Region Archives: Canada East

The Temagami Forest Management Corp. (TFMC) is seeking a general manager to oversee operations in the Temagami Forest. Hiring a manager is the next step in moving operations forward after the group received its sustainable forest licence (SFL) in April. Located in northeastern Ontario, the Temagami Forest encompasses 634,000 hectares, bordered by North Bay and Temiskaming Shores. …The general manager will be tasked with starting up the agency and growing the organization to become “a premier example of cooperative community forestry in Ontario,” according to the TFMC.

After more than 200 days … a group of Nova Scotian protesters opposing a forestry cutblock are declaring victory. The group found …rare lichen among the trees slated for logging, requiring enough buffer zones to make over half of the area protected. The area on Crown land was set to be logged by WestFor, a forestry group that supplies lumber to 13 mills in the province. The original 80-year-old parcel is relatively small at 24 hectares…but campers say it’s some of the last standing forest in the area. The trees are important habitat for local species, such as the wood turtle and the pine marten. Earlier this year, rare lichen was discovered at the site by campers, requiring the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources and Renewables (DNRR) to put buffer zones around the species. Since then, more species have been documented, and 60 per cent of the cut is now off-limits to WestFor.

Peter Collins and Terry Ouellet

Resolute Forest Products celebrated National Indigenous People’s Day, recognizing their diverse cultures, heritage and contributions of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. “Indigenous peoples are valued collaborators and partners for Resolute,” said David Marshall, Resolute’s director of sustainability and public affairs. Marshall says Resolute is committed to strengthening the ongoing consultative and business relationships that they share with more than 40 Indigenous communities and organizations in their operating regions. This is done through Resolute’s Indigenous Peoples Policy for commitment to building strong relationships, ensuring consultation with Indigenous communities, and developing shared economic prosperity. …With a focus on creating a diverse and inclusive workplace, Resolute’s policy aspires to hire Indigenous employees by both the company and its contractors, in an effort to build a workforce that reflects the diversity of the communities in which they operate.

The City of Ottawa wants 40 per cent of its lands covered by trees in the future, according to the new official plan — up from 31 per cent in 2017. But after the May derecho and 2018 tornadoes destroyed many thousands of trees in the area, it’s unclear just how soon that goal can be achieved. As efforts to repair the canopy take shape in the coming weeks and months, and as climate change conjures increasingly powerful and frequent storms, a more resilient tree canopy is needed to better stand up to them, foresters and green space advocates say. A detailed picture of the damage hasn’t yet emerged as cleanup continues after this latest storm. …Some patterns have begun to emerge about what came down — lots of coniferous trees, as well as lindens, according to Pollard, the city’s forester.

A broad coalition of industry groups has been trying to convince federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault that strict new rules supposedly protecting Pileated Woodpeckers provide no meaningful benefit for the bird, but will frustrate economic development in diverse sectors ranging from forestry to renewable energy… However, their concerns have apparently fallen on deaf ears… A consortium of seven industry associations submitted a letter to Guilbeault requesting he reconsider plans to include pileated woodpeckers to new stringent amendments meant to modernize Canada’s Migratory Birds Regulations (MBR). They say the changes are being made without consultation or even basic scientific evidence, as the bird is already well protected and its populations are healthy. …It was signed by representatives of WaterPower Canada, Electricity Canada, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, the Forest Products Association of Canada, the Canadian Federation of Forest Owners, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers and the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association.

Andrew Kane

THUNDER BAY — Eric Zakrewski, CEO of the Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission (CEDC), is pleased to announce that Andrew Kane has joined the management team as Manager, Natural Resources Business Development. “This is a newly created role within the CEDC that builds off our past success supporting growth in the mining sector. Our focus going forward is to both maintain the services we provide to exploration, production and service and supplies companies in the mining sector, while expanding our focus to provide more support to other sectors such as Forest Products and manufacturing,” says Zakrewski.

For those that might have seen a plume of smoke rising above West Kelowna early Tuesday morning, there was a fire incident.  A forestry company salvaging wood from the charred trees in the area of the 2021 Mount Law wildfire, had a piece of equipment burst into flames.  The West Kelowna Fire Department was alerted to the situation, however, were notified that the forestry company had enough water to douse the blaze and was able to handle it without any help.  BC Wildfire crews were called to the area to check on the situation to ensure it was under control.  Post-fire salvage logging is often used to harvest the logs for lumber, plywood and pulp.

