I, Wayne Hanchard, am the…

I, Wayne Hanchard, am the CAO/Clerk of the Municipality of Oliver Paipo working in the forestry sector; Knowledgeable individuals in forestry industry associations; and

Ecological and environmental experts;

AND FURTHER, THAT:

Given the need to carefully recruit for membership on the independent panel, together with the significant workload required in undertaking the role proposed, including: the impact of climate change on species habitat;

the cumulative impacts of all Endangered Species Act policies on the forestry sector and the communities it supports; Socio-economic impact analyses for each of the policies under the Endangered Species Act and how they interact with other forestry sector policies in Ontario; and community, industry, indigenous and municipal consultations;

Oliver Paipoonge Council recommends that the Province amend its proposal to change the date “July 1, 2020” to the date “July 1, 2023”, providing a full five year term for the independent panel to undertake its work;

AND FURTHER, THAT:

Extending the time period by three more years will provide the forestry sector with more stability and certainty, which is needed at this time;

AND FURTHER, THAT:

Given the imminent approach of July 1, 2018, the Province make a final decision on the amendments to Regulation 242/08 prior to March 30th, 2018, to allow the forestry sector to respond accordingly;

AND FINALLY, THAT:

This resolution be submitted as Oliver Paipoonge Council’s comments to the proposed amendment to Regulation 242/08 as posted on the Environmental Bill of Rights registry, and circulated to: the Honourable Premier of Ontario; the Honourable Minister of the Environment and Climate Change; the two members of provincial parliament for the District of Thunder Bay; the Association of Municipalities of Ontario; the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association; and the Thunder Bay District Municipal League.

[Original Comment ID: 213330]