PEMBROKE — Cheryl Gallant, MP Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke, welcomed the announcement by Canada’s Conservative Natural Resources Minister that environmental campaigns that target Canadian forestry practices are mis-leading, false, and will be challenged.
“All Canadians who rely on the working forest for their jobs need to be concerned,” stated Cheryl Gallant, MP. “I have challenged the groups behind these campaigns to tell Canadians where they receive their funding by introducing Bill C-618, An Act to Amend the Lobbying Act (reporting obligations), (to be read as the Foreign Lobbying Transparency Act).”
“Millions of dollars are now being spent on false advertising and in social media. Many of these groups could not exist without foreign funding. The danger to jobs, democracy and Canadian values is real. Renfrew County, with over 5,000 locally employed workers in the forestry industry, has a higher percentage of employers in the forestry and logging sector than in the rest of the Province of Ontario,” stated Cheryl Gallant, MP. “The Upper Ottawa Valley is more vulnerable to job loss every time one of the mis-information campaigns hits the media. The decision by the Opposition in Ottawa to depend on environmental extremists for policy jeopardizes every forestry job.”
Canada’s forest sector directly employs over 216,000 workers in all regions of the country and more than 47,700 in Ontario.
Canada’s forest industry is an environmental leader, with stringent regulatory frameworks, science-based ecosystem management, robust community engagement and substantial efforts in conservation and protected areas. Less than 0.5 percent of Canada’s forests are harvested annually to manufacture products for the domestic and international markets, and all forests harvested on public lands must be regenerated.
Canada’s forestlands include over 160 million hectares of forestland certified by third parties as being sustainably managed – 43 percent of the world’s certified forests, more than any other country in the world. In 2013, the value of Canada’s forest product exports increased by 13.1 percent from 2012 levels – rising to $28.4 billion from $25.1 billion – and production levels were higher across all market segments.
Government Declaration on Forest Innovation
“Canada’s history, and an important part of our future, depends on our forests. They are a large part of our recreational, cultural and spiritual pursuits. They purify water, stabilize soil, cycle nutrients, moderate climate and store carbon. They sustain wildlife and nurture a rich biological diversity. And, they sustain the livelihoods of more than two hundred thousand individuals. Our forest industry, and the men and women that comprise it, represent a critical piece of this country’s social fabric. Canada was built on the forest sector, and through responsible and innovative management, our forests and our forest sector will continue to generate prosperity for Canadians into the future.”
