Graham Smith
To: Voluntary Planning Task Force
I have been an admirer of the work done by Voluntary Planning task forces in the past, such as on Off Highway Vehicles and heritage. However the current task force on Natural Resources is threatening to erode this good reputation, having badly missed the mark in its interim report.
Having attended public meetings where the inputs of the public were solicited, I was disappointed with the report. It did not reflect what I heard at the meetings and in the reports that I read from meetings that I could not attend. I was expecting that the report would point the way to much-needed changes in our provincial approach to natural resource management, but the report instead gives only generalities or attempts to list all comments, with no real effort to condense or assimilate them.
In particular, what I heard at the meetings was a strong public voice calling for better forestry and mining practices. One person after another called for a great reduction in forest clear cutting due to the associated damage to water supplies, wildlife habitat and low-impact outdoor recreation. People do not want to see plantation-type forests of even-aged species and the associated need for the use of herbicides and pesticides. Others spoke out against strip mining and called for a ban on uranium mining. There were some countering voices from the industries, but these were obviously in self-interest, and indeed there were industrialists who espoused ecologically sustainable practices like selective harvesting of multi-aged stands, and Forestry Stewardship Council certification.
I strongly encourage the task force to rewrite the report so as to reflect what the majority of people are calling for. If this is not done, the task force will have failed to fulfill its mandate. What a loss this would be for our province, both in regard to having missed the opportunity to advise DNR on improved industrial practices, and in regard to the damage to public confidence in the Voluntary Planning process.
Thank you,
Graham Smith