Claims government caved to special interest groups

News

Posted By STEPHEN UHLER

Updated 4 months ago

Everyone wants to protect wildlife and the habitat it lives in, but the MPP for Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke says the province is going about it the wrong way.

John Yakabuski said it appears to him the government caved in to special anti-logging interests when it introduced tough new habitat protection rules within its Endangered Species Act, rather than use existing legislation, which would have done the same job.

"The Ontario government went against its word to introduce these new habitat protection rules," MPP Yakabuski said. "This came as a shock to the industry" and he added, will prove to be devastating not only to that industry, but any involvi

ng the use of land in rural Ontario.

Under the revamped Endangered Species Act and its

Species-at-Risk provisions, any activity within an area deemed to need protection as habitat would require a special permit before it can proceed, if that activity had the potential to damage or destroy it.

Ministry of Natural Resources staff have been speaking to municipal councils, public meetings and many other groups to stress these provisions doesn't mean all activity is prohibited in these protected areas; it just means such activity has to proceed more carefully, occur at times of the year that are least disruptive to the wildlife on scene, or in the case habitat is destroyed or damaged, efforts are made to restore it afterward.

However, there are those, including many Ottawa Valley municipal council members, who remain unconvinced, and have voiced their anger at being told what to do with their own land as if they are guilty of poor stewardship, and are concerned the new rules would strangle them with red tape.

MPP Yakabuski said, while everyone wants to protect wildlife and the land they live in, forcing landowners to get permits if they want to do anything with their properties if species-at-risk habitat is identified in the vicinity isn't the way to go.

"The permitting system that you have decided to work with is not working and will never work," he said, and stressed this will just give those who don't want any work done on the land the chance to block and end all development, agriculture and forestry work.

"I guarantee you every one of those permits will be opposed by those who would want to end logging," the MPP said.

He said this is especially true in Renfrew County, which borders Algonquin Park, where efforts by environmental groups to ban all logging operations have been ongoing for years.

What also is a serious concern is the size of these habitat zones being created for species-at-risk. The wood turtle could be given a zone the maximum size of 12 square kilometres, which is six kilometres upstream from a turtle nest, six km downstream and a set back of 500 m on either side of the watercourse.

While the MNR has stated it is highly unlikely a protected zone would get that large, the MPP said it does set a precedent which is being applied to others species.

He said a recent socio-economic impact study concluded that the habitat regulation for a single species (forest-dwelling woodland caribou) could remove access to 33 per cent of northern Ontario's industrial fibre supply.

There is an estimated 25 to 30 such species -at-risk within the county.

"This will have a devastating effect on the wood fibre supply in Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke and the areas in which its mills access timber," MPP Yakabuski said, if the legislation is allowed to stand.

He said he keeps asking the new minister of Natural Resources Linda Jeffrey to reestablish credibility with the forestry industry and use the Crown Forest Sustainability Act, and avoid this situation, but so far he hasn't been successful.

"We have no choice but to continue to voice our opposition to these new habitat protection regulations, and hope the province at least delays its complete passage and implementation," to give them a chance to deal with it, MPP Yakabuski said.

Since these new rules affect the rural areas of southern Ontario too, where they have been greeted with equal anger, he is hoping these people will put the pressure on their MPPs regardless of their political stripes "... and bring these concerns home to them."

The Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry, calculated that the reductions in industrial wood supply through the new regulations would mean the loss of between 600 and 3,200 direct jobs.

"This industry is in crisis," MPP Yakabuski said. "Is it not time for you to stand up for what is right, not just for what you believe is in your best political interest? Please, stand up and do what is right for this industry and all of Ontario."

Stephen Uhler is a Daily Observer reporter