proud to announce the conclusion of a 5-year collaboration agreement aimed at providing for mitigation, accommodation, and compensation measures in relation to the impact that the company’s activities could have on the Abitibiwinni aki territory and Rights. This agreement, based on trust and mutual respect, results from a common desire to formalize an already well-established relationship. This agreement ensures harmonious cohabitation on the territory and also provides plans for agreeing on the ways of operating to protect the sites of interest and minimize the impacts. “The exploitation of natural resources on our traditional territory by companies must be done based on respect for our rights and values. In this sense, we are satisfied with the collaboration agreement concluded with our partner GreenFirst Forest Products”, said the Chief of the Abitibiwinni First Nation Council, Monik Kistabish.

THUNDER BAY — A new nature reserve featuring scenic wilderness, rugged cliffs, two lakes, stands of jack pine and white pine, and habitat for peregrine falcons and eagles is the latest acquisition of the Thunder Bay Field Naturalists. The group has purchased 410 acres of property in the Municipality of Neebing, overlooking Lake Superior near Sturgeon Bay. Spokesperson Susan Bryan calls the site — to be known as the Ward Lake Nature Reserve — “hugely, wonderfully beautiful.” She said that under zoning regulations, the property could have been opened up for housing, but under the protection of the Field Naturalists it will remain accessible to hikers while hunting and motorized vehicles will be banned. “There’s lots of other Crown land nearby where people can enjoy those pursuits, so it’s nice to have one place that’s protected for the animals, for the birds, for the habitat where people don’t damage it. It remains natural.”

BOSTON — Amid warnings that biodiversity is in freefall, environmental leaders will gather in Montreal to hammer out measures aimed at shoring up the world’s land and marine ecosystems and coming up with tens of billions of dollars to fund these conservation efforts. Delegates from about 190 countries will assemble for nearly two weeks, starting Wednesday, at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference, or COP15, to finalize a framework for protecting 30% of global land and marine areas by 2030. Currently, 17% of terrestrial and 10% of marine areas are protected. The proposed framework also calls for reducing the rate of invasive species introduction and establishment by 50%, cutting pesticide use in half and eliminating the discharge of plastic waste. The goals — more ambitious than earlier ones that have mostly gone unmet — are expected to be at the heart of the meeting debate. But not far behind will be the issue of finance.

Dylan Rawlyk

On a cold, blustery morning this week, Dylan Rawlyk crouched down to inspect a red oak sapling, one of its branches marked with a red plastic ribbon and a copper tag. …It’s one of the 1,480 plants volunteers recently put in the ground in the forested areas of the mountain, said Rawlyk, director of education and conservation at Les amis de la montagne, a non-profit group that co-ordinates reforestation projects on Mount Royal. The volunteers also cleared invasive plants — buckthorn shrubs and the creepily named dog-strangling vine — from 1.5 hectares of the mountain. Those invaders crowd out native species and are less helpful to the insects, birds and mammals that call Mount Royal home. …Beginning in 2018, the City of Montreal cut down about 4,000 ash trees on the mountain as it scrambled to fight off the emerald ash borer, an invasive species from Asia that has killed millions of trees across North America.

American forestry giant Weyerhaeuser has joined other companies by pledging not to log in Grassy Narrows First Nation’s traditional territory without the community’s say-so. Though Weyerhaeuser had initially balked at making the commitment, “that finally changed on Oct. 20 when Weyerhaeuser Canada president David Graham committed not to use wood from the area that Grassy Narrows is protecting,” a release said on Friday. For many years, Grassy Narrows has blocked logging roads and engaged in litigation to convince forestry companies to respect their traditional lands. That changed in 2008, when “AbitibiBowater (now Resolute Forest Products) withdrew from Grassy Narrows territory and surrendered their license to log on the Whiskey Jack forest,” the band’s news release said. “It is past time to start on the path of reconciliation by respecting our control over our own land so that we can heal the forest and heal our people,” Grassy Narrow Chief Rudy Turtle said.

Thousands of delegates representing 192 countries will spend the next two weeks in Montreal, hammering out a once-in-a-decade agreement that will aim to build a more sustainable relationship between humans and nature. The UN biodiversity summit, known as COP15, officially kicks off Dec. 7 in Montreal. If all goes according to plan, the conference will produce a new agreement outlining global biodiversity goals for the next 10 years. The conference is supposed to wrap up on Dec. 19, but negotiations may run into overtime. Here’s what you need to know. What’s the difference between COP15 and COP27? COP, in United Nations jargon, simply means Conference of Parties. It is a decision-making body made up of countries that have signed a convention. COP15 is different from the climate change summit, COP27, which was recently held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. That conference was under the umbrella of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Forest fires in central Newfoundland contributed to one of the most severe wildfire seasons in recent history in 2022. The provincial Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture recorded 103 fires and 23,886 hectares burned across the province this year. Three major forest fires in the central region, known as the Central Fire Complex, accounted for almost all of the total hectares burned — the Paradise Lake fire burned 16,750 hectares, the Bay d’Espoir Highway fire burned 5,614 hectares and the Southern Lake Access Road fire burned 283 hectares. The 10-year average for Newfoundland and Labrador between 2013-2022 is 103 fire starts and 10,466 hectares burned.

