Madam Speaker, I welcome the opportunity today to speak to the motion put forward by the member for Cariboo--Chilcotin.
I want to thank the member for bringing forward the motion. I know he will be putting forward a motion to make it votable. It is a very important issue.
I represent an urban riding in British Columbia. I have driven through some of the infected areas in my travels through B.C. I can certainly attest to the fact that the mountain pine beetle is having a devastating impact on local communities and on the economy.
I congratulate the member for bringing forward the motion to have a debate to call on the government to take action to co-operate with British Columbia and local communities to deal with the issue.
The mountain pine beetle is an epidemic. At its widest point it is 700 kilometres long and 400 kilometres wide. It is hard to visualize that. The hon. member said that it was twice the size of Vancouver Island. The information I read from the emergency task force said that it was four times the size of Vancouver Island. However, whichever is correct, we are talking about a massive physical area of British Columbia that is affected.
In looking at the information that was presented by the emergency task force, it stated that what we were dealing with was not some sort of alien infestation.
The task force further stated:
Mountain pine beetle is a natural part of the forest ecosystems and is beneficial at endemic levels.
It goes on to state:
Currently populations are at epidemic levels as a result of mild winters and an abundance of large stands of mature pine.
I want to put forward a point of view on the measures that need to be taken to deal with this epidemic. From the material I have read, I want to express concern about some of the conclusions that have been drawn by the B.C. government, that is, that increased logging is the main solution to effectively control the mountain pine beetle populations.
There is evidence to show that increased clear cutting or salvage logging for the mountain pine beetle infested areas actually could pose a risk to ecological diversity. What we have to deal with in the long term is that less diversity of the forest decreases the ability of the forest to resist future outbreaks. This is very much a catch-22 situation. We are being told that massive cutting and salvage logging are the only choices but evidence shows that solution will put the longer term diversity of our forests at risk and will assist in future outbreaks.
I have read some material from the David Suzuki Foundation. It states:
For ecological and long-term economic reasons, it is essential that any management for the MPB, other bark beetles, and forests in general, be rooted in a sound ecosystem-based approach.
It goes on to state:
An ecosystem-based approach seeks to decrease the amount of area infected and the duration of outbreaks, both presently and in the future, while not compromising biodiversity conservation and ecosystem integrity.
I think that is a very important point. The foundation has also put forward some recommendations to the B.C. government for a management plan which I think would be pertinent to the debate today. It suggests that the following should be incorporated.
First, we should recognize that an outbreak of this scale is impossible to control. This means that a management strategy for the mountain pine beetle must be based on prevention of future outbreaks largely by manipulation of present and future beetle habitat with meaningful consideration of those manipulations for all forest values.
Second, we should recognize that there is no silver bullet solution that exists for this very complex issue. It requires forest managers to embrace a variety of treatments, including thinning and partial cutting strategies.
Therefore, it is not that cutting is not a strategy at all. What I would take issue with is that the B.C. government and the task force that has been put together seem to be relying primarily on that strategy. I think that is very problematic from a long term environmental point of view.
The other issue I want to briefly raise has to do with the reason this epidemic exists. We heard it from the member who presented the motion today. We also heard it from the task force that was put together. The epidemic exists as a result of mild winters. I do not think there is any escaping the reality that this infestation, this epidemic, is linked to mild winters which is linked to global warming. Until we can face that reality, we are really living under some sort of illusion that we will solve problems like this in the short term when in fact we are actually creating longer term problems.
Paul George, the founding director of the western Canada wilderness committee, which is a Vancouver based conservation group, says directly that the massive beetle infestation is a direct result of global warming.
He goes on to state:
Between the drought and global warming these are perfect conditions for the beetle to proliferate. We haven't had a minus 30 degrees cold snap in a long time. We've been having long, dry summers.The trees are stressed, and logging spreads the beetles. Every time they take a truck with logs that have bark on them, the beetle infested bark drops off, and the beetles spread.
I offer these viewpoints because I strongly concur with the member's feelings of frustration. This problem has not been dealt with and it has been allowed to escalate. The federal government has not shown the kind of leadership that it should.
However, we need to be extremely careful and balanced in the way we deal with this epidemic.
I agree with the member. The federal government must co-operate with the province of British Columbia, especially when dealing with its own lands. However, the member does not spell out in his motion what he means by eradicating measures. Based on the comments he made today in the House, I conclude that he basically means increased cutting and the removal of trees. This should be considered in a balanced way in terms of other ecologically based management measures that will protect the long term diversity of our forests.
I thank the member for bringing the motion forward. I support the need for the federal government to co-operate with British Columbia and with local communities but we need to do it in a way that will not ruin our forests in the future.