Norm Miller is sounding the alarm over forestry jobs in northern Ontario. The Parry Sound-Muskoka MPP says the industry operates under an exemption from Ontario’s Endangered Species Act, and is overseen by the federal government’s Crown Forest Sustainability Act. That exemption is about to expire in June, and Miller says that means thousands of jobs are at risk.
He says the Ontario Forestry Association, northern Mayors and First Nation chiefs are trying to set the record straight on the sustainability of forestry in Ontario.
Ontario’s Natural Resources and Forestry Minister, Kathyrn McGarry, agrees the forestry sector plays a critical role in Ontario’s economy, and she says the government is committed to the industry.
She says the Ministry has been working with industry stakeholders, Indigenous organizations and environmental groups to come up with a balanced and creative solution for when the exemption expires in June.
With files from Tom Mangos.