The Ontario Forest Industries Association (OFIA) has come out swinging against Queen's Park for declaring parts of Algonquin Park off-limits to logging.
The group said the government's recommendations in a report ignored concerns expressed by forest companies and communities during the past two years and show “a complete disregard” for families and local economies.
The group is upset with the Ministry of Natural Resources's (MNR) plan to increase the park's protected zones by 98,000 ha and plans to introduce best management practices to minimize the impact of roads and other forestry operations.
OFIA said despite the government's assertion that the impact on the forest sector and rural communities will be minimal, 196 forestry jobs will be lost.
MNR plans to pursue a management plan amendment that will include public feedback. No dates for additional consultation with stakeholders were released.
Forestry operations within the park are regulated by the Algonquin Forestry Authority.
OFIA claims the forest authority, which co-authored a provincial report to reduce logging's environmental impact in Algonquin, had expressed reservations about negative impacts on the industry.
“This is the latest in a series of government decisions that threaten the future of northern and rural Ontario,” said OFIA President and CEO Jamie Lim in a Nov. 4 statement. “This was a process that had a predetermined conclusion right from the outset. For the McGuinty government to say that this was 'built on consultations with the forest industry' is ludicrous.”
In an OFIA release, John McRae of McRae Lumber in the village of Whitney, on the eastern outskirts of Algonquin, is disappointed with the government's manner of consultation and lack of industry input in the report recommendations.
“Government comes and talks to us after they have made a decision,” said McRae.
CPAW Wildlands League, a national conversation group is applauding the move to remove more land from logging is a step toward protecting the “ecological integrity” of the park.
