Exploiting the Forests

Exploiting the Forests

Exploiting the Forests Some readings: Sweeney & Holmes (2008) on treeplanting

Canada s Forests Canada has the third largest forest coverage in the world After Russia and Brazil We have more forest cover than the USA But we are only exploiting it half as much Forestry in 2015 represented $22.1 billion of the Canadian economy (1.4% of Canada s GDP).

Canada The world s second-largest exporter of wood pulp After China The world s biggest exporter of paper, wood panels, sawn softwood Canada a major resource-provider in the global forestry sector But not doing much high-value manufacturing

Ways of Looking Let s consider how we might look at forests, forest exploitation in Canada

The Ecological Perspective Forests as important ecosystems in Canada Global forest watch

Examples of Forest Types Coastal boreal NL Boreal fire sites: Fire Lake QC Catastrophe Lake ON Mixed: Seguin Trail ON Columbian: Tokum Creek BC

Commercial Forest Products Canada s Forests produce two kinds of wood Hardwood from deciduous trees Furniture, flooring, specialty tasks Softwood from conifers Construction lumber, cellulose, paper

Hardwood forests Mainly S Ontario, S Quebec Heavily cleared for farming, cities Once exploited for hardwood furnishing, flooring Some remaining Maple syrup production

Mixed forests Mixtures of hardwoods and conifers Hardwoods on clay soils, conifers on sands, gravels Mainly Ontario & Quebec 20M HA in Ontario, some commercial use

Coniferous Forests Forests of the western mountains, coasts Boreal Prone to fire

Western Canada Dominated by conifers Coastal rain forests clip 2: Galiano Island Mountain forests Heavy rates of access and exploitation

Boreal Forest Dominated by conifers Commercial harvesting for pulpwood, softwood lumber Black spruce for pulpwood Spruce for dimensional lumber 50m HA in Ontario

Coniferous Forests Tend to burn Need to manage the fire risk In 2016 Ontario had 636 forest fires (83,010 HA). 2015: 667 fires (39,611 HA) 2014: 303 fires (5,386 HA). Burning is natural, reduces fuel build-up Too much fire prevention leads to big burns

Forestry Issues Cutting the forest damages the ecosystem Damages soils, river systems Requires roads, mills, chemicals Regrowing the forest takes time, money Most forest is on crown land, traditional lands of First Nations

Subsistence Strong tradition of subsistence use of forests in Canada Begun and continued by First Nations Many rural communities still exploit the forest in this way

Northern Peninsula, Newfoundland Strong traditions of self-provisioning and subsistence People cut, haul and store their own firewood from public land People grow vegetables on public land Raleigh

Black Tickle, Labrador People still heat with firewood Oil and propane available but expensive Island community has no trees Islanders cross the sea ice on skidoo to harvest firewood 70 km inland

Subsistence May not seem impressive May not involve lots of money But is the only sustainable form of forest exploitation we currently have May even be carbon-neutral

Subsistence The last time Toronto was sustainably fuelled by local firewood: 1831-1832, population 2,000 After that, unsustainable

Commercial Expoitation Commercial considerations dominate forest exploitation in modern Canada Major companies mostly exploiting forests they don t own On crown land or aboriginal land claims

Forestry Empires J D Irving owns Irving Tissue makers of Facelle, Royale and Majesta Other Irving companies: Irving Oil; J.D. Irving Ltd; Irving Equipment; Kent Building Supplies New Brunswick Railway; New Brunswick Southern Railway; Eastern Maine Railway; Maine Northern Railway Brunswick News; Acadia Broadcasting Midland Transport; Irving Shipbuilding Cavendish Farms

Staples Thesis Formulated by Harold Innis Canada greatly shaped by the commercial exploitation of its natural resources for export to outside markets Canada begins as a resource-producing colony exporting to Europe Resource-exploitation a powerful factor in the development of Canada s urban centres, transport routes

Staples Thesis The resource staples are varied, change over time: Fur, fish, lumber, minerals Oil, gas, hydro, potash Canada plays a role as a resourceproducing hinterland exporting to metropolitan heartlands elsewhere Europe, the USA, eventually Asia

Industrialization Commercial forest exploitation becomes industrial Part of the industrial system Uses industrial technology, organization Run and governed by a priority of industrial values Deployment of mill towns to the forest regions

An era of classic mill towns Thunder Bay ON Espanola ON Atholville NB Sayabec QC Temiscaming QC

Industrialization Enjoyed a golden age from 1910s to the 1970s (Fordism)

Industrialization Foreign investment flows in to exploit Canada s forests Builds mills, companies, company towns, ways of life Enriches Canada s stock markets and banks Toronto and Montreal benefit especially Canada exports paper, lumber mainly to the USA

Industrialization: Post Fordism Canada s forests now facing global competition From low-waged economies From economies with weaker environmental protections From previously inaccessible forests From all three

Industrialization Demand has changed Technology altering demand for newsprint, fine paper Advertising shifts to the web Electronic media replacing paper, newspapers in decline Growth of paper recycling relocates pulp supply regions to urban markets

2007-8 US Real estate collapse Dramatic reduction in demand for Canadian softwood lumber for construction

Industrialization In recent decades the US has been restricting Canada s access to US forest products markets Softwood lumber dispute resolved by imposing import penalties on Canadian lumber BC, more dependent on softwood lumber badly hit 2015: US restricted Canadian glossy paper

Post-Fordism An era of mill and company town closure Grand Falls-Windsor Brooklyn NS

Post-Fordism: Changed Values In the golden age of industrial forest exploitation little attention was paid to the needs of the environment The rights of First Nations Government, industry, the general public accepted that the priority was industrial production

Post-Fordism: Changed Values Since the 1960s: Rising public concern in Urban Canada over pesticides, clear-cutting, pollution, sustainability of the forests Rising public sympathy for rights of First Nations Barriere Lake Algonquins link 2 Forests facing depletion

Post-Fordism: Changed Values Commercial forest exploitation faces the challenges of accommodating environmental, First Nations concerns Does not always give in

Post-Fordism: Changed Values Chlorine-based pulp bleaching was phased out Mercury issues Replaced by sulphur bleaching

Community and Labour Commercial forest exploitation created community: Company towns Company workforces Sweeney & Holmes (2008)