Tag Archives: Ontario

The Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) in northwestern Ontario is a unique freshwater research station that encompasses 58 lakes.  The ELA was set up in 1968 for governments and researchers to study the causes and control of eutrophication and other types of water pollution.  This area in northwestern Ontario was a natural choice since the area was relatively unaffected by human influences and industrial activities.

Over the past four decades, research conducted at the ELA has provided the scientific evidence-base on the environmental effects of acid rain, phosphorous and other pollutants that has informed policy within Canada and around the world.

Last spring the federal government decided to cut funding for research and operations of the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) in northwestern Ontario and began tearing down the facilities.  The estimated cost savings was $2 million annually.

There was a collective gasp in the science community, both nationally and internationally, with the news of the imminent loss of the facility.

Today the province of Ontario, in conjunction with the Government of Manitoba and other partners have decided to keep the Experimental Lakes Area operation in 2013 and will ensure sustained longer-term operations.

Ontario will provide the operating support and will work toward an agreement with the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and other partners so that the important science conducted in the ELA can continue.

The Premier of Ontario, Kathleen Wynne, said, “We have had many conversations with members of the public and our scientific and academic communities who want to see the Experimental Lakes Area stay open. Investing in science and research to help us understand and prevent pollution is a wise investment for the people of Ontario.”

Visit the Experimental Lakes Area website: http://www.experimentallakesarea.ca

There is a proposed World Heritage site in northwestern Ontario and eastern Manitoba named Pimachiowin Aki.

Indigenous people have been managing the land and forests in this area for thousands of years. Pimachiowin Aki means “the land that gives life” in the Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) language.

The proposed World Heritage site is 33,400 km² and includes the traditional territories of five First Nation communities:

• Pikangikum
• Little Grand Rapids
• Pauingassi
• Poplar River
• Bloodvein

Ontario and Manitoba have entered into a unique Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to support First Nations-led efforts to protect and manage the proposed Pimachiowin Aki UNESCO World Heritage site and surrounding natural resources.

The Pimachiowin Aki World Heritage Project is a collaboration of five First Nations and two provincial governments committed to securing world heritage status for the largest protected-area network in the North American boreal shield.

In early 2012, Parks Canada officially submitted a world heritage site nomination package to UNESCO on behalf of Ontario, Manitoba and the five First Nation partners.

To strengthen this application, the recently-signed MOU has been submitted to the World Heritage Committee’s Advisory bodies prior to their making final recommendations. A decision from UNESCO on the Pimachiowin Aki site is expected to be made by summer 2013.

If successful, Pimachiowin Aki would be Canada’s first UNESCO World Heritage site, recognized for its outstanding universal value based on both natural and cultural criteria. Only a handful of such mixed sites have been inscribed worldwide.

Working collaboratively with provincial and First Nation partners is part of the Ontario government’s plan to protect the boreal forest and Ontario’s Far North, and the Manitoba government’s plan to protect the boreal forest on east side of Lake Winnipeg.

Visit the Pimachiowin Aki website - http://www.pimachiowinaki.org

The Government of Ontario has won their appeal over the Grassy Narrows First Nation traditional territory.

The Ontario Court of Appeal released their decision today ruling that the province has the authority to issue logging permits on all public lands and forests in the province, including First Nations’ traditional lands.

This ruling overturns the 2011 Superior Court decision that sided with Grassy Narrows.

Grassy Narrows First Nation will decide soon if they will appeal the case to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Background

On October 3, 1873, the Saulteaux Tribe of the Ojibway Indians entered into Treaty 3 whereby the Ojibway surrendered their interest in the lands in exchange for reserves, payments, and other benefits.  A harvesting clause was included in the treaty that says the Ojibway retain the right “to pursue their avocations of hunting and fishing throughout the tract surrendered” except on tracts “required or taken up for settlement, mining, lumbering or other purposes by [the] Government of the Dominion of Canada”.

In 1997, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR) issued a sustainable forest license to Abitibi Consolidated to clearcut parts of the Whiskey Jack Forest, which falls within the Keewatin portion of the Treaty 3 territory.

In 2000, Grassy Narrows applied for judicial review to set aside all licences, permits, management plans, and work schedules that Ontario had granted to Abitibi, alleging that the forestry operations were in violation of the Treaty 3 harvesting clause.

Abitibi Consolidated, now Resolute Forest Products, surrendered its Whiskey Jack forestry license in 2009.

