New Growth: Ontario's New Forestry Strategy May Adjust Approach To Endangered Species

Ontario has proposed a new forestry management strategy that aims to revive a sector that accounted for $16 billion in total revenue in 2017 but that has lost over 35,000 jobs since 2000. The strategy's central premise is that Ontario's Crown forests are under-utilized and their exploitation too costly.  Accordingly, the strategy proposes four "pillars" to rectify this problem:

1. Putting More Wood to Work;
2. Improving Our Cost Competitiveness;
3. Fostering Innovation, Markets & Talent; and
4. Promoting Stewardship and Sustainability.

Implementing first two pillars of the strategy will likely affect the regulations that govern the management of Crown forests.  Indeed, the strategy identifies reducing the "regulatory burden" and removing "barriers to accessing wood" as key approaches.