Day Seven
Miramichi
November 27, 2003 

Drew English and Robert MacDiarmid - Weyerhaeuser
Mr. English suggested that intensively managed forests might be the solution to many environmental problems. Mr. English suggested that there would be less demand on the overall forest if more Crown land was intensively cropped. Weyerhaeuser's situation is pressing. There is not enough poplar growing in New Brunswick for their mill in the Miramichi. They are under tremendous pressure to compete globally. He expressed concerns about decisions made for short-term jobs for political purposes. He repeated the industry's position that for further investment to occur in the processing sector, there needs to be more wood fibre grown on Crown lands. If more wood can be grown on Crown land the best part of our processing sector can be retained despite rationalization in New Brunswick caused by globalization. He said that their mill is doing very well. Mr. English asserted that the public sees no connection between the forestry industry and funding of social programs. Weyerhaeuser has closed a number of mills in other parts of Canada over the past year. If the wood supply is shaky you are looking at a wind-down process, he said. New Brunswick's wood supply is shaky, he said. Mr. English said to retain a significant part of the forest industry action is required now. He pointed out that more wood could be grown through selective cutting, not just by creating plantations in clearcuts or thinning the natural regeneration that returns in the clearcuts. He wants to see both the softwood and hardwood supply to increase.

Sabine Dietz - Naturalist & Biologist
Sabine Dietz took us through a visual visit of the biodiversity of the forest and waterways and the components associated with different kinds of habitats. Ms. Dietz said we have over 33,000 species in New Brunswick but the Jaakko Poyry report is recommending that we manage for only two or three species. As the government holds the Crown lands in trust, she urged the committee members to ensure the forest is taken care of for all. She asked that decisions be based on sound ecological knowledge, and that management not occur on a piecemeal basis. She asked that they consider that the forest is not just for producing spruce and fir. Ms. Dietz described sustainable management as sustaining the forest from an ecological viewpoint and in that condition the forest can provide work for New Brunswickers for the long-term. She pointed out that the knowledge of our forest ecosystems in New Brunswick is very limited. She gave the example that naturalists have discovered six new species in New Brunswick over the past year alone.

Gilles Martin - 
Biologist, Richibucto Village
He said the recommendations of the Jaakko Poyry report is a big backwards step for our forests. He said that if we want to have sustainable forestry there are many questions to ask. The Jaakko Poyry report represents an industrial view of forestry dependent on clearcutting, monocultures and the application of pesticides. According to Monsieur Martin our forestry on Crown lands is already very intensive and the report suggest we should go even farther. Already we are committed to transforming 20 percent of our forest to plantations. There is a high density of forestry roads and much of land is drying out, he said. He wondered how many generations of trees we can actually grow successfully through plantations.
He raised the precautionary principle, and wondered where it went in this report. Monsieur Martin said the first priority has to be maintaining the ecological integrity of or forest ecosystems and that this is the context in which forest management should occur. The most troublesome recommendation of the report is the transformation of our Crown lands into plantations, he said.

He pointed out that there is no waste in our forest, despite the industrial notion that if you don't cut trees they are wasted. Dead trees are essential to replenishing the forest. It is not industry's roles to tell New Brunswickers what our values should be regarding the use and management of Crown lands. The model we have now favour big businesses, but he wondered if this was the best model for creating jobs for New Brunswickers. He asked why community forestry hasn't been permitted on the Crown lands as an alternative model for management.
He recommended that the consultation process needed to go beyond the Select Committee hearings. The consequences of adopting the Jaakko Poyry report are so great that the government needs to take the time to have a much deeper and broader discussion with New Brunswickers. He said it is up to the industry to adapt to the forest and not the other way around. There is a real conflict of interest between those who want to maximize profits from Crown lands and those who want it managed for the use of all New Brunswickers. He called for the Jaakko Poyry report recommendations to be rejected, but wondered if it was worth his while because the decision had probably been made. How can we have inherited this huge forest and leave our children huge plantations.

Mr. Martin's 13 year old daughter Isabelle then spoke, calling it a magical place that we must protect for the future, for people and animals. At this point the tears welled up in the eyes of your scribe and I had to stop writing.

Sabine Dietz - 
New Brunswick Federation of Naturalists
Ms. Dietz said they advocate the precautionary principle which means we have to take a very cautious approach to forestry that has the potential to cause widespread transformation of ecosystems. She said the conservation of biodiversity needs to be at the base of forest management, pointing out that we know very little about our forest ecosystems, species diversity and species distribution. We might be losing species without knowing it, she said. The provincial government has only assessed the status of 863 of the 330,000 species found in New Brunswick.
Ms. Dietz pointed out that only 3.1 percent of the forest in New Brunswick has been protected from industrial activities, but these islands are inadequate to maintain biodiversity. Forestry needs to consider impacts on all species from road-building, logging and silviculture.
Recommended that all special management areas need to remain under special management to ensure biodiversity is conserved. Research needs to be taken in areas of high ecological value before any management decisions are taken, she said. And she called for connections be made between the protected areas on Crown land, based on science.

