Natural Resources committee  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,

Natural Resources committee  I can start. Certainly there's evidence of climate change impacts on pests like the mountain pine beetle. The biggest single control agent for the mountain pine beetle is cold temperatures. The fact that cold temperatures have not occurred in B.C. and Alberta, to a large extent,

Natural Resources committee  Yes.

Natural Resources committee  Our jurisdiction is national in focus, but we do have five regional labs across the country. We're basically a science policy organization. As we mentioned, the provinces and territories are responsible for forest management under their jurisdictions. We would provide science-ba

Natural Resources committee  Absolutely. Our colleagues have mentioned the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers. There's a forest pest working group, which has representatives from all provinces and territories, as well as our colleagues from CFIA. We collaborate on that front as well.

Natural Resources committee  My colleague is my numbers man here, but in B.C. the impact has been significant. The mountain pine beetle has destroyed over 50% of the loggable pine in B.C., which has a huge impact on wood supply. In Alberta, it's having an impact on the foothills of the Rockies. It is on the

Natural Resources committee  It depends. Sorry for being vague, but it depends on the environment they are in. The mountain pine beetle can last two, three, four years and even longer in drier conditions. Obviously, the quality deteriorates. The mountain pine beetle also has a fungus that stains the wood, so

Natural Resources committee  For certain niche markets, it might add value, but for the traditional lumber quality markets, it's not good.

Natural Resources committee  In terms of dead and dying trees, I would say that infestations would increase the risk of wildfires. There has been a fair amount of effort made over the past number of years to reduce the risk around communities, including indigenous communities.

Natural Resources committee  That's correct. There is a time element for sure, but again it depends on the environment the trees are in. After four or five years of continual defoliation, the trees deteriorate and the spruce budworm kills them. A wood supply issue surrounds that.

Natural Resources committee  I can start, and maybe Jean-Luc can pick it up. Yes, absolutely. The normal cycle for the mountain pine beetle is eight to 10 years. It certainly lasted longer in B.C. and the last outbreak was definitely more severe. The traditional method is to cut, pile, burn, and get rid of

Natural Resources committee  No, I think you're absolutely right in your comments. In terms of greener foliage and foliage on the lodgepole pine, for example, it's more prone, I should say, if it's dying.

Natural Resources committee  Was it the spruce beetle?

Natural Resources committee  The “slow the spread” strategy in the eastern part of Alberta, which was developed through the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers' forest pest working group, is in a sense a similar approach that is being applied in New Brunswick.

Natural Resources committee  One output from the early intervention strategy in New Brunswick will be how we can apply this to other pests across the country and elsewhere. It is an experiment. If it works, hopefully it's going to be applied to other pests. It was too late for B.C. It wasn't even thought of