Region Archives: Canada East

A recent opinion article (“Shortfall in forest harvest is costly to economy”) called on governments and logging companies to work together to increase cutting in Quebec’s public forests. Doing so would be a mistake for the forests, the industry, the climate and the regions. The author … argued that we are not cutting enough to take advantage of the forests’ regeneration capacity. …Further, he said, the Quebec forest industry actually removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, helping combat climate change. These perspectives appear to be based on misunderstandings about the carbon storage and regeneration capacity of Quebec’s forests. …In short, the ongoing rapid degradation of vast areas of boreal forest has many consequences. It raises questions about whether the industry will exhaust the high-quality old-growth timbers it depends on before old cuts sufficiently regrow, which would devastate the regions’ economies. It worsens Canada’s already-poor performance on climate change. 

LONGUEUIL, QC – …On October 15, 2020, Débroussaillage Québec and Forestière des Amériques Inc. were each fined $20,000—for a total of $40,000—at the Longueuil courthouse. Each company pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Emergency Order for the Protection of the Western Chorus Frog (the Emergency Order) in contravention of the Species at Risk Act. The companies pleaded guilty to the charge of carrying out a prohibited activity, namely pruning vegetation— including trees, shrubs, and bushes—in a sensitive area. On April 23 and 24, 2018, employees of Forestière des Amériques Inc., whose services were retained by Débroussaillage Québec, carried out vegetation-cutting work under high-voltage power lines. The work was done in the enforcement area of the Emergency Order for the Protection of the Western Chorus Frog (Great Lakes / St. Lawrence — Canadian Shield Population) in the municipality of La Prairie, near Montréal.

The Ontario government has put the former Leslie M. Frost Natural Resources Centre in Haliburton County on the market, more than 16 years after it was closed. …The Leslie M. Frost Natural Resource Centre (commonly called the Frost Centre) first opened in 1921, when the Department of Lands and Forests (now the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry) used the site as a training facility for forest rangers. In 1944, the Ontario government and the University of Toronto Faculty of Forestry entered into a partnership to create the Ontario Forest Technical Training School on the site. …The centre closed on July 13, 2004. …Led by Al Aubry, the not-for-profit Frost Centre Institute was established on the property in 2007, where it offered an educational summer camp, a conference centre, and environmental programming. The Frost Centre Institute closed in 2010.

Ray Plourde

Similar to when it was last debated at Province House in March 2019, there’s frustration and anger at the McNeil government’s handling of its Biodiversity Act. Environmentalist Ray Plourde is upset that a provincial commitment to pass a Biodiversity Act has stalled. Forestry representative Andrew Fedora is frustrated by the delay, too, but is more ready to cut the governing Liberals some slack. The 2017, the Liberals were unambiguous in their commitment: “A Liberal government will pass a Biodiversity Act.” …But the newly appointed minister of Lands and Forestry Derek Mombourquette, who is now responsible for turning the bill into law, would not commit to doing that before the next election. …Fedora said Forest Nova Scotia, the organization he heads as its president, is not opposed to a law that better protects biodiversity.

The future of a new Biodiversity Act in Nova Scotia remains as unclear as a foggy morning near wetlands. The bill, which would help manage threats to ecosystems and protect species, was first introduced by the Liberal government in March 2019, only to be pulled back a month later in the face of criticism from some people that it was too restrictive on forestry operations and from others who said it didn’t go far enough. Iain Rankin, the lands and forestry minister at the time, pledged to do more consultation and then pass the bill during the government’s mandate. But on Thursday, Derek Mombourquette, who replaced Rankin after he resigned to seek the Nova Scotia Liberal Party leadership, would not commit to passing the bill during this mandate, something the Liberals also promised to do as part of their 2017 election platform.

Miguel Ouellette

MONTREAL — With the Quebec government about to review the province’s forest regime, environmentalists are busy trying to reduce the development of this natural resource. A new Montreal Economic Institute publication shows, however, that we could increase the harvest of our forests without undermining the renewal of the resource. In an Economic Note entitled “Quebec Forests: Rural Regions Lose Hundreds of Millions of Dollars a Year,” Miguel Ouellette points out that less than 1% of Quebec’s forests are harvested each year, and that the forests regenerate themselves faster than we harvest them. In fact, the province harvests just 72% of its forests’ full potential each year. …”Quebec does not harvest its forests to their full potential, and so is leaving a lot of money on the table. …”We need to increase our harvest to around 95% of the forests’ full potential, like in British Columbia.”

Protesters blocking a logging road not far from the Tobeatic Wilderness Area in Nova Scotia’s Digby County say the forest is prime habitat for endangered mainland moose. They want the Department of Lands and Forestry to stop allowing industrial logging on Crown land in the area… The small group of protesters set up camp … in an attempt to prevent logging trucks and equipment from accessing the Crown land. They’re located about six kilometres west of the Tobeatic Wilderness Area… According to the province’s Harvest Plans Map Viewer, several harvests have been approved on Crown land in the area, but it’s unclear how many have actually been cut. There are also a few parcels of private land in the area protesters are occupying. …Wildlife biologist Bob Bancroft calls that response “a farce” and said provincial staff should have visited the site long before any logging roads went in. 