Lindsay Lee

The May 16 letter from Forest Nova Scotia executive director Jeff Bishop paints quite a picture of the industrial forestry sector. …In spite of his penchant for disinformation, Bishop was (inadvertently) right about one thing. Fair-minded Nova Scotians will see who’s being honest and who’s really betraying a conflict of interest. Last year, Forest Nova Scotia, a powerful lobby group, was estimated to have spent “hundreds of thousands of dollars” on all-manner ads to tank the Biodiversity Act under the guise of the “Concerned Private Landowners Coalition” — a faux-grassroots movement masquerading as an official organization. …This spring, a new study led by forest ecologist Matt Betts proved that habitat loss — specifically, habitat loss from logging — has been driving bird population declines in the Maritimes. …A 2013 study estimated that forestry operations in Nova Scotia alone destroy up to 160,000 nests each year.  

Two advisory committees, with refreshed terms of reference and membership, will help the Province implement ecological forestry and achieve healthier forests. Natural Resources and Renewables Minister Tory Rushton announced appointments to the Forest Biodiversity Science Advisory Committee and the Ministerial Advisory Committee today, June 3. …Appointments include people from environmental organizations, the forestry industry, the Mi’kmaw community and academia. Six members have been appointed to the Forest Biodiversity Science Advisory Committee, which guides the Department’s forest science and research. Members were chosen for their field expertise and their advice will address complex biodiversity conservation and resource-use issues. The committee will be providing scientific reviews needed to carry out several recommendations from the Forest Practices Review.

The Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture is seeking public comment on a proposed crown timber licence and forest management agreement between the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Miawpukek First Nation. Members of the public are encouraged to visit www.engageNL.ca to participate in a questionnaire and view a map of the proposed forest management area. The consultation process is scheduled to conclude Friday, June 17. Individuals seeking more information about the forest management agreement or the online public consultation process can contact the Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture by email at FMA@gov.nl.ca.

Cecelia Brooks

Indigenous communities in New Brunswick are looking ahead with frustration to another season of glyphosate spraying. Glyphosate is a herbicide sprayed aerially in industrial forestry to suppress the growth of the deciduous plants, like hardwoods and berries, that spring up in the wake of clear-cuts and outcompete planted softwood seedlings. Proponents of glyphosate use say it is a way to maximize the output of forested land. But Indigenous leaders in N.B., which is the unceded territory of the Wolastoqiyik, Mi’kmaq and Peskotomuhkati peoples, say the practice affects the ability of their communities to harvest the land. Wolastoq Grand Chief Spasaqsit Possesom (Ron Tremblay) says members used to harvest along the transmission lines. “And now we can’t because of the spraying that NB Power is doing, and we don’t dare to consume the berries and the nuts and medicines that grow [along] those power lines,” he said.

…The Indigenous Seed Collection program is beginning this month in the Maritime provinces, conducted by Natural Resources Canada. It will expand across the country in the fall. In Nova Scotia, the program is run in partnership with the Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources (UINR) and the Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq. Eventually, it will be fully Indigenous-led.  Donnie McPhee, the coordinator of the National Tree Seed Centre in Fredericton, N.B., held a training session Monday near Westville, N.S., to teach Indigenous partners his department’s method of harvesting, drying and transporting the seeds in a way that prevents germination. …All the species in the program are native to the area where they are collected. This means their seeds are adapted to the region and will be more likely to thrive when planted. …Not only is each tree native to the area, they all have cultural significance to the Mi’kmaq. 

A new set of fines will help protect the province’s wildlife habitat and watercourses. Summary offence tickets with fines ranging from $812.50 to $1,157.50 can now be issued for offences under the Wildlife Habitat and Watercourses Protection Regulations. Under the Forests Act, the regulations protect water quality and wildlife habitat on private and Crown lands where forestry operations take place. Conservation officers enforce these regulations. Summary offence tickets are now added to their range of existing compliance tools including education, written or verbal warnings or a charge that requires appearing in court. Fines can now be issued for 18 offences, such as failing to establish special management zones, operating a forestry vehicle too close to a watercourse or creating a tree canopy opening larger than 15 metres.

Paul Renaud is only too aware of what the power of wind can do to trees. After violent windstorms recently swept through southern Ontario and Quebec, uprooting trees and leaving a trail of damage across a vast territory, Renaud’s thoughts went right to his sugar maples in Lanark Highlands, Ont., where storms once considered rogue now seem more frequent. “We’ve had two in six months,” he said in an interview. “Each one has taken out maple trees.” Worsening storms aren’t the only changes Renaud sees. As chair of the climate change working group for the Ontario Maple Syrup Producers Association, he says dramatic weather is having a serious effect on his industry. Syrup producers are recording declining yields due to increasing global temperatures, which are leading to more invasive pests, sap that is less sugary and shorter harvesting periods than the normal four-to-six-week season.