Read more:
Read the decision from the Ontario Court of Appeal
Logging permits can be issued on First Nations land: court (CBC)

Ontario has appointed Daryl Skworchinski as chair of the province’s Nawiinginokiima Forest Management Corporation (NFMC).

In addition, Grant Goodwin, Donald Fry, Raymond Boudreau, Tina Forsyth, and Gaétan Malette have been appointed to its board of directors.

NFMC is Ontario’s first local forest management corporation.  The NFMC will administer and oversee the sale of timber along the northeast shore of Lake Superior, and will manage four forest management units – Nagagami Forest, White River Forest, Big Pic Forest, and the Pic River Forest.

With this new model, Ontario feels the local timber supply will be better aligned with market demand and it will also be easier for entrepreneurs, First Nations and local communities to participate in the forestry industry.

Source: Government of Ontario

Lecours Lumber Company Ltd. and the Constance Lake First Nation have reached tentative agreements on the terms and conditions for a new land lease for the Lecours mill and related provisions on employment and business opportunities for the First Nation members.

These agreements give Lecours Lumber a greater sense of security.  In October 2012, the company announced it would have to permanently close after being unable to reach a successful land lease agreement with the Constance Lake First Nation.  The sawmill and lumber mill sit on land that is held in trust by the Crown for the Constance Lake First Nation.

The tentative agreements were reached with the help of a mediator.  Details of the agreements reached will not be available until both sides give a formal and final approval, expected by the end of March.

Read more from The Kapuskasing Times:
Agreement in principle

The province of Ontario is working with 3 communities to keep visitor services at the provincial parks in their areas.

The 3 communities and their parks are:

• Town of Hearst - Fushimi Lake
• Township of Moonbeam - René Brunelle
• City of Timmins - Ivanhoe Lake

Under a 2 year pilot project, Ontario Parks will work with the communities with the goal of increasing their revenue and visitation rates. Municipal partners will be responsible for covering any financial losses incurred during the pilot period.

In September 2012, the province announced it was changing these parks from operating to non-operating designation along with seven others because of low visitation and occupancy levels that resulted in financial losses.

There are more than 330 provincial parks in Ontario, over 100 of which will continue as operating parks that provide various visitor services.

Source: Province of Ontario

The State of Ontario’s Forests Report summarizes how Ontario’s forest is managed for ecological sustainability.

The Ministry of Natural Resource’s (MNR) mandate is to manage our natural resources in an ecologically sustainable way and to ensure that these resources are available for the enjoyment and use of future generations. In support of this mandate, the MNR reports comprehensively on the state of Ontario’s forest resources every 5 years.

This is Ontario’s third State of the Forest Report. The reporting period for the report is April 2004 to March 2009.

This legally mandated report describes Ontario’s forests and forest management, based on a criteria and indicators framework for sustainable forestry. Criteria reflect provincial forest sustainability goals and are designed to reflect public values and desired long-term outcomes for Ontario’s forests. Indicators are specific measures used to assess progress towards the achievement of forest sustainability goals and objectives.

The latest State of Ontario’s Forests report is comprised of a feature report and a supporting Criteria & Indicators interactive PDF. The feature report focuses on specific themes (state of the forest sector, biodiversity, forest health, and climate change) and provides a high-level summary of the Criteria & Indicators framework. The Criteria & Indicators interactive PDF provides detailed information about the Criteria & Indicators framework and will be updated periodically to provide new information prior to the release of the next State of Ontario’s Forests report.

Read the report:

• State of Ontario’s Forests (feature report) (PDF, 8.0MB 73 pages)
• Criteria & indicators interactive PDF

Read previous reports:

• State of the Ontario’s Forests – 2006
• State of the Ontario’s Forests - 2001
• State of the Ontario’s Forests - 2001 (Summary)

Ontario intends to extend and revise the Northern Industrial Electricity Rate (NIER) program for three years to support continued growth and development in northern resource and manufacturing sectors.

The Northern Industrial Electricity Rate program is available to facilities that consume 50,000 megawatt hours of electricity per year, and can reduce industrial electricity prices up to 25%. Participants are required to develop and implement an energy management plan to manage their energy usage and reduce costs.

Current NIER participants could continue to receive a rebate of two cents per kilowatt-hour, up to a maximum of 2011-12 eligible consumption levels, or $20 million per year – whichever is lower.

