Environment Commissioner Jerry DeMarco said it's “unlikely” the Trudeau government can plant two billion trees within 10 years, as promised in 2019. Also, a report from the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) found that the program will likely cost 88% more than its budget..“Given the number of trees planted so far, the program is unlikely to succeed unless significant changes are made,” DeMarco told reporters..The department of Natural Resources that manages the program expected provinces to plant most of the trees without first finalizing contracts, according to Blacklock’s Reporter..“We found Natural Resources Canada had not yet signed any long-term project agreements with provinces or territories,” DeMarco wrote in a report Financial Support for Planting Two Billion Trees..“As the department had designed the ‘two billion tree’ program with the expectation that 67.5% of all program funds would be used by provinces and territories to plant 1.34 billion trees, this constitutes a major program risk.”.“Is the government on track to meet the goal of planting two billion trees by 2030?” asked a reporter..“They are not on track,” replied DeMarco..The Liberal Party, in its 2019 election platform Forward: A Real Plan for the Middle Class, proposed to plant two billion trees within a decade..“We will plant two billion trees to clean our air and protect our communities,” said the document..“This will help create 3,500 seasonal jobs in tree planting each year.”.Cabinet budgeted the cost at $3.16 billion over ten years. In a 2021 report Financial Support for Planting Two Billion Trees, the PBO said actual costs would nearly double to $5.94 billion..Commissioner DeMarco said Canada already has 895 million acres of forests..The Commons Natural Resources committee has documented that more than 600 million trees are planted annually under Crown licenses with forestry companies..In the decade from 2007 to 2017, data showed that timber companies and provinces planted 5.6 billion trees, nearly triple the federal plan..“It is unlikely the ‘two billion trees’ program will meet its objectives,” said DeMarco..“While the department of Natural Resources nearly met its goal to plant 30 million trees in 2021, the first year of the ten-year program, it fell well short of its second-year goal.”.In an Inquiry of Ministry tabled in the Commons on Feb. 15, Cabinet counted 28.9 million trees planted to date under the “two billion tree” program..A majority, 14 million, were planted in Québec followed by British Columbia (10.5 million), Alberta (1.6 million), New Brunswick (1.1 million), Ontario (925,000), Manitoba (257,000), Saskatchewan (145,000), Newfoundland and Labrador (67,000), Nova Scotia (37,000) and Prince Edward Island (5,000).
Environment Commissioner Jerry DeMarco said it's “unlikely” the Trudeau government can plant two billion trees within 10 years, as promised in 2019. Also, a report from the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) found that the program will likely cost 88% more than its budget..“Given the number of trees planted so far, the program is unlikely to succeed unless significant changes are made,” DeMarco told reporters..The department of Natural Resources that manages the program expected provinces to plant most of the trees without first finalizing contracts, according to Blacklock’s Reporter..“We found Natural Resources Canada had not yet signed any long-term project agreements with provinces or territories,” DeMarco wrote in a report Financial Support for Planting Two Billion Trees..“As the department had designed the ‘two billion tree’ program with the expectation that 67.5% of all program funds would be used by provinces and territories to plant 1.34 billion trees, this constitutes a major program risk.”.“Is the government on track to meet the goal of planting two billion trees by 2030?” asked a reporter..“They are not on track,” replied DeMarco..The Liberal Party, in its 2019 election platform Forward: A Real Plan for the Middle Class, proposed to plant two billion trees within a decade..“We will plant two billion trees to clean our air and protect our communities,” said the document..“This will help create 3,500 seasonal jobs in tree planting each year.”.Cabinet budgeted the cost at $3.16 billion over ten years. In a 2021 report Financial Support for Planting Two Billion Trees, the PBO said actual costs would nearly double to $5.94 billion..Commissioner DeMarco said Canada already has 895 million acres of forests..The Commons Natural Resources committee has documented that more than 600 million trees are planted annually under Crown licenses with forestry companies..In the decade from 2007 to 2017, data showed that timber companies and provinces planted 5.6 billion trees, nearly triple the federal plan..“It is unlikely the ‘two billion trees’ program will meet its objectives,” said DeMarco..“While the department of Natural Resources nearly met its goal to plant 30 million trees in 2021, the first year of the ten-year program, it fell well short of its second-year goal.”.In an Inquiry of Ministry tabled in the Commons on Feb. 15, Cabinet counted 28.9 million trees planted to date under the “two billion tree” program..A majority, 14 million, were planted in Québec followed by British Columbia (10.5 million), Alberta (1.6 million), New Brunswick (1.1 million), Ontario (925,000), Manitoba (257,000), Saskatchewan (145,000), Newfoundland and Labrador (67,000), Nova Scotia (37,000) and Prince Edward Island (5,000).
