Cumberland MLA Jordan McPhail has called on the provincial government to make major investments in reforestation following a challenging wildfire season and new U.S. lumber tariffs.
“This is plain and simple about the future of Saskatchewan,” McPhail said during a phone interview on Wednesday. “This is about the future of Prince Albert and northern Saskatchewan specifically.
“We have the throne speech coming up next week and that’s the government’s opportunity to start talking about the vision that they have in Saskatchewan, and we hope in their throne speech that they don’t leave out the forestry sector workers.”
McPhail said the lumber industry already faced significant challenges before U.S. President Donald Trump levelled a new 10 per cent tariff on softwood lumber. He said the industry is a major employer in the north, supporting nearly 8,000 jobs, and it needs a strong reforestation plan during a critical time.
“These forestry companies, they have certain wood allotments and they need to know that their investment is protected,” McPhail said. “They need to know that their investment is protected as well.”
McPhail added that the province can’t control the policies coming out of the White House, but it they can control how much it invests in response.
“This is a call that I’ve heard from forestry sector leaders,” McPhail said. “As the Shadow Minister for Forestry, we’ve been in communication with some of the forestry leaders in Saskatchewan and these are some of the things that the province can do.”
McPhail adds that employment in the Prince Albert economic region decreased by 1,300 jobs last month, according to Statistics Canada. He said Premier Scott Moe and his government have done little to help raise employment numbers in the region since Moe became premier in 2018.
McPhail said the forestry industry is too important to Northern Saskatchewan’s economy for the government not to act swiftly.
“We hope that the PA MLAs and the people who are responsible for Trade and Export Development have been speaking to members of their cabinet and making sure that this is a top priority for government, to make sure that the industries that provide good mortgage paying jobs in Northern Saskatchewan or protected.” said McPhail.
In response, provincial government said they are committed to doubling the growth of the forestry sector and will continue to support industry as they work towards achieving that goal.
The statement emailed to the Daily Herald called the U.S. tariffs “unfair and unjustified” and vowed to keep working with the federal government to address the issue.
On the wildfire side, the province said the areas burned by wildfires will regenerate naturally as part of the cycle of renewal in northern forests, so there is no need for a plant new trees.
“There are some rare exceptions to this, including areas recently harvested that have not yet been planted, or areas that have burned twice over a short period of time,” reads the statement. “These areas may get renewed in the future through artificial regeneration (planting or seeding), following the appropriate assessments of renewal status, size of the area, and access consideration.”
More than 2.9 million hectares of Saskatchewan forest have burned in the fires, costing Saskatchewan’s North and the forestry industry at least $500 million dollars.
–with files from Jason Kerr/Daily Herald
