Region Archives: Canada East

On Wednesday, the Nova Scotia Lands and Forestry Department tweeted that a letter circulating in Kings County claiming to be from the department is fake. The letter says the department has released a pack of eight grey wolves in the South Alton area in Kings County and that the wolves are now migrating to the Annapolis Valley in search of prey. “The ‘pack’ has been reported to be as far east as Starrs Point (Kings Co.) as far west as Cambridge Station (Kings Co.) and as far north as Aldershot (Kings Co.),” the fake letter stated. The province said in a tweet that no grey wolves have been released by the government and officials do not know who circulated the letter or why.

The 2020 fire season isn’t officially over until Oct. 15, but the rain associated with post-tropical storm Teddy did put a temporary damper on what had been a season of an almost daily high risk of wildfires somewhere in Nova Scotia. … Reduced daylight and more humidity and cooler temperatures at night have also helped, fire prevention officer Kara McCurdy said. Department statistics show there had been 172 wildfires in the province as of Tuesday, which burned a total of  707 hectares of land. It’s the highest loss since 2016, when 757 hectares burned. The number had been dropping steadily since then, but it could have been even worse this year … the dry weather this year meant fires were burning deeper into the ground and taking longer to put out. But Nova Scotia residents were also very observant this year, reporting 540 fires and illegal backyard burns that don’t factor into the annual statistics on fires. 

Hunter Corbiere

OTTAWA — Regional Deputy Grand Council Chief Edward Wawia and M’Chigeeng youth Hunter Corbiere were recently recognized with Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) 2020 Awards of Excellence. Wawia was one of four FPAC Forest Community Champion Award recipients and Corbiere was one of three FPAC Skills Award for Indigenous Youth recipients highlighted during the Sept. 21 awards announcement. “I’m so honoured — it’s awesome,” says Corbiere, a 20-year-old Fleming College Forest Technician program graduate. “It’s such a stepping stone. The Forest Products Association of Canada has been so amazing to do such awesome things for Indigenous youth and involving Indigenous communities in forestry.” Corbiere was recognized for her efforts in helping to shape the Forest Technician program at Fleming College and for her role as an Indigenous speaker at the Kawartha Woodlot Conference held by the Forestry class in February.

Several Indigenous groups are taking the Ontario government to court over recently rescinded environmental protections, arguing the province’s move violates their constitutional rights. The claim comes in a notice of application filed this week by nine northern Ontario First Nations and associations. The application states that Premier Doug Ford’s government reversed decades of environmental progress and protections for Indigenous communities when it made changes to the Environmental Assessment Act. In July, the government changed the rules around assessments for forestry projects and passed a sweeping omnibus bill aimed at speeding up the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Indigenous groups claim the result is that public projects can now take place without any environmental assessments at all – a move they say undermines both previous government agreements and their rights.

This autumn was supposed to herald a noteworthy milestone for the Sudbury regreening project: the planting of its 10 millionth tree. But with the arrival of the novel coronavirus last March came a scaled-down 2020 planting season, and instead that marker will be celebrated in 2021. Still, as year 42 of the one-of-a-kind land restoration initiative comes to a close, the organization leading the project believes that some areas of the city are nearing the point when human intervention will no longer be necessary and nature can start taking over. “Already there are certain sites in the Sudbury area, which, with further work, are likely to be declared complete,” said Peter Beckett, an ecology professor at Laurentian University and founding member of the Vegetation Technical Advisory Committee (VETAC), during a Sept. 25 virtual presentation. To most Northerners, the story is by now a familiar one.

Cape Breton, Nova Scotia — The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change announced that the Government of Canada has invested $1.2 million over four years to conserve 350,000 hectares in the Bras d’Or Lakes watershed. …This funding, provided through the Canada Nature Fund’s Community-Nominated Priority Places initiative, enables partners to advance the conservation of habitat vital to the survival of 18 listed Canadian species at risk such as the Common Nighthawk (Pi’jkw) and Wood Turtle (Mikjikj). The project, led by the Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources (UINR), will aim to improve the quality of the ecosystem for the benefit of Unama’ki communities and all their relations. The project helps identify hotspots for species at risk in Unama’ki and educates the public on local species at risk, and conserves important species at risk habitat. 

Norman and Stacey Paupin

A commitment to sustainable forest practices and an eye for innovation have earned Colchester County couple Stacey and Norman Paupin of Folly Lake the title of provincial Woodland Owners of the Year for 2020. In 2012, the Paupins bought a 40-hectare woodlot near Shinimicas, Cumberland County with the goal of restoring the forest to harvest firewood and non-timber forest products. Using treatments like thinning, they have improved the forest health by encouraging growth of native species. …”Private woodlot owners like Stacey and Norman are vital to our province’s forestry sector. They’ve created a healthier environment and a business opportunity through good forest management and resource stewardship,” said Lands and Forestry Minister Iain Rankin. “The Paupins are gaining value from their forest and enjoying the many rewards that can come from running a sustainable woodlot.”

A First Nations-owned resource management group in northwestern Ontario is calling on the provincial government to grant them a long-term license to manage a forest that is located within their own traditional lands. The Agoke Development Corporation (Agoke)—which is jointly owned by the Aroland, Eabamentoong and Marten Falls First Nations—has been managing the Ogoki Forest on an interim basis since 2018, when they were granted a two-year contract. Earlier in 2020, the group had their two-year interim agreement renewed. The group’s business advisor Jason Rasevych said the interim agreements were put in place to allow the newly formed management group build relationships and develop capacity. But Rasevych said Agoke is now ready to take the next step and receive a long-term license, and is calling on Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) Minister John Yakabuski to make that happen.