While a deep-pocketed, Toronto-based company is touting its plan to construct a “vibrant mixed-use city centre” that will attract thousands of new residents to Pointe-Claire, plans still have to pass through city council. And so far, the red carpet has yet to be rolled out, as the massive complex will require clearcutting roughly 16 hectares just west of Fairview Mall. “The scope of it is too big,” said Pointe-Claire resident Geneviève Lussier. She’s not against condo developments, she said, but the forest is important to her and to the community. …”It’s a wind barrier. It’s a sound barrier. It’s mitigating a heat-island effect in an amazing way. There is only concrete, there is only asphalt all around it. There is no other forest in the area,” Lussier said. …While Mayor John Belvedere said the project looks promising, it would have to be done properly to gain approval.

The City of Charlottetown is testing out a new tree planting product designed to improve the chances of survival for trees planted in the downtown area.  The product, called Permavoid, is made up of blocks, water cones and soil. It is installed underground, helps capture water for tree roots and then protect those roots from compaction.  “This technology is on the cutting edge,” said Coun. Mitchell Tweel, chair of environment and sustainability.  “We’re hoping that these trees will not only survive but will be able to grow and add to the landscape.”   Tweel said Bird Stairs, ABT Inc., and Pinnacle Agencies Ltd., are all providing the product for free as part of the pilot project. And while it will take several years, Tweel said they are hoping this is a “whole new era in tree planting.” 

LITTLE NARROWS, N.S. — An endangered bird and some rare plants now have a safe haven in central Cape Breton. On Tuesday, the Nature Conservancy of Canada announced it had purchased 251 hectares of land that include unique gypsum-based — or karst — landscapes, old-growth Acadian forest and freshwater wetlands. Doug van Hemessen, stewardship co-ordinator with the conservation group, said now those properties will be connected with the nearby Cain’s Mountain Wilderness Area to protect at-risk plant and animal species. “We know there are rusty blackbirds there — that’s considered an endangered species. The Canada warbler has also been observed in the area and the olive-sided flycatcher, another significant bird species, has been seen there,” he said, adding that plant species such as the hoary willow and showy lady’s slipper are also found in this habitat. [We respect the copyrights of the source publication – full access may require a subscription]

THUNDER BAY, Ontario – In 1956 a United States Air Force B-47 Stratojet crashed in the remote Northern Ontario wilderness, claiming the lives of three crewmen. A local explorer is raising concerns that logging activities could make access to the site easier, which he says should be protected. “Any logging that comes in now will open up roads access to the site and possibly disturb an area where remains have been found,” said Rob Farrow, an outdoor explorer. “It’s a gravesite.” …A Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry spokesperson said, “The site is protected by an Area of Concern prescription within the Forest Management Plan for the Black Spruce Forest”. “Under this prescription no harvesting, renewal or tending operations can take place within 200 metres from the centre of the site.” But Farrow said this 200-metre radius is not enough.

NEWFOUNDLAND and LABRADOR — A summer baby boom in the long-struggling George River caribou herd in Labrador and Quebec has led to an increase in population numbers — its first in more than 25 years. A population census released Thursday by wildlife officials in Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec estimates the herd’s population to be 8,100 animals, up from 2018’s estimate of 5,500 animals. It’s a big gain, but a far cry from the herd’s historic high of more than 750,000 animals. …The numbers released Thursday show calves now make up 35 per cent of the herd, with a healthy female population supporting them. …Calves have a much higher mortality rate than adults, and their survival through the winter will be a main determinant of whether herd numbers continue to increase, Adams warned.

TORONTO / THUNDER BAY — Today, a letter signed by more than 3,000 Canadians was submitted to Procter & Gamble in advance of its annual shareholder meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio. Sent by Ontario Nature and the David Suzuki Foundation, the letter calls on the company to start acting in alignment with its stated commitments to sustainable operations and forest conservation, by only sourcing pulp from forests where at-risk species are protected and Indigenous rights are respected. “Procter & Gamble has the opportunity to play a leadership role by sourcing from forests managed to recover at-risk species and where free, prior and informed consent is obtained from Indigenous Peoples,” said Rachel Plotkin, Boreal Project Manager with the David Suzuki Foundation. …Procter & Gamble is an American multinational corporation with sales exceeding $60 billion per year. It is one of the largest buyers of Ontario pulp, producing a vast array of single-use, disposable products, from diapers to toilet paper.

Environmental groups are warning that Ontario’s new forestry strategy will allow corporations “to take advantage” of a deregulated environment, a position that shareholders of a major American corporation agreed with Tuesday. But a provincial industry association says the fears are both misplaced and ill-timed. “The province is prepared to nearly double the amount of industrial logging in Ontario, while dismissing concerns from many environmental and Indigenous organizations about the lack of adequate consultation on how that increase could harm wildlife and waterway,” Toronto-based Ontario Nature said Tuesday in a news release.“Changes are already afoot, or approved, to lengthen the time between independent forest audits, and to weaken how the Environmental Assessment Act and Endangered Species Act apply to forestry, among other deregulations.”

Eric Davies

There are many invasive species of plants disrupting our ecosystems but one of them is putting our iconic sugar maple at risk – yes, the beautiful maple leaf that adorns our country’s flag. The European Norway maple has a similar leaf shape and often gets mistaken for the sugar maple. The difference is its leaves contain a toxic latex that harms insects and pollinators. …Eric Davies, with the faculty of forestry at the University of Toronto says the sugar maple is ecologically dominant in eastern North America and plays a huge role in providing a habitat for biodiversity of all types. …But this native tree is among the many threatened by invasive species, like the European Norway maple. They may look similar when it comes to their foliage, but one is detrimental to the ecosystems it invades. …The Norway maple is allelopathic. Its roots exude a toxic substance that kills things that grow underneath it…