Evidence of meeting #8 for Natural Resources in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was products.
A recording is available from Parliament.
12:55 p.m.
Minister, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry
As you know, at the federal level these things sometimes take longer. On the surface it sounds like it's not complicated, but the reality is that these discussions can be complicated.
12:55 p.m.
Liberal
Bryan May Liberal Cambridge, ON
Sure.
I quickly want to switch gears a little bit to the sustainability of the forests in Ontario. Rob Keen, CEO of Forests Ontario, said that in order to be sustainable, forests need to be at least 40% cover. But the average cover in Ontario is 26%, and in some places as low as 5%. Can you speak to whether there is an Ontario government plan to get to that 40% and have sustainable forestry in Ontario?
12:55 p.m.
Minister, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry
I haven't looked at everything that Rob has said. He has his own agenda, as you know, like everybody. The reality is that we continue to—
12:55 p.m.
Minister, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry
Excuse me.
Well, maybe you could let me finish that.
12:55 p.m.
Minister, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry
Everyone has an agenda. That's a reality. The fact is that we continue to replace more forests every year in Ontario than we harvest. Our regeneration exceeds the amount that we harvest every year in Ontario. That is part of our strategy. That is part of our commitment, planting approximately.... The numbers vary between 68 million and below 78 million—70 million—trees a year. That's part of our commitment. That's part of the harvesting. Of course, then we do about 350 million seed drops a year, as well. We're regenerating more forest in Ontario each and every year than we're harvesting.
I'm not sure where you're going with this, but we continue to.... With this plan and our forest sector strategy, 10 years from now, 20 years from now, 30 years from now, there will be more forested land in Ontario than there is today. That is because of our forest sector strategy and our commitment to sustainability.
We are the gold standard, we believe, worldwide, and I'm quite comfortable that, as we go forward, we'll be able to maintain that reputation—
12:55 p.m.
Minister, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry
—not only for the quality of our wood but for our commitment to sustainability.
December 7th, 2020 / 12:55 p.m.
Liberal
Bryan May Liberal Cambridge, ON
Thank you, sir, and I hope that's true.
I'll go back to my colleague's questions in terms of the cutting of the 50 million trees. I think there is a lot of concern that there are more cuts coming in this area and in the area of the environment, and you have a Greenbelt Council and David Crombie who agree with that concern.
I really do hope that this ministry is not a source for Doug Ford to balance a budget, but a ministry to really focus in on sustainability in the future, sir.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think that's my time.
12:55 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal James Maloney
It is.
Let me say to all three of our witnesses—well, there are more than three of you, but you're from three different provinces—how grateful we are for your taking the time to be here.
As you can tell, there's a lot of passion for this sector from all parties on this committee. That's why it is so important that you are able to be here to share with us your experiences and what's going on in each of your respective provinces. For that, we say thank you.
12:55 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal James Maloney
You also see that we never have enough time to—
Go ahead, Mr. McLean.
12:55 p.m.
Conservative
Greg McLean Conservative Calgary Centre, AB
One thing that Ms. Nicholls put on the table when she answered one of my questions was a description of the mosaic that they look at. I'm wondering if she would be so kind as to forward a copy of that mosaic type of design to the committee for our reference.
1 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal James Maloney
As I was saying, I thank you, all, for being here. We appreciate it. I'm going to have to let you go.
If the members could just stay on for a couple more minutes, we have some quick business to deal with. It should literally take one minute.
Thank you, all.
1 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal James Maloney
Okay, I think it's just us.
There are two quick things. On Friday, the minister is coming. That will be our last meeting before the break.
There is one other thing I want to deal with quickly. You should have all received an email from our clerk earlier today with our budget proposal for this study. It's for $4,600, and it consists of money for long-distance calls and headsets and working meals, although I'm not sure who is eating there.
We're going to fall short of the budget ask.
Those of you who have been here for much longer know the budget for studies is usually significantly higher than this, but because we're doing everything remotely it's a relatively small number.
I'm asking everybody to consider supporting this budget so we can approve it, which would be of great assistance to our clerk and analysts moving forward.
Please give me a show of hands if everybody is in favour of approving the budget.
(Motion agreed to)
Thank you.
That's fantastic.
We will see you at the end of the week.
The meeting is adjourned.