Day One
Petitcodiac 
November 18, 2003 

Marc-André Villard, PhD, Canada Chair in Landscape Conservation, University of Moncton, Ecological Implications of increasing the wood supply from New Brunswick’s public forests: the need for a broader vision. 

Dr. Villard described how the Jaakko Poyry report paid insufficient attention to ecological issues. He made specific recommendations for forest management to better conserve biodiversity based on his field research, and asserted that the volume of softwood growing on Crown land could not be doubled without undermining the biological diversity of our public forests. 

La sylviculture intensive entraîne une diminution de la densité de chicots et de bois mort au sol, ce qui peut avoir des
conséquences fâcheuses non seulement pour les animaux et plantes qui dépendent du bois mort, mais aussi pour les processus écologiques assurés par ces espèces. Un de ces processus est le recyclage des éléments nutritifs, qui est à la base de la productivité forestière elle-même! La recherche sur cette question ne donne pas encore toutes les réponses, mais en ignorant cette possibilité, nous prenons un risque très réel que le rapport ne mentionne nulle part.

Rick Murray, a woodlot owner and logging contractor (E.A. Murray Logging Ltd.) called for the Department of Natural Resources to reassert control over the management of Crown lands and eliminate the involvement of the big forestry companies in the management of the public forest. He recommended that the opportunity to work on Crown land be auctioned off to the highest bidder, so that logging would be done by independent contractors working for themselves. This would create more employment in the woods according to Mr. Murray and earn more royalties for New Brunswickers. He took the position that the volume of softwood on Crown land should be doubled, that this would have an impact on the environment, but would be an acceptable tradeoff if there are sufficient protected areas. 

Mary Ann Coleman from Waterford spoke about the need for the MLAs on the Select Committee holding the public meetings to seek out expertise outside of the hearings who could speak independently if there were gaps in the input they received. She noted that she was aware of three non-profit organizations who decided not to appear at the hearings following phone-calls from industry representatives who support the recommendations of the Jaakko Poyry Report. Ms. Coleman called for the development of a progressive industrial forestry strategy. She recommended that the government draft a white paper on the future of Crown lands and take it out to public consultation. She also highlighted the need for alternate tenure systems and to address aboriginal and treaty rights in the context of changing Crown lands management. 

Sussex’s Deputy Mayor Gary Armstrong spoke about the need for jobs in his community from the existing mills, so whatever needs to be done to secure those jobs should be done, he said, but in a way that is sustainable for the long-term. 

Harold Crabbe, of SWP Industries, St. Stephen - suggested it was essential that the province look at opportunities to increase the wood supply (SWP makes value added cedar products) and that wood-based industries need opportunity to share in the increased volume of wood from Crown Lands.

Eugene Gould, general manager of Lakeburn Lumber, Dieppe, a medium-sized sawmill and planning mill facility, part of which has been closed since July 2002 due to efforts to modernize and declining market conditions. Mr. Gould believes
this is the wave of the future of sawmills unless there is an effort made toward an increased wood supply in the province.

Matthew Sheridan-Jonah, from the Tantramar Environmental Alliance, said by taking a look at the Jaakko-Poyry website under the forecasts for wood supply demand and future mill investment, it is clear that NB's model of industrial forestry economic development is not sustainable. The force of globalization means new investments are being made in countries such as China and Brazil. We should change…we need to see past the 6 multinational companies to solutions based in
small scale harvesting which employ people, solutions based in community forestry. (First applause of the day as he finished).

Marc Spence, private woodlot owner, member of SE Wood Marketing Board, stated he worked for one main reason: to see good stewardship of the forest, striving to restore high value and high conservation value for wildlife. He sees no future in tree plantations. He suggested that the government needs to find the courage (guts) to reallocate tenure of some areas of Crown lands, citing the example of Vernon BC where public lands were turned over to 1000 small managers and over a 15 year period, increased the revenue from these lands threefold compared to big company management. We need to begin moving in a new direction, need to balance the systems out. (Applause followed this presentation).

Carmen MacArthur, a first year student from Mt. Allison, held up a flute, made of maple, to show a possibility of value-added wood products. She suggested that implementing the J-P report could be devastating to the ecology of the province
and that this would cement more corporate control of the province.

