I have 3 main concerns about…

I have 3 main concerns about the draft Biomass Forest Biomass Action Plan:
1. One of the main products of Ontario’s forest biomass industry is wood pellets. Wood pellets are marketed as a clean energy alternative, but are dirtier than coal at the smokestack;
2. Increasing deforestation as a climate solution is not viable, and poses significant harm to crucial habitat. While the government and industry claim that only waste wood is used to manufacture wood pellets, more whole trees from primary, boreal forests are being logged to meet the demands of this growing industry; and
3. The Ontario government claims that expanding the wood pellet industry will provide alternative employment for fossil fuel workers, but these would be jobs in an industry that dumps more carbon into the atmosphere than what it's replacing.

In addition, I am concerned that Indigenous sovereignty is being ignored by the proponents of this action plan.