This text is part of the special section Unionism
The Central Democratic Unions (CSD) fears that Quebec is forgetting the interests of forest sector workers in its provincial strategy for preserving the environment, which aims to ensure that the economic vitality of communities coexists with the fight against climate change.
Since February, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests has been conducting a vast series of regional consultations on the future of the forest. Thus, during the tables which have already taken place out of the twelve in total, the partners invited to participate have among other things addressed the questions of sustainable development, forest productivity, wood supply or even economic development and regional impact.
“Unfortunately, there is no mention of crucial issues related to forestry labor. However, this is an essential subject, considering that many changes await the industry, which will inevitably bring its share of setbacks. When we look at the subjects on the consultation agenda, we only talk about the tree,” laments Luc Vachon, president of the CSD.
Without saying he is against the idea of this reflection, according to him, it is crucial to find a balance in the management of the forest so that each of the players in the industry benefits, both for the workers and the communities for the protection of the environment allowing renewal within the resource.
Rather than planning “a short-term plan that is difficult to control and puts workers against the wall,” the government should adopt a long-term vision by consulting and supporting the community in this transition, according to Luc Vachon. “It would make our world a lot safer and, thus, people would not have the impression of being abandoned in this transformation, because currently, it is as if we were sailing in a fog,” believes the one who was reappointed for a second term as president of the CSD in 2021.
The caribou conservation plan
While there are only 5,252 forest or mountain caribou left in Quebec and logging is the main cause, Luc Vachon would have liked the presentation of the strategy to protect the habitat of the species to be known during discussions. This would certainly have helped ensure that everyone was on the same page during the discussions at the round tables and will, when tabled, have a determining effect on the future of the forest, he said.
“In a consultation process, if people do not all have the same good knowledge, a degree of uncertainty and insecurity hovers and persists when the time comes to make decisions. Otherwise, we would have gained a few years now in terms of preparing and adapting the workforce and businesses,” mentions the president of the fourth central union in the province with its 72,000 members, 2,500 of whom come from the forestry sector.
Remember that since 2019, the government has repeatedly postponed the submission of this habitat protection project. It should have finally been completed in June 2023, but due to forest fires burning a historic total of 4.5 million hectares last year, the presentation of the plan was once again delayed by the Quebec minister of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks, Benoit Charette.
“In addition to the caribou plan which, in my opinion, is a social test of reconciliation between an economic activity of resource use and then the safeguarding of ecosystems, several other challenges have remained worrying in the area for years, such as the rights tariffs imposed by the United States on Canadian lumber. This is far from being the first period of instability that the members are experiencing, but I see that they are a little out of breath,” observes Luc Vachon, wishing however to qualify that these mitigating factors do not necessarily create a devitalized sector. . On the contrary, “it is an essential industry to achieve our environmental objectives”.
The latter estimates that the Quebec plan for the protection of the caribou will follow shortly after the last meeting, the so-called national one, which will close on April 11 this government process of reflection on the future of the forest.
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