Forest industry faces challenges

Dear editor:
As made clear by recent events and publicity, there are challenges facing the forestry industry in Northern Ontario.
As minister of natural resources, I am aware of the problems that must be tackled, and I am committed to working with the industry and all other interested parties to find solutions.
That’s why I set up the Council on Forest Sector Competitiveness last November. That’s why its 17-members, representing all facets of the north, have been asked to provide me with recommendations on how the industry’s economic health and future can be secured.
The efforts to seek solutions are on-going. Just last month, senior ministry officials met with industry leaders in a hardwood summit to discuss the wood supply situation.
The way forward will not be easy, but a collaborative effort on finding solutions is the only way ahead. We need everyone on the same page.
It is my hope and belief that the council will be able to offer recommendations that will enable us to move forward, but, if it is felt that additional resources may be required, some form of independent review may be needed.
What is not in question is that the next 10 years will be particularly challenging. Everyone agrees that during this time there will be a 10 percent decline in available wood fibre.
We are not alone in facing this shortfall. It is happening in Quebec, only the decline there will be 20 percent. At the same time, everyone also realizes that in the following 10 years, the availability of wood fibre will increase.
In the early 1990s, the ministry ran the forestry sector. During the years of the last Conservative government, the responsibilities were handed back to the industry.
I believe we need to find a middle ground—one in which the ministry and industry works together to safeguard and secure the economic future of forestry in Northern Ontario.
There are various issues coming to my attention, such as allocations of wood not being fully harvested and business plans that, though approved, have not been fully adhered to.
As such matters arise, they will need to be addressed on a case by case basis.
What is clear is that mudslinging, finger-pointing, and rhetoric will not help. Co-operation will.
It is true that we do not have specific answers at this time. There are long-term systemic problems to be managed. But let me assure you that as minister, I am committed, along with my staff, to being part of that collaborative process and at the end of the day, my vision is of a diverse, healthy forestry sector.
A sector that includes Ontario-born companies, multi-nationals, public and private producers—a sector across Northern Ontario in which different companies produce different products.
Sincerely,
Hon. David Ramsay