Thank you for the…

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the draft Ontario Forest Sector Strategy posted on the Environmental Registry of Ontario number 019-0880.

Our forestry operations and mills are integral to the Northern Ontario economy and have a long history of creating jobs, growth, and prosperity for the communities in which we have operated, in some cases, over 90 years.

The development of a Forest Sector Strategy (FSS) for Ontario is an important and timely initiative for our sector. Punishing tariffs on lumber sold to the United States, rising costs of fuel, difficulties in accessing affordable timber and duplicative government regulation and shortages of skilled trades impact industry competitiveness and investment.

We strongly support the development of the strategy, recognizing it is the starting point for re-aligning the activities of government, industry and the broader forestry community in a new and innovative way to create a new foundation for the growth and prosperity of the forest sector. Representatives of our company participated in several consultations in winter 2019 and at municipal outreach sessions in winter 2020. We have had the opportunity to review the Ontario Forest Sector Strategy in detail and offer our comments in the attached letter for each of the four major themes (pillars of action) and which concludes with general comments