Charles Richard - He has seen our forests go down, our wildlife go down and our communities go down. What's behind this he asked. He has worked in the woods since 14, he has hunted and trapped. Mr. Richard said every time something is brought to government he believes it falls on deaf ears. Mr. Richard brought copies of Crown Lands and Forests Acts dating back to 1913. He pointed out that in 1913, industry didn't control Crown land, but people controlled it. In 1953 and 1973, the Acts said that work for people in the communities had to be maximized. This has all changed, so what has changed he asked? His conclusion is that government has been too busy catering to industry. Everything that was once in the Crown Lands Acts to protect the people was taken out in the latest version.  He talked about how his family was sprayed in their trailer during the 1970s when his wife was pregnant. We have built a society of men and women without conscience he said. Study your past and you will know your future, that is what he has been doing.  He talked about what happened to our wildlife. Cedar swamps have been destroyed. Everything is being clearcut, so where are the wildlife supposed to find their habitat and feed.

Jaakko Sarantola - UPM Kymmene
North American pulp mills are old and increasingly uncompetitive compared to Europe according to Mr. Sarantola. He spoke about the economic impact of their Miramichi mill. Its paper mill is modern compared to North American standards, but its kraft mill is old. He explained that one of their paper machines is about half the way through its life. New machines have double the capacity and can accomplish more tasks, but to acquire this machine will require investment.

Why do we need timber objectives for New Brunswick? He said that if there isn't more raw material available then they cannot invest and grow. Mills will not close if the Province needs to do what it should do to guarantee future supplies of raw materials. Sawmills utilize only half of the wood they receive, the other half goes to pulp mills as chips, so the sawmills need the pulp mills to succeed. Timber objectives are needed to justify investments that have a 40 year lifetime if they don't have the security that the raw material will be there. We have to ensure that we look after the industry's growth, he said. We need investment or the industry will go backwards, he said.

Their mill uses spruce and fir, with about half their raw materials coming from the Crown and the other half coming from private wood sources. How does his company balance the concerns of environmentalists and the needs for more raw material in Finland he was asked. The answer was that there is a lot of fears, but industry has addressed all the environmental issues. He claimed that industry never talked about doubling the cut only doubling the growth. Their company is building a new paper machine in China. If they need new capacity in North America they will decide between their three mills in Scotland, the US and New Brunswick. A new paper machine costs between $600 million to $800 million, it consumes 80 MW of electricity and would consume about 10 percent of the softwood available in New Brunswick today.

Direct jobs in the pulp and paper industry will not increase in the future, but indirect jobs will increase with the capacity of the mill in such areas as transportation, services, and research.

Danny King, Vice-President and chair of Enviro Cimmittee and Jean Marie Nadeau - NB Federation of Labour, staff. Membership very frustrated about projected job shortages. We don't know if there is enough pulp out there to begin anything new - afraid of a collapse 15 years from now. In a coalition of enviro groups, naturalists and labour, we called upon the gov't to hold public meetings. First, industry submitted a wish list for the future of the industry. We became very concerned about the J-P report and what it was saying was basically the same things as their wish list - doubling the annual allowable cut, increase planting and they would pay, on the condition that the wood belonged to them, to guarantee a wood supply or compensate them financially. We are very concerned that increasing the plantations leaves them vulnerable to an infestation. We do believe that silviculture should be increased, that we have businesses that train and pay people properly in this area. We also believe that wood should never leave this province without being value-added. We caution the panel to not allow the companies to invest money in sivilculture that in the future under the Free Trade agreements, the companies will comeback saying that they have invested and the Crown Lands will fall into company hands.
J-M Nadeau - on veut des emplois et la preservation des emplois - comment ca se fait que le Suede crée 3x le nombre d'emplois pour les memes metres cubes de bois utilises? On est dans une periode de transition. On a besoin des compagnies, qui sont les bienvenues, on devrait avoir des conditions pour recevoir ces compagnies vu qu'on recolte des profits sur nos terres. On a besoin d'un lieu pour reflechir et penser a notre avenir. On suggere une corporation ..sur le stumpage. Dans l'etat de Maine, les frais sont 30$ la corde tandis qu'ici les frais sont $13 la corde qui reviennent au gouvernment. Il faut tenir en tete que les terres de la Couronne dans les mains publiques - faut penser aux freres et soerrs aborigienes et leur part aussi. On devrait jouir de la jeunessse qui fait part des ces audiences. On pense que le plus des citoyens qui sont impliques dans le developpement de leurs communautes - le mieux que c'est - c'est le developpement economique durable. Les gens ont un appetit de se responsabiliser et c'est le temps qu'on le vise, investir dans nos propres communautes.