Sean Blaney, an experienced Botanist, who has worked for JD Irving, Bowater, and other big forestry companies, stated that the Jaakko-Poyry report is a very onesided view of NB forestry, overstating potential benefits and understating the costs
of recommended course of action (which suggests that we can get more economic value out of our forests at "minimal" cost…ecologically). Reading carefully, the report indicates that there will be no significant difference in wood supply until 2048…not double, but...only 1.5 times. It will take a long time for the recommendations to have any effect on the wood supply. To create plantations requires a lot of money…with public money - a huge gamble for the people of NB. The report says spending on silviculture would have to increase from an average of $26 million annually to about $38 million a year…for the next 65 years (to maturity of the plantations) NB would spend $800 million in public money to convert our diverse natural systems to plantations.
Mr. Blaney concluded touching on 4 additional (worrisome) recommendations:
1) currently, on Crown Lands, we meet environmental obligations first and the take allowable cuts out of the remainder, something we should be proud of. Setting
binding targets would tie our hands…
2) Increased harvesting on lands currently under some level of protection…one of these is the watercourse buffer, which is incredibly important for protecting water quality, fish and other aquatic life and non-aquatic biodiversity as well.
3) The report suggests Dept of Natural Resources is overstaffed…not so…NB having 4x fewer staff than Nova Scotia and 2x fewer than Finland!
4) We can't let a forest company declare an area protected and then decide it needs the wood and have the area cut.

Jesse McNichol, from Mt. Alison University, read a letter written by Amy Anderson who could not be present which referred to the J-P report as an "invitation to disaster" and that the "suggestion of genetically modified forest is
even more reckless".

Yonatan Strauch, from Mt. Allison, recounted that he and a group of friends discussed the relationship between the wood supply problem and the youth supply problem in NB on several levels. The first layer is one of disenfranchisement which is apathy - nobody knows what happens on Crown Lands. A deeper layer is that young people have a distrust of their elders…good reason to be suspicious. He would rather see (this committee) looking at how we can support more jobs…keeping in mind that young people want to stay here. One friend said that "forests are the soul of this province", another stated "I don't know whether you are willing to look at the young people and say there are opportunities for you".

Toby Couture stated that our objective should not to fill the pockets of the wealthy but to get people actually working on the land.

Kyla Dowden composed and sang, beautifully: The Jack Pine - “and now along her shores, rock plates, nothing grows, and the mountains float behind.”

Robert Fawcett, owner of Fawcett's Lumber Mill in Petitcodiac, suggested that "what you are going to hear today will shock you…industry is bleeding to death…that the sawmill industry is a victim to dwindling wood supply". He described the several million dollar investment in modernizing the mill and making
it more efficient then described the recent downturn in the industry. Doubling the wood yield was the answer to this "horrific downslide in our industry (which) lies in your hands."

Judy Stark, teacher in Petitcodiac for many years, stated that Robert Fawcett has asked her to make a presentation. She described the "teacher tour" and the regal treatment by forestry companies hosting the week long event in Nova Scotia as "impressive".

Barb Wasson, teacher in Salisbury, was also asked by Mr. Fawcett to give a presentation to the committee. She was impressed by the work done by the forest industry and their sensitivity to the environment.

Daniel LeBlanc, from the Petitcodiac Riverkeeper, saw the J-P report as a troubling situation, seeing a crisis in wood supply looming. In 10 years, the increase in protected areas in NB had gone from 1.3 to 4.2%. There are huge implications of this one option. This is not fair to our children. He recommended
an Environmental Impact Assessment be done on the recommendations.

Melissa MacMullin and Jérémie Breau, students from Mathieu Martin High School in Dieppe, were the last presenters. Melissa said she felt, at the age of 16, that she had to speak for the youth and that she had a categorical NO to the J-P
report, No to cutting in buffer zones, No to industrial tree plantations. - She added that youth want more than a memory of the forest. Jérémie said they wanted help with what is going on on Crown lands, that profits should be staying in the province for the benefit of NBers, that the forests belong
to all of us.  He requested that a committee of youth be formed in order to have a voice. Youth wants to be more informed by government (without being manipulated) and to partake in decision-making.