Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the importance of the forest sector in Canada in general and the challenges we're facing, including that of forest pest management.
I know many of you are aware of the importance of the forest sector to Canada, given your recent study on value-added products; however, I'd like to begin by providing some context of the overall sector within which we're considering the impact of forest pests.
Canada's forest sector is economically important to Canada, responsible for 210,000 jobs, including 9,700 for indigenous peoples. It contributes $24.6 billion to Canada's GDP, representing 7% of Canada's exports. These jobs are coast to coast in over 150 rural communities, and between 70% to 80% of our indigenous communities live within a forested landscape.
Canada has 347 million hectares of forests, ranking third in the world in forest area, and over 40% of the world's sustainably managed forests are found within our borders.
I'm proud to say that Canada is considered a world leader in the management of forests, as well as in research and development, including product and market diversification and our commitment to advancing the bioeconomy.
Not only do Canada's forests contribute to the economy and the resilience of our rural communities, but they also play a significant role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. For example, in 2015 Canada's forests removed 26 million tonnes of CO2, and the increased use of wood products will continue to support Canada's commitment to the Paris accord and advance our pan-Canadian framework on clean growth and climate change.
We are world leaders, constantly innovating to maintain our competitive edge, as evidenced in the government's work to support such initiatives as changes to building codes and standards, which have enabled the construction of the tallest wood building in the world; the creation of an eco-district in China made of 100% Canadian lumber; and support for indigenous communities to transition off diesel using forest biomass for both heat and energy, while increasing economic development.
We're a sector that supports the government's core values of economic growth, competitiveness, action on climate change and meaningful partnership with indigenous communities.
Given this context, as Canada's chief forester and head of the Canadian Forest Service, every day I think about what we can do, and need to do, to secure the competitiveness of our sector. At the core is maintaining the health and resilience of our forests.
There's a lot happening on the forested landscape, and we're paying attention to the cumulative effects from both an environmental and socio-economic perspective. For example, we've been witness to the direct impacts of a changing climate with the increase in magnitude and frequency of wildland fires and possible links between a changing climate and the spread of pests such as the mountain pine beetle. There is also a desire to increase our efforts on the recovery of species at risk. It's fair to say that both the industry and the provinces are concerned, and the federal government has a key role to play.
Pests, whether invasive alien species such as the emerald ash borer or the Asian long-horned beetle, or native pests such as the mountain pine beetle or spruce budworm, have been here for decades and will likely be here for years to come. That doesn't mean we shouldn't take action to prevent the introduction and minimize the spread of these species. In fact, with increased cumulative effects, we need to focus our efforts to mitigate the damage to our forest resources.
To provide a bit of history, NRCan's Canadian Forest Service research centres in Fredericton, Quebec City, and Sault Ste. Marie were established as a result of the spruce budworm.
The CFS is primarily a research organization, with significant programming in industry transformation, product and market diversification, and indigenous economic development. However, pest management, understanding the effects of climate change and the use of forests as carbon sinks, fire science—including modelling fire behaviour—and sustainable forest management practices are at our core.
It's important to understand that diseases and pests are a natural part of the life cycle of forests; however, with a changing climate and increased globalization and trade comes an increased risk of pest introductions. As well, for those pests that are native and always present, a changing climate could influence their dynamics, making outbreaks more severe, long-lasting and frequent. The damage caused by pests, combined with the loss of forest fibre to fire and the potential impacts on the international trade in forest products if pests are detected, is significant.
As you know, the management of Canada's forests rests primarily with the provinces and territories, with a small percentage under private ownership. Natural Resources Canada spends approximately $20 million annually in salary and operations across our five research centres to develop solutions to prevent and respond to pest outbreaks. Our colleagues at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency are essential partners on regulatory measures and ensuring compliance to phytosanitary standards to protect our trade in forest products.
Canadians living in urban centres like Toronto, Winnipeg, Quebec City or Halifax may have heard about pests such as the emerald ash borer, the Asian long-horned beetle and the brown spruce longhorn beetle. With the emerald ash borer, the CFS has developed a couple of approaches and products, such as TreeAzin, a biological insecticide; and parasitoid wasps, a natural enemy.
Preventing and responding to outbreaks in large-scale forests is a great challenge. We know that with the spruce budworm, it's a 30-year cycle. NRCan is working closely with the Atlantic provinces, forest industry stakeholders, academia, and private woodlot owners, and employing citizen science to implement a new approach, an early intervention strategy for which the federal government allocated $74 million over a four-year period beginning this year.
When we consider the mountain pine beetle in B.C. and Alberta, to date, the federal government has allocated $338 million to implement forest pest and fire management techniques, support the recovery and use of fibre, improve monitoring and increase risk assessment. However, the mountain pine beetle continues to spread eastward.
Our staff who work on pest issues are key to understanding the risks of pests and what can be done to minimize the impacts. In fact, a recent evaluation of our pest program confirmed, from our clients such as the provinces, territories, forest industry and other forest land managers, that we are the only national entity that can bring key players to the table to produce relevant and practical science-based results that are used by our clients to develop pest management policies and programs.
This type of collaboration is our history, and it will continue to be our strength into the future.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.