Today Grassy Narrows people are feasting to honour the 20 year anniversary of their ongoing grassroots blockade against industrial logging, for Indigenous rights, and to protect the sources of life. This Ontario First Nation succeeded in kicking out the world’s largest newsprint company, halting all logging on a 7,000 sq. km. area since 2008, saving 15 million trees that were slated for logging, and helping to build a movement for Indigenous Land Back. Recently, Weyerhaeuser committed not to use wood from the area that Grassy Narrows is protecting… “…Let us live the way we want to live, let us take care of our forests, and our people will be healthy again,” said grassroots mother and grandmother Judy Da Silva. Within living memory, Grassy Narrows was a thriving and independent community…But the imposition of residential schools, relocation, hydro dams, mercury poisoning, clearcut logging, and mining exploration have taken a terrible toll…

For 20 years, they’ve blockaded and marched, gone to court and negotiated, sang and drummed to protect their forest from clear-cutting. And on the eve of the celebration of two decades of resistance, they have received word that no logging company or lumber mill will touch any trees from their land without their permission. “This is a major landmark in our long fight to protect our Territory from industry,” said Chief Rudy Turtle of Asubpeeschoseewagong First Nation, more commonly known as Grassy Narrows. “With this promise, all regional mills have finally committed not to use our trees against our will.” It’s a victory that has come from years of protest on a remote gravel road in northwestern Ontario, but one that was sealed during a Zoom call between the head of the Weyerhaeuser Company, which owns a lumber mill in Kenora, and Turtle’s predecessor as band council chief, Randy Fobister.

Protecting species at risk and their habitat by working in collaboration with provinces, territories, Indigenous peoples, and other partners, is critical to reverse the situation and recover Canada’s biodiversity. The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change announced up to $34.1 million in funding as part of the Enhanced Nature Legacy initiative. This funding will support 13 new and ongoing projects focused on the recovery and protection of some of Canada’s most iconic species across the country. To date, federal, provincial, and territorial governments have identified six shared priority species: caribou boreal, southern mountain, peary caribou, barren-ground caribou, greater sage-grouse, and wood bison. …The priority species have special meaning for Indigenous peoples and most Canadians, and they have or had large geographic ranges and an important ecological role. Conservation of these priority species can have significant benefits for other species at risk, wildlife in general, and support related biodiversity goals.

Bonnie Lysyk

TORONTO — Ontario only spends $4 million annually to fight invasive species despite the $3.6 billion economic impact they create, the province’s auditor general Bonnie Lysyk said in her annual report. Lysyk said Ontario does not track dozens of invasive species in the province and conservation officers have never laid a charge under the 2015 act. …The auditor general said there were years-long delays in regulating invasive species after the province completed risk assessments. Delays are contributing to both the introduction and spread of invasive species, Lysyk concluded. …The auditor general also discovered six of the invasive species — creeping jenny, goutweed, Norway maple, periwinkle, spearmint and winter creeper — can be bought in home and garden centres throughout the province. …Lysyk said, “we found that 33 invasive species identified as high risk by nearby jurisdictions were not systematically tracked by the Ministry and have been found in Ontario.”

A commercial logging operation in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis County has temporarily halted its work after environmentalists raised the alarm about the presence of several at-risk species of lichens.  In a statement emailed Tuesday, the Department of Natural Resources said WestFor Management Inc. was given approval last spring to harvest 343 hectares on Crown land around Goldsmith Lake, about 175 kilometres west of Halifax.  The approval was given following a review process, and a logging road was completed in October, the department said.  “Months after the whole process concluded and approvals were issued, new information was reported to the department between November 8-14 and we’re looking into it,” said the department.  “We’ve directed WestFor to conduct surveys and they are in the process of scheduling them. Operations will not start until we’ve looked into it.”

Two Innu communities on Quebec’s North Shore say they are “exasperated” by the province’s “inaction” when it comes to protecting the woodland caribou, a species threatened by logging.  They say the Quebec government is not taking seriously “the irreversible damage the loss of biodiversity” has on the Innu.  Councils representing the Pessamit and Essipit communities on Tuesday accused the province of dragging its feet on a proposal to create a 2,700-square-kilometre biodiversity reserve, about 150 kilometres north of Saguenay.  The aim is to protect the Pipmuacan caribou, so named because their habitat is close to the Pipmuacan reservoir. .  …The loss of biodiversity, “caused in large part by logging on Innu ancestral lands — without regard to our needs, our values, our rights and interests — generates inestimable cultural losses for our communities. It alters our way of life, upsets our way of being, threatens our food security and our cultural identity.”