Dear Mr. Maure, I am writing…

Dear Mr. Maure,

I am writing to you to express my opinion on the draft Ontario Forest Sector Strategy. I am strongly opposed to the proposed changes that would increase the volume of forestry in Ontario and expand investment in Forest Access Roads. Increasing forestry will reduce habitat for already threatened species such as the caribou, while expanding Forest Access Roads will further degrade the remaining boreal forest through habitat fragmentation. As such, spending taxpayer dollars to expand logging roads is an unacceptable subsidy for the forestry industry which would be better put towards forest restoration and biodiversity protection.

Moreover, these proposed changes come at a time when Ontario needs to ensure sufficient tracts of forest are left undisturbed by industrial activities. As Ontario's forests and biodiversity face ever greater threats from climate change, increasing forestry volume and habitat destruction/fragmentation fails to acknowledge and safeguard against these threats.

Therefore, I urge you to revise the Ontario Forest Sector Strategy to increase habitat protection and restoration, to reduce taxpayer subsidies for logging infrastructure that further threaten our forests, and to not increase the existing volume of forestry in Ontario.