Day Two
Saint John 
November 19, 2003 

The day started off with an appearance by the Raging Grannies who sang a very special version of the Teddy Bear's Picnic song.

Raging Grannies sing When You Go Down to the Woods Today
You'll be in for a Big Surprise

Inside Sharon Flatt from Saint John started off the presentations with a screening of the video, New Brunswick's Crown Lands: A Public Trust. In her brief she called for the creation of new licence types for Crown lands which would allow communities and woodlot owners to manage areas of public forest. She also made a strong pitch for making the protection of ecological integrity the overriding goal for Crown lands management.

Jamie Simpson a forester based in Charlotte County called the Jaakko Poyry Report an extremely radical document, which would have New Brunswick entrench an out-dated, oversimplified mode of forest management that promotes low-value fibre production at the expense of the wide range of forest values that comprise the public forests. He concluded by saying that we are facing a critical time in the forest industry, but that whatever we do, people, communities and forests of this province must be our first priority.

The Conservation Council's David Coon spoke about the public trust nature of the Crown lands and how the law requires that they be managed to provide public benefits in ways that do not undermine their inherent value while honouring aboriginal and treaty rights. He suggested that if the Jaakko Poyry recommendations were implemented it would be a betrayal of the public trust. The big forestry companies would have far more control over what happens on Crown lands while the government, which holds these lands in trust, would have much less ability to manage the for public benefit. He recommended that Standing Committee on Crown Lands be established by the Legislative Assembly to be the permanent link between the public and decisions about the future of Crown lands.

J.D. Irving himself spoke about a variety of initiatives his company has undertaken, and said they were 100% committed to environmental sustainability and social responsibility. He pointed out that the benefits of doubling the annual allowable cut in 60 years would be a doubling of the manufacturing base in New Brunswick. He felt that the area of Crown lands which now must be managed for multiple uses such as providing wildlife habitat and protecting streams caused their annual allowable cut to decrease and suggested too much area is being managed this way. Mr. Irving said the short-term benefit of doubling the area in plantations would be a stimulus for investment in the processing sector. Mr. Irving said whatever happens we can't do anything and called on critics to present their plans. If there are viable alternatives to what they are proposing for Crown lands that are based on science and provide the same benefits the critics should bring them forward. In response to questions from the Select Committee Mr. Irving said that working in the woods with chainsaws is passé and New Brunswickers need to accept that future increases in jobs will come from value-added processing.

J.D. Irving speaks to the Select Committee

David MacLean the Dean of Forestry at UNB Raised concerns about whether doubling of the annual allowable cut is the appropriate objectives. He called for the creation of a Forest Advisory Board for the Minister of Natural Resources which would include representatives from the industry, academia and NGOs. He said we need stronger standards for biodiversity and habitat conservation, urged government to get on with negotiation access to Crown land resources for First Nations. Prof. MacLean urged the government to develop a greater variety of possible scenarios for the future of Crown lands than the single one presented in the Jaakko Poyry Report, which he believed would take 1-2 years to complete. He called for more attention to be paid to the quality and value of what grows on Crown lands, rather than just focusing on increasing the volume of growth. His overall message was that we should not rush into the major changes recommended by Jaakko Poyry given the significance of the change it would mean for the future of our Crown lands.

David Thompson, Fundy Baykeeper, insisted that the public forest be given back to the people of NB. He also recommended that, given the surplus of used newspaper, cardboard and white paper, that government oblige pulp mills to include a big percentage of recycled material as a component in paper production.

James McCrea, President of the Southern NB Wood Co-operative, Sussex, stated that the intensive farming of trees and fiber harvesting proposed by the Jaakko-Poyry report has the potential to negatively impact private woodlot owners, that it scares woodlot owners and that Crown Land is in fact their biggest competitor and limits the volumes, prices and delivery schedules they receive from forestry companies. Expansions of large corporations have seen small mills eaten up. He recommended first that the Crown lands a reintroduction of woodlot owners being a primary source of supply, that silviculture funding be increased and matched for both Crown land and private woodlot owners, that the government promote multiple use management of Crown Land - promoting natural regeneration and hardwood management, ensure profits from forest management on Crown Land benefit all NBers through monitoring by DNR that is effective and real and immediate penalties for non-conformance.

Alan Anderson, President of Rocan Forestry Service Ltd, Dieppe gave a presentation on the his company which manufacture of harvesting and silviculture equipment.

Blake Brunsdon, Chief Forester for JD Irving, presented on their behalf. They believe the Jaakko-Poyry report is the best way to go.    [Blake Brunsdon - Statement, pdf]

Stephen Chase appeared for the Atlantic Salmon Federation, based in St. Andrews. ASF recommends that stewardship and management of the forest be done in accordance with a precautionary approach that ensures the conservation of native fish populations. They also recommend that conservation organizations participate in decisions respecting research and development plans and priorities, that NB continue to protect the integrity of watercourses with buffer zones of alt least 30 to 150 metres, depending on the characteristics (floodplain, slope) of the watercourse.
ASF further recommended accountability for harvesters on Crown Land - that terms and conditions of harvest licenses be available to the public annually, that results of environmental audit reports be available, that plans be maintained to implement a forest certification program. Finally, the Atlantic Salmon Federation recommended that DNR review options to provide more effective involvement of non-government organizations in the overseeing and management of NB forests and their watersheds!

David Palmer, general manager of YSC (York, Sunbury and Charlotte) Forest Products Marketing Board, stated that though he is not opposed to marrying farming and forestry, he would want to have a well laid out business case to do so. Mr. Palmer posed a series of hard questions - how would it work - presently government spends $25 million on silviculture on Crown Lands - where would money come from. Forestry companies have offered to pay silviculture costs provided the trees become theirs. He gave figures for medium sized mills and stated that right now, during tough times, some mills are having difficulty with cash flow - let alone investing in silviculture on their allocation - and that spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on silviculture on Crown land will not save a single mill in this province - in fact it coud drive more out of business. Noting the lack of detail in the Jaakko-Poyry report, Mr. Palmer finished with a long series of 'what happens if' questions.

At this time, Jim Irving returned to the public hearing - called a "command performance" by the chair of the Select committee. Mr. Irving, accompanied by Blake Brunsdon, sat and answered questions by members of the Select Committee for 30 minutes.

Steven Jones appeared for Local 30 of the Communications, Energy and Papermakers Union. He stated that his people were dependent on forestry to make a good living, with good wages. The taxes and economic spin off of these jobs benefits the community. The CEP contributes to the community on a volunteer basis too. He stated there was a big distinction between private and public mills - that shareholders have no interest in longterm jobs - just in taking the profits and doing absolute minimum in replanting - that he has been to the Miramichi and Bathurst and doesn't see an tree being planted up there. He finished by stating that companies who are not properly replanting shouldn't be allowed to come here.

Raging Grannies