Sept. 1, 2010

Canada's Democratic Party suggests 1% stumpage rate increase on Crown land [From the web]

TORONTO, ON, Sept. 1, 2010 (CBC) - The NDP is promising to hike stumpage fees to log on Crown land and to offer woodlot owners a multi-year silviculture funding package.

New Democratic Party Leader Roger Duguay announced the party's forestry platform on Tuesday, which included a pitch to review the province's forestry and land-use policies.

The NDP is also committing to increase the stumpage fees that companies pay to cut trees on Crown land by one per cent if it is elected in the Sept. 27 provincial election. The increase would be added at the time the land-use strategy review was launched.

"By increasing the stumpage fees for harvesting from Crown lands by one per cent we will generate additional revenues in the millions of dollars, with the profits depending on market prices for forest products," Duguay said in a statement.

Mark Arsenault, the president of the New Brunswick Forest Products Association, said he's concerned about the NDP's plan to give private woodlot owners a step up by increasing the price of Crown wood by one per cent.

"By just randomly saying that you're going to increase the price on Crown, that works against the free-market system and actually could be detrimental to the softwood lumber agreement, which, if we lost those duties and those exemptions, it would be disastrous for the forest industry," Arsenault said.

The NDP also announced on Tuesday it would focus its forestry policy on the province's woodlots and would commit to a multi-year funding program for silviculture.

Andrew Clark, the president of the New Brunswick Federation of Woodlot Owners, said the party's commitment would help many struggling woodlot owners.

"With a lot of the mills shut down, and the employment in harvesting wood and selling wood being greatly reduced on private woodlots that employment is very important to a lot of people right now,' Clark said.

Clark said he is looking for a commitment from all of the parties for sustained money for silvicuture.

The current three-year commitment from the Liberal government expires next March.

In addition, the party would ground aerial spraying of herbicides, with ground-based spraying.

Genevieve MacRae, the party's candidate for York North and the forestry critic, said the NDP's policy would also look into biomass and biogasification opportunities in the province.

"The NDP will examine biomass-extraction and bio-gasification technologies, in cooperation with local communities and with research and development support from our universities," MacRae said in a statement.

"We need to develop ways to develop our forest sector for the long term, taking advantage of our established industries but ensuring the viability of our private woodlots."

The Liberals will be announcing a forestry-related initiative on Wednesday in the Miramichi area.

RISI is not responsible for the reliability or availability of content on external websites.