Evidence of meeting #119 for Environment and Sustainable Development in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was habitat.
A recording is available from Parliament.
NDP
Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would simply ask the witness, Mr. Bélanger, to send the rest of his answer to the committee in writing, if possible, so that we can read it.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
Thank you.
Mr. Godin is next. No.
Who's next for the Conservatives?
Mr. Martel.
Conservative
Richard Martel Conservative Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC
I would have liked to talk to Mr. Bélanger. Since he speaks French and since everyone here understands French, is it necessary to interpret that into English?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
Those are the rules of the committee. We need to have interpretation. That's the way it is. We could try, but if there's no interpretation, you'll have to move on to another witness.
Conservative
Richard Martel Conservative Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC
I want to go to Mr. Bélanger.
Mr. Bélanger, I recently read that reduced forest availability can be achieved without job losses, since the industry doesn't harvest all of what it's granted.
Is that also true for the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region?
September 16th, 2024 / 1:30 p.m.
Professor (Retired), Sustainable Forest Management, Faculty of forestry, Laval University, As an Individual
Not that I'm aware of, no. The Lac-Saint-Jean region is one of the regions that cuts off virtually all the potential for softwood lumber.
Conservative
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
Thank you.
Finally, I don't know if it's Mrs. Chatel or Ms. Taylor Roy.
Liberal
Sophie Chatel Liberal Pontiac, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will be speaking.
My question is for Mr. Bélanger.
You're saying that one of the solutions right now would be an independent commission, right?
Professor (Retired), Sustainable Forest Management, Faculty of forestry, Laval University, As an Individual
Absolutely.
Liberal
Sophie Chatel Liberal Pontiac, QC
This independent commission would include experts, academics such as yourselves, and representatives from the public and private sectors. Is that correct?
Professor (Retired), Sustainable Forest Management, Faculty of forestry, Laval University, As an Individual
That's exactly right.
Liberal
Sophie Chatel Liberal Pontiac, QC
There was a commission like that in the 2000s. It was the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, or COSEWIC. So there's already been such a commission, and there's already been a report.
What exactly would you like to see?
Professor (Retired), Sustainable Forest Management, Faculty of forestry, Laval University, As an Individual
It would involve establishing measures to reduce the economic impact, for example, by implementing measures for the movement of wood, silvicultural investments or the harvesting of certain stands currently abandoned, to enable new sources of supply to be found for plants such as Boisaco.
Liberal
Sophie Chatel Liberal Pontiac, QC
Okay.
Correct me if I'm wrong. This independent commission would serve, in part, to provide a new vision for the forest sector to adopt sustainable practices in line with our commitments to protect our environment and nature, and in part to ensure that natural resources can be there for many years to come to support our economy.
So it would be more of an economic commission, focused on the forestry sector. Is that correct?
Professor (Retired), Sustainable Forest Management, Faculty of forestry, Laval University, As an Individual
This commission would certainly have an economic dimension, but it would still have to produce a credible plan for the conservation of boreal caribou.
Liberal
Sophie Chatel Liberal Pontiac, QC
Right. I think you agree that we can't have an economy if we don't have a healthy environment.
Professor (Retired), Sustainable Forest Management, Faculty of forestry, Laval University, As an Individual
Absolutely. The caribou problem shows that too much pressure is currently being put on the forest. We have to find ways of making a temporal transition to sustainable harvesting levels.
Liberal
Sophie Chatel Liberal Pontiac, QC
Okay.
If I understand correctly, you agree with what the unions and Ms. Plotkin were saying. We need a concerted vision from all sectors to ensure that forestry is sustainable and creates good jobs—the jobs of the future.
We need to do more with our natural resources.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
Mr. Bélanger seems to agree with that.
We're at the end of our time.
I want to thank the witnesses for this enlightening exchange. We'll leave it at that.
Thank you again for being with us.
The committee will meet next on Wednesday.