Blair Thurrot, S.E.N.B. Wood Marketing Board. - Woodlot owners have been managing their woodlots for all values, not just softwood pulp. One must remember that other woods bring more jobs, have a higher value. The people of NB cannot be held responsible for what is in the wood supply in 50 years. At present, there are 6 licensees for CL in NB - in 50 years there could be 3 or...Silviculture investment has gone down. Thinning and planting - we must thin but why plant when regeneration should begin in 2 years. Private wood owners should not have to compete against wood from Crown Lands, which costs less. Licensees get the majority of wood from Crown lands. Industry is stating that they need a guaranteed wood supply - industry has had 20 years to manage the Crown and now they want more control. Community forest operations could be managed locally and keep people working. We need industry but we must have a balanced use of Crown Lands. We need something that is acceptable to both sides, private woodlot owners and industry. Stumpage rates are unbalanced - industry pays much less in stumpage fees than private woodlot owners, keeping the price of private wood down. Pulp and paper is a huge business but we don't get the benefit of it, apart from the jobs available - other uses, manufacturing, adding value by making the products ourselves, would keep the money in the province, create more jobs and economic spinoffs here in NB.

Kevin Forgrave, Northumberland County Marketing Board and the Northumberland County woodlot owners association. Will talk about forest management in the future, responses about the J-P report, negative impacts and options on private woodlot owners and recommendations. Important to understand the ownership of forests -Crown lands are 50%, industrial private (freehold) are 30% and private woodlot are 25%. Increasing the productivity is supported by all in the industry, while having multiple uses of our forests - a wide range of many things from recreation to economics, we need to apply ecologically sound practices so that our forests will be here in the future. He is disappointed that we are hearing to plan for the long term - an analogy is being a parent...I invested in an education fund and should be he same for our forests and it is not there - the last point being that the owner is in control, ie, with regard to Crown Lands it means the government or the citizens are in control. Silviculture, absolutely, we need to increase silviculture. In 1982 the CL Act gave management of Crown land to industry with primary source of supply going to private woodlot owners - in 1992, the pss of withdrawn. We certainly need an improvement in security with our markets. With regard to the J-P report, we support increasing silviculture, but doubling plantations will increase herbicide use and have a negative impact on other industry, more susceptible to insect and disease and biodiversity and increases the potential to clearcut, which does have a place. Timber supply objective - we are concerned with where we might be going with this - the timber simply presently is maximizes, while meeting other objectives. Staffing levels at DNR - we think staff should be increases - industry should not be controlling Crown Lands, the owners should control it. A third party audit, hired by the company, is not acceptable. Recommendations: increase silviculture, bring back primary source of supply for private woodlot owners, no doubling of plantations, keep control of our forests. He thinks there is room for community forestry.

Stan Knowles - here to state how the industry is important to small business. Forestry sector accounts for the industry he is in, for him to continue to invest and grow, wood supply has to be addressed. A better wood supply is necessary. We have no access to natural gas therefore putting off investors from big industry, mining is disappearing. Our best resource needs to be managed to suit everyone's expectations.

John Henry Paul, representing the Red Bank Mi'maq Nation. He has studied to be a forest ranger and is a woods worker. He began by saying we, the Mi'maq, are very concerned with the condition of our forests -if industry wants pine, they plant pine, if they want spruce, they plant spruce. We lived for thousands of years on this continent without depleting the forest - when we are told we need this company but the forest is being depleted. In 6 weeks travelling around the area, things aren't good. He works in the woods, and makes him travel costing about $200 a week when he requests to work in a closer region, their response is it is not in a management plan. He sees clearcuts, DNR won't let them select cut! DNR says it has to be clearcut because it will all be replanted. He has seen cloning of trees in Kingsclear and they are planting these seedlings. Have we thought about what these will do to the animals, to other trees and plants, insects etc in the forest. People make a couple of hundred dollars a day, planting trees - a bit of change to a company. He has travelled around, cleaned right off around St. Quentin, clearcut. Down south, a nice-looking forest but all of jack pine. Beyond the beauty strip, down a road, nothing but clearcut. What has happened to all the various types of trees, where are the animals living - they have been corralled to the buffer zones along the highway or along the rivers. He has seen small operators be fined $1000, a huge fine, while a company get a very small fine in comparison. There are jobs for poorly-paid tree planters, few jobs for people working on machinery, much better paid job. Our First Nations group get an allowable cut of 5000 cords a year, with 85 cutters - this is not enough to sustain us - it's enough to provide for unemployment. We are in competition with the company - lands right beside the First Nations which is not being cut - the First Nations asked to cut the pine, but they don't cut it, it is not in their management plan. Either it gets left or the company hires someone else to cut it - for spite -. We see poplar being cut and sent to Houlton Maine - where Weyerhauser wants poplar and can't get enough, but won't pay for it. The forest has survived all these millions of years without interference.

