TERRACE BAY, ON – AV Group Terrace Bay Inc. jointly announces with the United Steel Workers (USW 665) and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW 1861) ratification of a four-year collective agreement. The collective agreement covers approximately three hundred hourly employees at the Terrace Bay operation which produces over 320,000 tonnes of bleached softwood pulp annually. “AV Group is pleased with the cooperative effort in which this agreement was struck,” stated Terrace Bay President Dennis Visintin. “This agreement provides certainty for our operations and security for employees as we enter a favorable period for the kraft market. It aligns well with creating an employer of choice environment for current and prospective employees. It’s the right agreement at the right time.” added Visintin.
New Brunswick’s six pulp and paper mills will not be made to pay the same 8.9 per cent increase for electricity next April as other customers of N.B. Power, evidence filed with the Energy and Utilities Board shows. Last week the utility announced plans to raise rates 8.9 per cent “across the board” to all customers to address its rising expenses. …But in a 200-page evidence package submitted with the application to the EUB, the utility revealed it will be using $3.4 million of the $135.8 million higher rates are expected to generate to raise subsidies it supplies to six New Brunswick pulp and paper mills. Part of that will cover an expected increase in the consumption of power by the mills next year. …The subsidies are the responsibility of N.B. Power to finance, but the payments are required by provincial regulation, and the increases are not the result of business decisions made by the utility.
Stella Jones, a Truro, Nova Scotia, company is playing a key role in restoring power after post-tropical storm Fiona knocked it out for hundreds of thousands Nova Scotia Power customers. Nova Scotia Power is in the process of replacing hundreds of poles damaged in the storm. Stella Jones is the only company in the province that pressure-treats the wood used in utility poles. Most of the poles are made from yellow pine brought in from the southern U.S. The company treats other types of lumber, but right now the focus is exclusively on replacing poles damaged by Fiona. Nova Scotia Power buys 7,500 poles a year, but around 1,000 poles have left the plant per day since the storm hit. [END]
WILMOT, ON – The Government of Canada supports tree planting as an important part of fighting climate change. With the help of local communities, groups and volunteers, tree-planting efforts are made possible; this is where Let’s Tree Wilmot and their vibrant volunteers have played a huge part. Natural Resources Canada announced a contribution of over $163,000 to the Wilmot Horticultural Society while joining in the group’s tree-planting activity. The Wilmot Horticultural Society, through their Let’s Tree Wilmot initiative, will be planting 2,600 trees on 3.9 hectares of public land over the course of one year. …Public education efforts, including workshops, public talks and locally produced videos, will encourage local property owners to grow more native trees on their property while also equipping them to care for their trees properly.
The use of a controversial herbicide in Ontario forest management practices is at the heart of a lawsuit being taken against the provincial government by three northeastern Ontario First Nations. Chapleau Cree First Nation, Missanabie Cree First Nation and Brunswick House First Nation are challenging Ontario’s approach to forestry and its method of consultation in a statement of claim filed in Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto on Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. They point to the aerial spraying of glyphosate — done without their consent — as a prime example of the gradual erosion of their rights under Treaty 9 as well as a lack of say in the industrial activity that takes place on their traditional territories going back to the singing of Treaty 9 in 1905.
ONTARIO — Matawa Chiefs Council says it “stands in solidarity” behind the legal action undertaken by three Treaty 9 First Nations against the Government of Ontario in an effort to stop what it describes as a degradation of the boreal forest within their traditional territory. The plaintiffs — Chapleau Cree, Missanabie and Brunswick House First Nations — claim by allowing forestry practices such as aerial spraying of pesticides including using the herbicide glyphosate, the government has broken the Treaty 9 promise for First Nations to continue “their way of life and livelihoods” – hunting, trapping, fishing, and harvesting wild plants for food and medicine. …The problem, she said, is her clients can no longer pursue their traditional way of life and livelihoods in their territories, adding that they are not against sustainable forestry.
The summer of 2021 saw enormous, record-breaking fires rip through the forests of Northern Ontario. A total of 1,198 forest fires razed over 790,000 hectares of land — the most ever burned in the Ontario’s history. …But, even as climate change worsens and Ontario’s wildfire seasons threaten to lengthen and intensify, the provincial government is struggling to retain or train the men and women who fly into remote communities to battle the dangerous blazes. It’s an issue Ontario has been tracking since at least 2015 — and one it continues to struggle with. …A key concern raised in government reports is that fire rangers — who often spend the summer months isolated in remote parts of Northern Ontario and winter without full-time government work — are being underpaid. …The nature of forest firefighting means work-life balance leaves much to be desired, some say. Overtime can help to compensate, but it alone is not the answer.
Reclaiming an area that was once forested is not always as simple a process as just planting new trees. A new research tool developed in northern Ontario is helping to guide municipalities, landowners and forest managers in determining which mix of species will best serve the goals of the reclamation. PlantR is an online platform developed by Isabelle Aubin and a team of collaborators, including scientists from the Canadian Forest Service. “The question we heat a lot from urban planners and forest managers is what should I plant when I do a restoration project? What we say is it depends on your restoration goals,” said Aubin. …Users can input data like the soil conditions of the area and restoration goals and even budget for the PlantR platform’s algorithm to consider. …it creates a plan to best meet those goals within the budget set by the user.
A group of First Nations in northern Ontario, that are part of the James Bay Treaty (Treaty 9), are taking the province to court over changes to environmental and forest management legislation and regulations. Three of the 49 Treaty 9 First Nations… launched legal action in court on Friday over concern for the degradation of the boreal forest in their traditional territories. “The action aims to force Ontario to make meaningful changes now before harms are irreversible to the detriment of the boreal forest, all Treaty 9 First Nations, and all Ontarians,” the group said in a news release Tuesday. ”The plaintiff First Nations want Ontario to finally understand that its approach to managing the forests and the environment, including the widespread spraying of glyphosate herbicide, Ontario is failing to uphold the promises it made under Treaty 9 to protect the First Nations’ way of life and livelihoods in their traditional territories.”
A pair of foresters from Thunder Bay are receiving national recognition for their contributions to the industry. Tom Ratz and Christa Campbell, who both work for Resolute Forest Products in Thunder Bay, have received Awards of Excellence from the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC). The acknowledgement came during National Forest Week. Tom Ratz, RPF, is currently Resolute’s forestry manager for Ontario, received FPAC’s Member of the Year Award, which goes to a member who has “gone above and beyond in advancing the values of environmental stewardship, strengthening forestry communities, and supporting forest sector colleagues and partners.”…Christa Campbell received the Rising Star Award for bringing passion and pride to her workplace and for making unique contributions, according to FPAC. 
GATINEAU
The Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture will be supporting and participating in several events taking place throughout the province to mark National Forest Week 2022, being celebrated from September 18 – 24 and National Tree Day on Wednesday, September 21. The theme for National Forest Week this year is “Canada’s Forests: Solutions for a Changing Climate”. On September 21, the department will host ‘Explore Forestry Day’ taking place at Margaret Bowater Park in Corner Brook. This all-day event will feature a variety of forestry related exhibits and demonstrations designed to educate and inform youth about our forests outside in a natural, fun-filled setting. Throughout the week, Forestry and Wildlife district staff will also be visiting elementary schools in Gander, Pasadena and L’Anse au Loup to deliver various forestry themed activities, demonstrations and discussions about issues such as tree planting, forest fire prevention, wildlife control and forest management.