Ontario proposal removes limits on clearcut size, excludes First Nations, and ignores public opposition
Opposition growing to MNR's clearcutting guideline
From Earthroots
September 11, 2001
(Toronto) First Nations and environmental organizations today expressed great concern about the social, economic and ecological impacts of a proposed provincial forestry guideline. The guideline, developed by the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), actively promotes large clearcuts without setting any size limits. The guideline effectively forces logging companies to create large clearcuts on the faulty premise that they mimic natural fires.
"Massive clearcuts are an economic and ecological liability in central and northern Ontario." said Richard Brooks, Earthroots Campaign Director. "Ontarians must not stand by quietly and let this potentially destructive guideline be approved."
The new guideline conflicts with existing legal requirements that stipulate that clearcuts larger than 260 ha should be undertaken as an exception rather than the rule. This new guideline, if implemented, would allow almost all of the area harvested in a forest to be in clearcuts much larger than this. Clearcuts in the tens of thousands of hectares are expected.
"The proposed guideline is the latest example of the government ignoring its obligations to First Nations and our treaty rights to control lands and resources on our lands," said Raymond Ferris, Deputy Grand Chief of Nishnawbe Aski Nation in Thunder Bay. "Clearcutting directly affects the livelihood of our communities and our ability to sustain traditional activities like hunting and trapping on our lands. There has been no meaningful consultation with our people about this guideline. This needs to change."
When released in its first draft form last September, the vast majority of the almost 700 relevant comments from the public opposed the focus on large clearcuts. "It is very unfortunate that the MNR has chosen to disregard the serious negative consequences of implementing this guideline." said Chris Henschel, the Forests Director for the Wildlands League. "The development of this guideline was an opportunity for positive reform to logging practices. Instead, MNR's fixation with larger cuts threatens to make things worse." Henschel was forced to resign from the guideline's writing committee after MNR repeatedly failed to respond to environmental and public concerns, refusing to abandon its focus on larger cuts.
Gregor Beck, FON's Conservation Director expressed disappointment that MNR ignored efforts to improve the guideline. "Our organizations made repeated attempts to seek a reasonable alternative with the MNR. The MNR would not put the emphasis of the guideline where it belongs: the maintenance of old, intact forests for wildlife."
The new guideline will pose an economic challenge to forest companies forced to create larger clearcuts. The increasing environmental awareness of major buyers like IKEA and Home Depot means that Ontario wood suppliers risk losing market share to other companies in jurisdictions with more environmentally sensitive guidelines.
"The people of Ontario need to send a strong message to MNR that the guideline needs to change," Henschel asserted. "We have an alternative." The public has until October 31st, 2001 to submit comments on the draft guide. Wildlands League, Earthroots and FON will be holding public meetings in northern and southern Ontario in October to discuss the guideline. The MNR is legally required to create a finalized version by November 30, 2001.
Copies of the guideline can be downloaded from the MNR website at http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/mnr/forests/forestdoc/ebr/guide/disturbance_pattern.pdf. More information is available at www.wildlandsleague.org or at www.earthroots.org.
For more information contact:
Chris Henschel, Forests Program Director, Wildlands League: 416-971-9453 x. 30 Raymond Ferris, Deputy Grand Chief, Nishnawbe Aski Nation: 807-625-4903, 807-624-7628 Richard Brooks, Campaign Director, Earthroots: 416-599-0152, 416-819-7424 (cell) Gregor Beck, Conservation Director, Federation of Ontario Naturalists: 416-444-8419 x. 237, 647-285-2966 (cell)
The Wildlands League is a chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society. It is a charitable non-profit organization whose mission is to protect the land of Ontario through the establishment of protected areas and the promotion of natural resource use that is sustainable for nature, communities, and the economy.
Ninshnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) is a provincial treaty organization representing the political, social and economic interests of its First Nations communities within the Treaty 9 and Treaty 5 areas in Ontario. NAN's traditional territory encompasses two thirds of the province of Ontario, stretching from the Quebec border in the east to the Manitoba border in the west and from the James Bay and Hudson's Bay watersheds in the north to roughly the Canadian National Railway in the south. The Federation of Ontario Naturalists (FON) protects Ontario's nature through research, education and conservation action. FON champions woodlands, wetlands and wildlife, and preserves essential habitat through its own system of nature reserves. FON is a conservation organization representing 20,000 members and supporters and over 110 member groups across Ontario. Earthroots is a non-profit, grassroots environmental organization dedicated to protecting wilderness, wildlife and watersheds through research, education and action. Earthroots has over 12,000 supporters throughout Canada.