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FPAC launches #ForestryForTheFuture campaign ahead of federal election

The Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) has launched its Forestry for the Future campaign to bring to light issues facing Canada’s forestry workers and communities ahead of the federal election on Oct. 21.

“The future of our sector in Canada is facing unprecedented challenges – worsening fire seasons, more damaging pest infestations, market volatility and trade disputes,” says Derek Nighbor, FPAC president and CEO, in a statement. “These are coming together in way that is putting thousands of Canadian jobs at risk and impacting our ability to use forest management as a tool to help fight climate change and make environmentally friendly products for Canada and the world.”

The Forestry for the Future campaign (#ForestryForTheFuture) is anchored by the www.forestryforthefuture.ca website, which captures details on the challenges and opportunities facing the sector and how prospective MPs can help. The site allows forestry workers and partners from across the country to share related information with candidates in their local ridings.

“Through forest management and wood and wood fibre based manufacturing, we have a huge opportunity to drive economic opportunity for thousands of Canadians, and at the same time realize real benefits for our environment. While we have a number of asks for prospective MPs, at the top of that list is the need to develop forest policies in a more inclusive and comprehensive way,” Nighbor says.

“We want to move to more adaptive management of Canada’s forests, see greater investment in more regionally-based climate vulnerability assessments, have governments consider pest and fire risks as part of landscape planning, and move away from one-off policy interventions that can bring about unintended consequences for the future health of our forests and forestry communities.”