Jean-Guy Comeau - Chairman of the Community Forestry Committee - he has participated and travelled around NB, involved in the promotion of community forestry. Referred to J-P report, talking about public participation, but it seems to be assuming that everything in the forests of NB is OK. He showed a part of the film A Public trust, showing that all is not well with the state of the forests. 6 multinationals hold all the licenses to Crown Lands, 2 of these, Irving and UPM Kymene, have the management of two thirds of Crown Lands in their hands. There are problems out there and there are other possibilities, such as community forestry. He just attended a conference in Quebec and the only way out is for people to take back control of their forests. Community forestry contributes to local economic stability, to the local wealth, money remains in the locality, increasing potential to add value to wood products. When you are able to provide for yourself and your community, this means you are less dependent on the government for social services. True incentives exist to maintain ecosystems. Community management, there is a growing public demand to participate in the decision making process. In Germany, for example, in 1833, community forestry began, to begin restoring the forest, using community forestry. Selective cut is used everywhere, only one hectare, 100m by 100, is the maximum clearcut, if you did more, you would go to jail. Community forestry is happening all over the world, even in Canada. But, we have to have the backing of the government - in Germany, the people decide what the future of their forest will be. People make a good living being a woods worker and this profession is completely accepted, well-respected. There are alternatives to the way we are doing forestry in NB. The advantages of community forestry are that decisions are made by the community. We see a photo of 3 communities surrounded by Crown Lands - the wood has all been harvested, with mechanical harvesters, while people in the community - one fellow who has to travel 60 miles, despite that harvesting is going on right beside him. Money would stay in the community, his expenses for travel are still in his pocket. Right now, we are clearcutting up to 250 acres. Shows a slide where women are working for themselves and their families and their communities and they are happy, rather than planting the seed of unemployment, the seed of poverty when we allow others to run our lives for their own profit. We still need the corporation, but we cannot give it all to them but we have to take control of our resource, we want a sharing of the resource, participation in decision-making. We have community forestry in Quebec, Ontario and BC already but it will never succeed if industry participates in the decision-making too. An appropriate size of forest begins with a management plan and perhaps 500-1500 acres. You must also prove that you have the skills, a management plan for 25 years - and this forest also has hiking trails, tours which also adds great value. The wood harvested and the designation would go to the same place, with mechanisms for fair prices. (Applause)

Christopher Ridley-Thomas, Vice-President, KPMG.
Mr. Ridley-Thomas conducts Forest Certification audits for 3 different standards, and does all the work for JD Irving in Maine and the Maritimes. They do development of regulatory programs for forestry and also assesses continual improvement and management structures to improve these areas overtime. 
Benefits are to be able to share this information - potential for reducing the overlap for certification and auditing.  ISO 14000 certification has shown continual improvement framework which can benefit DRN as well.  Adoption of strong risk management framework on the ground will ensure that other values of the forest are there too. Mr. Paulin asked if any industry flunked when he was doing an audit. Yes was the answer but we don't hear about it - though it does give companies a baseline from which to improve their operations. They have audited community forests and all the ones he has seen have used mechanical harvesting equipment - there is a range of practices on these woodlots too.

Ken Hornibrook, President, North Shore Forest Products Marketing Board, Director of District 6. They agree in principle with growing more wood on Crown Land , following proper harvesting, and only select cutting. Private land should also be treated the same way. Harvesting should also be done in protected areas so that no wood be wasted. Primary source of supply should be implemented as soon as possible. The present situation of overcutting is a result of a free-for-all benefiting companies which can dictate the price. Good management practices are essential. A great volume of the wood reserves have been cut in the past ten years.  Boards need more power for regulation, they need checks and balance - need a legislative bill to register and license contractors, and depending on the annual allowable cut, allocate fairly to contactors a portion of the wood supply. The Board has purchased a tree nursery in Madran which has created 30 jobs and has provided tremendous educational value for local school children and workers. They support a change to the provincial system to take away all assets from seniors who have to go to nursing homes- which take away homes, and woodlots - this present policy causes liquidation of assets and these fall into the wrong hands - and results in seniors living in poverty - this policy would help maintain productive woodlots. The Board recommends doubling the amount of silviculture funding, enhancing Mother Nature where we can (and replant a mixed forest where there is no regeneration) and restoring primary source of supply to private woodlot owners.