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FSC Canada announces new board members

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Canada has added representatives of the Haida Nation, Ontario Nature, Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries and Unifor to its board of directors.

“FSC Canada’s board of directors is fundamental to the organization, providing diverse Aboriginal, economic, social and environmental interests, and bringing integrity and resilience to the FSC system. With a strong and chamber-balanced Board of Directors FSC Canada will be able to continue to move the organization in the right direction,” says Francois Dufresne, president of FSC Canada.

The FSC Canada board is made up of eight elected representatives (two per chamber). The board members for 2016-2018 are:

Aboriginal Peoples Chamber
Brenda St-Denis, Wolf Lake First Nation
Colin Richardson, Haida Nation

Economic Chamber
Andrew Tremblay, Domtar
Elston Dsuz, Alpac

Environmental Chamber
Pier-Olivier Boudreault, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society
Julee Boan, Ontario Nature

Social Chamber
Arnold Bercov, Public and Private Workers of Canada
Renaud Gagné, Unifor

FSC Canada held its annual general meeting in Ottawa in early November. More than 50 members, certificate holders and stakeholders attended.

FSC Canada outgoing chair Chris McDonell delivered his annual report and highlights. Notably, FSC-certified forests in Canada grew by 3 million hectares in 2016 to a total of 54 million hectares.

FSC Canada president François Dufresne shared the organization’s strategic plan for the next five years to ensure development and growth of FSC. “Our strategic plan will focus on continuing to build FSC as a catalyst for change in the world of responsible forest management while delivering value to our members, reinforcing their export drive worldwide and helping to secure local employment.”

As a first step, the strategic plan will ensure the release of a modern standard for well managed forestry that is aligned with international indicators while emphasizing Canadian priorities. The National Standard will offer a leadership platform to advance free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), protection of species at risk such as woodland caribou and integration of intact forest and indigenous cultural landscape concepts. Strong community and positive worker relations will be emphasized as well as recognizing the role of well managed forests in the global fight on climate change.