Thank you very much for the invitation to appear before this committee. I really appreciate the inclusion of a business like ours in a discussion on the renewal of Canada's forest industry.
The Medway Community Forest Co-op is a new business venture, piloting community-based forestry management in Nova Scotia. We are the first community forest in the Atlantic region. Just so people know what a community forest is, it's based on four key principles: that there be direct governance by the community over the land base, that the lands be managed for multiple values, that the economic benefits of managing those lands stay within the community, and that they be managed under the highest standards of environmental sustainability.
Our co-op has been established and we've been given licence to an area, initially of about 37,000 acres of public land in Nova Scotia, which we will manage for timber production, recreation, and a range of other community benefits. We are also building our business to provide services to private woodlot owners, adding much-needed capacity for good forestry in the local area. We are working to innovate a new business model that can support multiple values in the forest and create community benefits over the long term.
On the themes presented here for discussion, I would start with the discussion on regional economic benefit.
I would like to encourage this committee to recognize the importance of supporting a diversified products industry, both large scale and within smaller localized markets. Working at different scales is a potential source of resiliency for forestry-dependent communities. This is particularly true in jurisdictions with a high percentage of private land, like Nova Scotia, where 70% of the wood supply for Nova Scotia's forest industry comes from private land.
Resource management needs are very different on a landscape of family woodlots than they are on large blocks of crown land. Supply chains are more fragmented, and operational capacity needs to be flexible and right-sized to each job. Although this can be a challenge, it also supports opportunities to capture added value in niche markets and create significant employment through many smaller local businesses.
The Government of Canada has played an important role in this space in the past by investing in private land silviculture programs, model forests, and forest management group ventures. ln a renewal of the Canadian forest industry, these types of investments would have significant benefit in our region.
On the topic of strategic innovation, I would again encourage a broadening of the perspective. When innovation is discussed, there is a tendency to focus solely on product or process innovations. While these are, of course, essential, in the context of our business, I would also argue that social innovation is critically important.
Public debate and scrutiny over resource management exerts tremendous influence on the development of our industries. We are only seeing increasing levels of public pressure on forestry companies and governments in Canada, and this is certainly reflected in the current experience in our region.
When I talk of social innovation, what I'm referring to is the need for new thinking on how we effectively engage the public and stakeholder groups in resource management. Effective engagement means achieving practical results that are beyond special interests. lt also means willingness to collaborate across diverse perspectives. We do not have a strong practice of genuine consultation, let alone collaboration, on resources issues. ln forestry, we have seen how poorly handled engagement results in entrenchment of views on all sides of the issues.
The Government of Canada has an opportunity to show leadership in genuine and effective engagement in resource management. For renewal and growth in the forest industry, we need to see better collaboration with aboriginal communities, stakeholder groups, and the broader public. ln our business as a community forest, we are certainly working hard to innovate in this type of collaboration, and we'll be happy to share our learning as we go.
Also on strategic innovation, the health and sustainability of our forest must be a primary focus in any renewal of the sector. While many issues are dealt with regionally by individual provinces, the federal government can play a vital role on difficult issues within our working forests, such as species at risk, protected areas, and large intact forest landscapes.
Innovation is needed in these areas too. What are the practices and management strategies that will allow our forest industry to flourish while not compromising the health of the ecosystems we depend on? How can we design mills, products, and harvest capacity to match the diversity of the forests we manage? The Government of Canada can support research in these areas, show leadership in hosting multi-stakeholder forums, and promote third party certification systems like the Forest Stewardship Council.
In closing, I would like to reiterate that the renewal of the forest industry in Canada will depend on a broadening of perspectives and innovation from some unlikely sources. We need to test new business models, host each other in new types of dialogue, and work from a value proposition based on the health of our ecosystems and the communities that depend on them. I firmly believe that if we work together to innovate in these areas, they will become the very source of a global competitive advantage for the Canadian forest industry, rather than a perceived risk or impediment to our industry's growth.
Thank you very much.