NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR — Corner Brook Pulp and Paper will be temporarily shutting down production over the Christmas holidays. Kruger, the mill’s parent company, told The Telegram that production will stop on Dec. 24 and operations will resume on Jan. 2, 2025. The company said the decision to shut down is proactive and aims to address the current imbalance in the global newsprint market demand. “This will contribute to rebalancing our order book and create a more favorable and sustainable business environment for 2025”. This shutdown will be the second one in just over a year because of market conditions.
When U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said he would immediately put tariffs on all goods being imported from Canada, Mexico, and China, people sat up and paid attention. Not just politicians but the general populations of the countries involved, even Americans. …A tariff is a tax or import duty placed by one country on imports from another country or countries. It effectively raises the cost of bringing foreign goods into a country and is usually used as a form of political leverage, a form of increasing revenues or to protect domestic industries by the importing country. Perhaps the best-known tariff currently in place against Canada is the softwood lumber tariff. …This added cost to our lumber makes it more expensive to U.S. buyers than a U.S.-produced product. …A tariff is a lose/lose deal.
Quebec’s premier is raising concerns about the potential impact of the tariff proposed by US president-elect on the province’s forest industry. In a statement posted to social media on Sunday, François Legault said high interest rates and existing duties on softwood lumber were already putting pressure on the sector, which he said accounts for more than 50,000 jobs in Quebec. “It will be important to protect our economy and our businesses in the coming months, and we are already working on our strategy with the relevant ministers within the government,” he wrote in French. “I have great admiration for all the workers in our forestry industry, whether they are in logging, transportation, sawmills or reforestation.” Legault’s comments echo those of BC Premier David Eby. …“Even before Mr. Trump’s announcement, we were working to support a Quebec industry that is already affected by tariffs in the US: the forestry industry,” Legault said.
MONTREAL – Unifor members of Council 4000 and Local 100 at Canadian National Railway (CN Rail) have voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action, with 96% of Local 100 members and 97% of Council 4000 members supporting the mandate, preparing to take action should an agreement not be reached by January 1, 2025. “This overwhelming vote sends a clear message to CN that our members are united and prepared to take action to achieve the fair treatment and respect they deserve,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. “Our members have had enough of concessions that erode their rights and livelihoods and they are standing strong to demand a contract that reflects their value and the critical role they play in CN’s success.” The decisive vote underscores the frustration and determination of CN workers who have been advocating for job security, fair compensation and improved working conditions.
NEW BRUNSWICK — Several of the province’s major forestry companies are appealing a major decision in the Indigenous title fight that had appeared to go their way. A judge ruled that several big industrial defendants and everyday private property owners must be removed from a lawsuit launched by the Wolastoqey Nation. But J.D. Irving, Acadian Timber and H.J. Crabbe and Sons have all now filed separate appeals to New Brunswick’s top court. The new appeal argues that while the court ruled that industrial defendants are no longer part of the lawsuit – as they were granted the land by the government and are a third party to the larger dispute – their land is still listed in the lawsuit. …J.D. Irving’s appeal states that the decision maintains a claim against JDI properties, while, at the same time “depriving them of their right to be heard and to make submissions regarding their fundamental property rights.”
QUÉBEC CITY — In the fall 2024 
ONTARIO — Housing starts over the next few years will likely weaken and the already-dire supply shortage could get even worse, the Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON) is warning. A 
University of New Brunswick forestry professor Anthony Taylor began a research project to examine what was killing balsam fir trees favoured by many Canadians to decorate their homes at Christmas. …in a paper recently published in the journal “Frontiers in Forests and Global Change,” Taylor and his co-authors identify the cause of the die-off in western New Brunswick and eastern Maine as drought and high temperatures brought on by climate change. “Identifying the broad scale climate anomalies, such as a drought, associated with the reported sudden balsam fir mortality in 2018 could prove useful to determine the likelihood of future mortality in response to climate change,” the study says. Taylor said he was shocked by “that much” death of balsam firs. …Taylor said heat and drought have weakened balsam firs, making them more vulnerable to pests and diseases that they would otherwise be able to defend against. 
The scientific evidence behind glyphosate’s dangers is overwhelming—and infuriating. Glyphosate doesn’t stop at the plants it’s meant to kill. It contaminates everything in its path, infiltrating the food chain and leaving behind a legacy of harm… Even if Ontario banned glyphosate tomorrow, the chemical’s impact would linger for years. It persists in the soil, where it continues to harm microorganisms and plants. The forests we love may take decades to recover, and some ecosystems may never fully return to their original state. This isn’t just a fight for today; it’s a fight for the future. Quebec has already banned glyphosate in forestry. European countries like Austria and Germany are phasing it out. These regions recognize that short-term convenience isn’t worth long-term destruction. So why is Ontario still clinging to outdated, harmful practices?
Ontario Nature is collaborating with the forestry industry, Indigenous communities, local communities and environmental organizations to permanently protect at least one million hectares of important lands in Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified forests. To get certified by FSC, forestry companies must set aside at least 10 percent of the lands that they manage for industrial logging to conserve ecosystems and biodiversity. These lands present a significant opportunity for Ontario to contribute to the Government of Canada’s commitment to protect of at least 30 percent of lands and inland waters by 2030… These protected areas in waiting have already been selected as prime candidates for protection from forestry activity, but they’re stuck in limbo… …the Government of Ontario has not formally recognized the areas identified, leaving them open to mining, hydro development and potential changes in forest management.
Thunder Bay, Ontario
Across the far reaches of northwestern Ontario and over the provincial border into southeastern Manitoba lies the enormous swath of forested, lake-speckled land that is Treaty 3 territory. At more than 142,000 square kilometres, it is larger than the entire country of Greece and home to 28 First Nations communities with a total population of about 25,000 – an indication of just how rich in natural resources this area is. These natural resources have long been a source of contention between the settlers looking to profit from them and the Indigenous Peoples caring for and protecting the land, but much has changed in the last 15 years. …Across Canada, the forestry industry is working to build more meaningful, equitable partnerships with Indigenous Peoples. Miitigoog Limited Partnership (LP), a joint venture between Weyerhaeuser, eight Treaty 3 First Nations and other industry stakeholders, offers a compelling blueprint.
OTTAWA — Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Sari Essayah visits Canada with a delegation of the Finnish forestry and bioeconomy actors on 24–28 November. Minister Essayah will deliver the keynote speech at the Scaling Up Bioeconomy Conference. In addition, the Minister and the business delegation will visit the province of Quebec. …In Ottawa, Minister Essayah will meet with federal ministers of Canada, members of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources of the Parliament of Canada and management of the Natural Resources Canada (NRC). The main topics are the outlook of and cooperation in bioeconomy, sustainable forestry and forest management. …In the province of Quebec, Minister Essayah will meet the province’s management to discuss the opportunities in the bioeconomy sector. Finnish expertise in forest and bioeconomy will be showcased at Quebec Forest Industries Association and the local companies.
OTTAWA, ON – In 2023, Nova Scotia experienced one of its worst wildfire seasons, leading to extensive damage to residences, small businesses, farms, municipalities, and provincial sites, and the evacuation of more than 16,000 people. Just over a month later, the province experienced extreme rainfall that led to the worst flooding the province has experienced in 50 years. This follows the significant damage to public and private infrastructure and prolonged power outages caused by storm Dorian across the province in 2019. The Government of Canada, announced payments of almost $67 million to Nova Scotia through the Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements (DFAA) program, to assist with response and recovery costs associated with the wildfires in 2023, the extreme rainfall and flooding in summer 2023, and storm Dorian in 2019.
