The information provided by…

The information provided by the Forest Sector Strategy is very vague and does provide details. For example

Streamline forest management approval processes. How is this going to be accomplished? Reduce comment periods for LTMD and Operational planning? Opportunity for stakeholder comments should not be reduced. It is challenging enough for a stakeholder to comment because communication has moved from newspapers to facebook and stakeholders aren't always notified about comment periods. Maybe a stakeholder is on their trapline when a comment period is open and when shortened they miss it. Same for tourist outfitters who live out of province. It sounds like the forest industry is trying to eliminate public opinion.

Eliminating LCC participation and recommendations is also eliminating stakeholder comments and will lead to bump ups.

Removing barriers to access wood.

Permanent exemption from Species at Risk. How can anyone or any business be granted permanent exemption? What if it is verified that forest operations are the major factor for a particular species at risk? Its great to see the government liking to upgrade and spend millions on the LiDAR system to calculate inventory. Maybe the government should spend more on determining why species are in decline? Maybe spend more or research to utilize all the trees we harvest now instead of just wanting to increase the volume. Learn to minimize wasted wood like stumps and tops. Explore new methods for silviculture to eliminate the use of herbicides. There is no coming back from extinction.

Make key investments in critical infrastructure - Spending money on forest access roads. Management of forest roads is key to a safe and prosperous forest industry. Safety on logging roads is a huge issue that is not addressed in any forest management plan. Policy needs to be changed to include road safety on logging roads. Public safety, and forest operator safety is number one and it is left to the industry who wants the product brought to the mills as fast as possible. In the particular forest where I reside, transports and worker trucks are constantly in the ditch. Speed is the number one contributor. Trucks don't share the roads with other vehicles, Truckers are not required to use log books because they are not on public highways. So a trucker can speed down a rough logging road, carrying an overweight load that isn't strapped down properly and be doing it with little or no sleep. Happens all the time. Yet when asked about safety, it is not part of an FMP and is left to the police. The last time I saw a police officer on one of the many logging roads in the northwest was to investigate the death of a logger who rolled his truck numerous times - speed. Policing is left to the safety rep from the SFL who can't find enough employees to fill positions and needs the fibre brought to the mill as quick as possible. Safety is forgotten. Spend some money on creating stringent regulations for operators already using the existing logging roads before spending on more roads.

Promoting Stewardship and & Sustainability

While there is mention of establishing and strengthening Partnerships with Indigenous Peoples there is no mention of such actions with other stakeholders in the forest. Trappers, Tourist outfitters etc. It doesn't sound like the forest sector has others in mind when they are streamlining, cutting red tape and pushing for more productivity.

Improving Cost Competitiveness -

the government of Ontario is in debt yet it is ok to help eliminate jobs in forestry by helping automize equipment? Remove taxes and help fill shareholder pockets. Cut the cost of energy yet the public can pay the high cost. If the forecast predicts a huge demand for our trees. Then the business world should be knocking on the doors of the MNRF with better proposals, technology etc because they know there is money to be made. It's not a factory you can pick up and relocate to a different country. We are in control of our own forests. The government should be concentrating on spending funds on improving the infrastructure to accommodate the increase in population in the north to help the forest industry. Healthcare, housing, internet and more to have the loggers want to stay in communities instead of coming and going back to their home provinces wth their profits.

In the end this forest policy draft is vague and does not explain in detail who and what is affected by this policy. People won't know what is really going on and unable to comment because of the vagueness of this draft.

Thank you for your time.