Timber

The Basic Issue

This forestry material ties in with the Imes "staples" theory of early Canadian economic development which we are saddled with. The theory claims that much of our history has been shaped by the export of a linked series of raw materials, with very little "value added" activity taking place in this country. The forest industry is one of these export sectors.

The Canadian forestry sector is also faced with issues of sustainability owing to the fact that we have a short growing season, and he replacement cycle of trees is very long. Siva culture practice is under debate all across Canada, and questions such as the survivability of newly planted trees as opposed to the initial planting of those trees, continues to be a concern.

Pollution effects in rivers and lakes by the industry, and the removal of trees across the world with the reduction of their cleansing effect on the atmosphere are central issues to environmentalists.

As we destroy original forests and replace them with cultivated trees, the question arises as to what a forest is, as an Eco-system, and whether a group of trees is all that makes up a forest...is the sum greater than a few of its dominant parts?

As all these concerns arise in importance, they are having important spin-off effects on the rural social and economic scene. No longer is it possible to start up, adjust or maintain a forest-related industry without doing an environmental and social impact study. This process has recently become coordinated in joint Federal-Provincial studies when local issues arise, hopefully with better quality results for the amount of money expended.

Rural Development Institute Research Studies

• "A Stake in the North: Papers on Mining, Forestry and Remote Tourism" - Ray Bollman and Richard Rounds (eds)
  This report contains three papers relating to employment in primary sectors in the north. The second paper deals with the impact of the increase of productivity in the industry and the parallel decrease of employment, which hits the wood division more than the paper division.

• "Local Development in Quebec" - Ray Bollman and Richard Rounds
  The third of the three papers in this report from Quebec deals with the agri-forest industry co-operation of three towns as an economically unified system.

• "Towards Defining a Woodlot Management Program for the Prairie Provinces" - Richard Rounds and Bradley Milne.
  This 1995 report is part of the set of reports which attempted to assist the development of Woodlot industry in Manitoba. It examines why people have woodlots and desired legislation to develop it further.

• "The Significance of the Forest Products industry for the Swan Lake Region of Manitoba" - RDC Rhur and Richard Rounds
  This report examines a non-prosperous marginal area on the edge of the boreal forest in Manitoba, with its delicately balanced Eco-system. There are multi-job families living in part off the forest industry. The industry draws ten to twelve million dollars in value from the forest of the area each year. The report paints a five-year-average portrait of this industry, and examines it especially for its relevance to farm survival.

• "The Economic Benefit of forestry in Eastern Manitoba" Wayne F. Cowan and Richard Rounds, in "The Economic, Social Political and Cultural Dimensions of Forest Dependence in Eastern Manitoba"
  This paper and the next one, bound together in one report, are portraits of an area industry, this time in Eastern Manitoba. This area brings 65 million dollars into the economy each year, which sustains a lot else besides the service industries.

• "Social, Political, and Cultural Dimensions of Forest Dependence : The Communities of the Lower Winnipeg Basin" - Tom Buckley and Audrey Sprenger in "The Economic, Social, Political, and Cultural Dimensions of Forest Dependence in Eastern Manitoba.
  This paper and the last one, bound in the same report, are portraits of an area industry, this time in Eastern Manitoba. This area brings 65 million dollars into the economy each year, which sustains a lot else besides the service industries.

• "Directory of Wood Using Industries in Manitoba" RA Bohning and Richard Rounds
  This report and the next one are part of an effort to develop the Manitoba Woodlot industry by introducing the two ends of the industry (wood supply and wood use) to each other in a practical way. The book lists (in 21 SIC classifications) firms that use wood, supply products and services, and provide information to the wood related sector. These are the "value added" people in he Woodlot industry, who take the wood supplied and make products with it. Listing them made it much easier for Woodlot owners to dispose of their lumber. This listing was circulated to the producers.

• "Manitoba Woodland Service Manual" - Richard Rounds, Joan Rollheider, Brad Milne, and Krista Ripley.
  This report and the last one are part of an effort to develop the Manitoba Woodlot industry by introducing the two ends of the industry (wood supply and wood use) to each other in a practical way. This report is a listing of the custom and commercial lumber producers in Manitoba, and the services they provide. Operators are listed geographically. By circulating this listing with the users of wood products, small operators were connected with users so that both parties gained.

• "Forest Dependant Communities in Canada - An Interpretive Overview and Annotated Bibliography" - Robert Robson.
  This bibliography covers the history and policy of the forestry industry, and as such is a great source for ideas for economic development.

• "Assessing Resource Dependent Community Impacts in Ontario" Jeremy Williams and Gary Bull. Chap.12 in Changing Rural Institutions
  This paper reports on the Mattawa and area study of the timber industry upon which the area was dependent. It used a good team of researchers and multiple methods which resulted in excellent data. Up until that time, the data was of a very generic quality. This data, generated by the local area was very specific.

  The study noted that a 10% withdrawal of cutting rights would result in the closure of one plant. Further data detailed the exact impact that closure would have on the area in terms of both economic and social costs. It gave a range of scenarios with projections for each which made the study results much more useable.

  The study closes with an excellent set of six suggestions for community participation in the light of their experience. They felt that there will likely be a need for more such studies in the future.

  The author identifies three key changes which gave rise to the need for this study:

  1. resources (cut areas were dropping)
  2. politics
  3. the decision making process

• "New Horizons for Community Forestry: Social-Environmental Development" - Daniel Malenfant. Chap 13 in Changing Rural Institutions
  This paper is about the future of forestry in Quebec from a whole-system point of view. He notes that Quebec, which is 90% state owned forestland, has adopted a "productionist" approach in both state and private sectors, rather than one which is good for sustaining the forest as a natural resource over time.

  Community structures have evolved to support the productionist philosophy. He feels that if community restructuring is to be sustainable, then the forestry philosophy must change. He cites Goodman's notion that rural restructuring is for its own sake (the preservation of a way of life) and should be supported.

Other Resources