McGuinty breaks faith on protecting the Boreal Forest

    Ontario approves plan to log pristine Boreal Forest despite Premier's
                             recent commitments

    TORONTO, Nov. 17 /CNW/ - The Ontario government has approved a
controversial logging plan that will destroy critical woodland caribou habitat
and undermine key conservation commitments by Premier McGuinty, say Greenpeace
and Earthroots. Every tree logged in the Ogoki forest will be pulped to make
toilet paper, junk mail, and other disposable paper products.
    "This move undermines everything the Premier has said about the value of
Ontario's Boreal Forest," said Christy Ferguson, a forest campaigner with
Greenpeace. "When it comes to forest conservation, Premier McGuinty is giving
with one hand and taking with the other."
    In July 2008, Premier McGuinty extolled the global significance of
Ontario's Boreal Forest and committed to protect at least 50 per cent of its
northern reaches. This followed his government's May 2007 announcement of a
new Endangered Species Act for Ontario which included protection for woodland
caribou.
    The newly approved forest management plan for the Ogoki Forest, northwest
of Armstrong, allows logging company Buchanan Forest Products to log and build
roads in one of the most ecologically valuable areas left in Ontario's Boreal
Forest. Because local sawmills have closed, one hundred per cent of what's
logged will be delivered to the Terrace Bay pulp mill for the manufacture of
tissue and other disposable paper products.
    The size, location, and near pristine state of the one million hectare
Ogoki Forest make it critical habitat for the threatened woodland caribou,
while its carbon-dense trees and soils make it critical for mitigating climate
change.
    In April 2008, environmental groups across the province requested that
the Ministry of Environment conduct an individual environmental assessment to
determine the plan's impact on caribou before proceeding. The Ministry has
denied the request, even while acknowledging in correspondence that the
logging and road-building activities within the plan may impact woodland
caribou populations.
    "This is just one example of the problems that persist in Ontario's
Boreal Forest," said Carly Armstrong, a forest campaigner with Earthroots.
"With logging companies exempt from the Endangered Species Act, no new
protected areas in the managed forest, and the ongoing approval of plans like
this one, it appears that little has changed."
    An Earthroots assessment released today details many of the problems with
the plan and with forestry in Ontario's Boreal Forest as a whole, including
the fact that the forest industry is currently exempt from the province's
Endangered Species Act.
    "If the Premier wants to retain any credibility whatsoever, he needs to
step in and rectify this situation," said Ferguson.

For further information: Carly Armstrong, Earthroots Forest Campaigner,
(705) 856-0084; Christy Ferguson, Greenpeace Forests Campaigner, (416)
451-9354; For a copy of Forest Management in Ogoki: Compromising Caribou
Conservation, please contact Carly Armstrong, (705) 856-0084,
carly@earthroots.org