Aerial spraying of the controversial herbicide glyphosate over a private woodlot in Nova Scotia was cancelled last week, marking the third such cancellation across the province this month and the end of the spraying season for 2020. A group of protestors who are calling for a provincewide moratorium on glyphosate spraying had been camped out on the woodlot in Hants County for about 24 hours last week when they learned the spraying had been called off. Although they weren’t given a reason for the cancellation, Nina Newington said they counted it as a victory. …A spokesperson for the province confirmed the cancellation Monday, and said all other approved glyphosate spraying was either complete or had also been cancelled. …Vegetation that grows after glyphosate spraying, said Newington, is “not really a forest, but just a plantation of softwoods.”

Three more First Nations Groups are pursuing legal action against the Ontario Government for its environmental policies. The Chapleau Cree First Nation, Missanabie Cree First Nation and Brunswick House First Nation are seeking a judicial review of the Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks refusal to order an environmental assessment for the Gordon Cosens forest management plan, which is located in Treaty #9 territory. The First Nations say the Government has not met required sustainability conditions, nor properly consulted impacted First Nations. …The lawsuit comes as three other First Nations, as well as environmental groups Greenpeace Canada and Wilderness Committee have challenged the Ontario Government’s changes to environmental legislation contained in Bill 197.

THUNDER, BAY, Ontario — A First Nations-owned resource management group in northwestern Ontario is calling on the provincial government to grant them a long-term license to manage a forest that is located within their own traditional lands. The Agoke Development Corporation… has been managing the Ogoki Forest on an interim basis since 2018, when they were granted a two-year contract. Earlier in 2020, the group had their two-year interim agreement renewed. The group’s business advisor Jason Rasevych said the interim agreements were put in place to allow the newly formed management group build relationships and develop capacity. But Rasevych said Agoke is now ready to take the next step and receive a long-term license. …A spokesperson from the MNRF said… “Building capacity and experience takes time, but does not take away from the ministry’s interest in continuing to work with Agoke… with interest in a long term forest licence.”

NOVA SCOTIA — Northern Pulp might not be operating right now, but the province’s Lands and Forestry minister says harvesting continues to happen at pre-shutdown levels because sawmills have the same demand for studwood and sawlogs that they did before the Pictou County pulp mill shut down. When Northern Pulp closed… some observers believed it would lead to a decrease in the number of trees being cut at a time when the government had promised a reduction in clearcutting. …Lands and Forestry Minister Iain Rankin said Northern Pulp’s access to Crown land and volumes was renewed in August for another year because sawmills still need supply. It also means the sector is able to retain the skill and expertise of the people working in the woods, said Rankin. …But Ray Plourde of the Ecology Action Centre said that still raises questions about why so much wood needs to be cut.

Chief Jason Gauthier

A date has been set for legal proceedings between three northeastern Ontario First Nations and the province, in a fight over the Gordon Cosens Forest management plan. The Gordon Cosens Forest is a 20,000 square kilometer area between Hearst and Cochrane that envelopes Kapuskasing. It is part of Treaty 9 territory, one of the 11 post-Confederation treaties negotiated with First Nations. Chapleau Cree First Nation, Missanabie Cree First Nation and Brunswick House First Nation say their challenge has to do with the “refusal by the Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks to order an environmental assessment or impose conditions on the Gordon Cosens forest management plan,” according to a joint media release Tuesday. The First Nations also said the province failed to properly consult with them in developing its management plan. 

OTTAWA — The Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) has released the names of the recipients in its annual Awards of Excellence program.  Three of this year’s 18 winners are from Northwestern Ontario.  Edward  Wawia of the Red Rock Indian Band, the Regional Deputy Grand Council Chief (Northern Superior Region) of the Anishinabek nation, received a Forest Community Champion award.  The FPAC described Wawia as a long-time champion of sustainable forest management.   At the age of 15, he completed Junior Rangers training, and began fighting forest fires at 16.  Upon retiring from the mining industry after 40 years, Wawia entered First Nations politics and was assigned the Lands and Resources portfolio.  “The Deputy Grand Chief remains a firm believer that the forest industry is home to First Nations peopple, and we must continue to work to ensure sustainability,” the FPAC said

Thunder Bay, ON — The Agoke Development Corporation is calling on the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry for a long term licence for the Ogoki Forest in Northwestern Ontario.   2020 marks the centennial anniversary of National Forest Week… the Agoke Development Corporation (Agoke) is taking the opportunity to celebrate key milestones with indigenous participation in forestry.  Agoke is also making a call out to the Ontario government for treaty implementation for the sharing of benefits and management rights of their traditional lands through a long-term management licence for the Ogoki Forest. Since 2018, the forestry enterprise owned and operated by the First Nations of Aroland, Eabametoong and Marten Falls have been managing the Ogoki Forest in Northwestern Ontario.  …Now, Agoke is setting its targets on a long-term forest management licence for the crown unit and are eager to discuss their intentions directly with Minister Yakabuski’s office.

John Yakabuski

TORONTO, Ontario — John Yakabuski, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry: “This year, we mark the 100th Anniversary of National Forest Week, a time to celebrate Ontario’s rich forest heritage and recognize the critical role the forest sector has played in building this great province that we call home. Our renewable forests provide social, environmental and economic benefits to Ontarians, generating over $18 billion in revenue and supporting 147,000 direct and indirect jobs across the province. …Last month, we released Sustainable Growth: Ontario’s Forest Sector Strategy, our government’s plan to help create more good-paying jobs and encourage economic growth while ensuring the province’s forests stay healthy and productive for generations to come. Our strategy is needed now more than ever to help the forest sector through the economic recovery ahead, especially in northern and rural Ontario.