The extension of the NIER program for $120 million per year over three years is subject to annual program funding approval. Current NIER participants would be subject to revised program rules and amended program agreements.

Tembec acknowledges and applauds the commitment of this Government to sustain the resource sector, employees and communities in the region.

Tembec President and Chief Executive Officer James Lopez stated that, “partnering with the Government is helping to create an economic environment that is more favourable for our renewable resource industry, and enables forest products companies like ours to look ahead with greater confidence. In a period where controlling energy costs is essential to remaining competitive, we need to keep working together to ensure continued industrial development and to sustain jobs in Northern Ontario.”

Roger Barber, Resolute Forest Products‘ general manager of forestry and fibre resources in Thunder Bay, applauded the decision. “It’s pretty hard to overstate how important this program is to our industry,” he said, estimating one-third of papermaking costs are devoted to energy consumption.

Read more:
Extending Support for Northern Industry (Government of Ontario)
Tembec applauds Ontario Government’s support for Northern Industrial Development (Tembec press release)
Energy rate program extension welcomed news for Resolute (TbNewsWatch)

Ontario has released a new plan aimed at protecting biodiversity to protect the province’s  forests, lakes, animals, plants, and citizens.

The plan lists 100 activities the province will undertake with industry, environmental, and community partners over the next decade to protect diversity.

As part of the province’s biodiversity protection plan, Ontario has partnered with Trees Ontario to plant 50 million trees across southern Ontario to help clean the air.

Read the Plan: Biodiversity: It’s in Our Nature

CBC News updated the investigation into the 2,4,5-T investigation in Ontario today.

Early in 2011, it came to light that the herbicide 2,4,5-T, one of the components of Agent Orange, was used regularly in the province, and the exposure could have dire health consequences for those exposed.

The government of Ontario formed a committee in March 2011 to investigate people’s exposure to the herbicide Agent Orange (2,4,5-T) in the 1950′s through to the 1970′s. People who think they were been exposed to the herbicide were encouraged to call a toll free hotline set up by the provincial government to register their information.

The CBC talked to Ken Graham, who worked for the Ministry of Transportation and sprayed the chemical to control brush in Cochrane District. Graham is eager to know if he should be worried about health implications due to his exposure.

Graham said when he was the forestry foreman, they used 2,4,5-T to control brush along right-of-ways and he was trained that the herbicide was so safe that they “could literally drink it”.  Because they were told it was safe, Graham said there were no safety precautions taken. He said “Everybody should have been wearing full coveralls and respirators and the works. We never wore any of that kind of stuff. Our hands were bare.”

Graham said the workers who sprayed 2,4,5-T would regularly have their hands soaked when they broke to eat lunch, and at the end of their shifts.

Agent Orange exposure is known now to cause skin disorders, liver problems, and cancer.  Are those risks consistent with the formulations of 2,4,5-T sprayed in Ontario?

Dr. Leonard Ritter from the University of Guelph was appointed by the provincial government to chair an independent fact-finding panel. He told the CBC there are so many records to shift through, about 4,500, that no answers are yet available.

Many of the records Ritter has includes spray records of when and where employers and government departments sprayed 2,4,5-T.

Ritter said the chemical was the most popular herbicide of its time and was used extensively not just in Ontario and Canada but also throughout the world.

The panel’s responsibilities include:

• Investigating and documenting the scope and scale of the use of 2,4,5-T herbicide in the province by Ontario government ministries and agencies, including those acting as agents or as contractors
• Determining the specific time period when 2,4,5-T herbicide was used in the province by Ontario government ministries and agencies
• Determining the geographic area where 2,4,5-T herbicide was used in the province by Ontario government ministries and agencies
• Examining whether exposure to 2,4,5-T herbicide in the affected areas may have potential health impacts
• Documenting the methods 2,4,5-T herbicide was deployed by employees of provincial ministries and agencies, and the interaction of those employees and the general public with 2,4,5-T herbicide application operations in affected areas
• Reviewing the preparation, application and storage of 2,4,5-T herbicide as well as provincial occupational health and safety, and laws, standards and workplace practices including the use of personal protection equipment and applicable training
• Referring, where appropriate, to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board any findings that could assist its work.

The final report will be submitted to the Minister of Natural Resources and released to the public in its entirety. There is no timeline set for the panel or for the release of the report.

Read more:
Forestry worker worries over chemical exposure (CBC)

Listen to the audio of the CBC Interview with Ken Graham and Dr. Leonard Ritter