If you want something done right, never ask the government..According to a briefing note from the Department of Natural Resources, it hopes to rely on private landowners to help the Liberals fulfil their promise of planting two billion trees since the last election..The department even acknowledged it had no actual structure or plan to ensure “the right tree is planted in the right place.”.The briefing note revealed cabinet had always intended for private property owners to help plant the trees, says Blacklock’s Reporter. During the Liberal’s 2019 campaign platform Forward: A Real Plan For The Middle Class, there was no mention of private landowners contributing to the “tree blitz.”.The 2019 platform said “we will plant two billion trees to clean our air and protect our communities.” The Liberals said doing this would “help create 3,500 seasonal jobs in tree planting each year.”.In a briefing note titled Two Billion Trees, staff acknowledged federal agencies had no way of meeting this target without accepting help from private property owners. The department said “there was always an intent for cost sharing with partners.”.Partners were specified in the note to “expect” the inclusion of provinces, territories, Indigenous communities, cities and communities, and private landowners. “Our government’s intention for cost sharing has always been a key feature of this intitiative,” the note said..Initially cabinet budgeted the ten-year project at $3.16 billion, but the Parliamentary Budget Office said in a January 29 report “the actual cost was closer to $5.94 billion.”.From 2007 to 2017, Federal data shows forestry companies and provinces have planted a combined 5.6 billion trees. The department told the Commons natural resources committee last October 30 “forestry companies alone plant 600 million trees a year.”.“Canada is a world leader, as you know, in sustainable forest management,” Beth MacNeil told assistant deputy minister of natural resources. “What that actually means is if you harvest a tree, you’re legally obligated to plant one.”.MacNeil called out the department saying they didn’t have “a detailed plan at this time” to meet the two billion target for trees planted. “We harvest less than one percent of our forests in Canada. What we harvested by law has to be replaced,” MacNeil said..According to the Yale School of Forestry, Canada currently has 318 billion trees. This gives Canada “approximately one quarter of the world’s remaining original forests,” said Yale..Annamie Paul, new leader of the Green Party said on Friday the tree-planting promise was a failure. “We need to plant,” Paul told reporters. Paul said the Liberals have made such slow amends on their promise she is even willing to take matters into her own hands “I’m going to grab my kids and a couple of Greens and some shovels and just get planting myself.”.Paul told the media “we’ve waited long enough for those two billion trees.”.Jackie Conroy is a reporter for the Western Standard.jconroy@westernstandardonline.com
If you want something done right, never ask the government..According to a briefing note from the Department of Natural Resources, it hopes to rely on private landowners to help the Liberals fulfil their promise of planting two billion trees since the last election..The department even acknowledged it had no actual structure or plan to ensure “the right tree is planted in the right place.”.The briefing note revealed cabinet had always intended for private property owners to help plant the trees, says Blacklock’s Reporter. During the Liberal’s 2019 campaign platform Forward: A Real Plan For The Middle Class, there was no mention of private landowners contributing to the “tree blitz.”.The 2019 platform said “we will plant two billion trees to clean our air and protect our communities.” The Liberals said doing this would “help create 3,500 seasonal jobs in tree planting each year.”.In a briefing note titled Two Billion Trees, staff acknowledged federal agencies had no way of meeting this target without accepting help from private property owners. The department said “there was always an intent for cost sharing with partners.”.Partners were specified in the note to “expect” the inclusion of provinces, territories, Indigenous communities, cities and communities, and private landowners. “Our government’s intention for cost sharing has always been a key feature of this intitiative,” the note said..Initially cabinet budgeted the ten-year project at $3.16 billion, but the Parliamentary Budget Office said in a January 29 report “the actual cost was closer to $5.94 billion.”.From 2007 to 2017, Federal data shows forestry companies and provinces have planted a combined 5.6 billion trees. The department told the Commons natural resources committee last October 30 “forestry companies alone plant 600 million trees a year.”.“Canada is a world leader, as you know, in sustainable forest management,” Beth MacNeil told assistant deputy minister of natural resources. “What that actually means is if you harvest a tree, you’re legally obligated to plant one.”.MacNeil called out the department saying they didn’t have “a detailed plan at this time” to meet the two billion target for trees planted. “We harvest less than one percent of our forests in Canada. What we harvested by law has to be replaced,” MacNeil said..According to the Yale School of Forestry, Canada currently has 318 billion trees. This gives Canada “approximately one quarter of the world’s remaining original forests,” said Yale..Annamie Paul, new leader of the Green Party said on Friday the tree-planting promise was a failure. “We need to plant,” Paul told reporters. Paul said the Liberals have made such slow amends on their promise she is even willing to take matters into her own hands “I’m going to grab my kids and a couple of Greens and some shovels and just get planting myself.”.Paul told the media “we’ve waited long enough for those two billion trees.”.Jackie Conroy is a reporter for the Western Standard.jconroy@westernstandardonline.com
