B.C. MP introduces motion to end old-growth logging on federal land, ban all exports by 2030
Less than a third of old-growth forests in B.C. are legally protected, motion says
A member of parliament from British Columbia has introduced a private member's motion urging the government to stop old-growth logging on federal land and end the export of old-growth products from Canada by 2030.
Liberal MP Patrick Weiler, who represents West Vancouver–Sunshine Coast–Sea to Sky Country, says the motion would help protect old-growth forests, which are tools to combat climate change and "iconic" parts of Canada's natural heritage.
"When we cut down old-growth forest, it's irreplaceable and it's inherently unsustainable, so we really need to focus on supporting communities and forestry practices that are going to be sustainable in the long term," Weiler told CBC News.
According to Weiler, the vast majority of old-growth logging in British Columbia is on provincial Crown land. The federal government controls only about one per cent of land in the province, and none of it is currently being logged.
WATCH | Why a B.C. MP wants to protect old-growth forests
But the provisions banning export of old-growth logs and log products would directly impact logging operations on land controlled by the province.
Environmental advocacy organizations, including the Ancient Forest Alliance, Endangered Ecosystem Alliance and Stand.earth, said the motion, if supported by the federal government, sends an "important signal" to B.C. and industry that Ottawa is willing to step in to protect old growth.
"It's a really, really small impact on the ground, but the signal that it sends is really strong," said Stand.earth's Tegan Hansen. "Those are really positive signals … that the federal government is not happy with the lack of action from the government of British Columbia."
WATCH | What a federal motion to protect old-growth means for B.C.
The motion would also increase federal funding for the B.C. Old Growth Protection Fund from $50 million to $82 million, bringing the fund to a total of $164 million, contingent on matching from the provincial government.
Private member's motions are not bills. If passed, the motion would demonstrate that parliament supports the government introducing legislation to carry out these changes.
'Rarest, oldest and tallest'
The motion says about eight per cent of B.C.'s most productive old-growth forests — coastal trees 250 years and older and inland trees 140 years and older — remain intact, and only about one third are currently under legal protection.
These forests provide important habitat for wildlife, including endangered species, along with storing massive amounts of carbon and helping to mitigate drought and flooding through water filtration, said Karen Price, who was part a five-member panel of ecologists and forestry experts who identified 2.6 million hectares (26,000 square kilometres) of unprotected old-growth forests at risk of permanent biodiversity loss in mapping released in November 2021.
The B.C. Ministry of Forests said it is working with First Nations to protect "our rarest, oldest, and tallest old-growth forests" but declined to comment on the motion.
"We're focused on the concrete actions we're taking in B.C., in partnership with rights holders," a spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement to CBC News on Friday.
Last spring, the government announced it would be implementing alternatives to clear-cut logging, such as selective harvesting techniques. In February, it increased the amount of land under a logging deferral to 2.1 million hectares, up from 1.7 million.
"For far too long, First Nations have been sidelined in this sector," First Nations Forestry Council CEO Leonard Joe said at the time. "Today, there are signs that this is changing."
Joe and the B.C. Council of Forest Industries, which represents the majority of lumber, pulp and paper, and manufactured wood producers in the province, did not return requests for comment before publication.
Other jurisdictions have recently taken action to preserve old-growth forests from logging and disruptive infrastructure, including the United States.
In April, U.S. President Joe Biden earmarked 453,000 square kilometres - an area larger than California - of old-growth and mature forests on U.S. government land it plans to protect from fires, insects and climate change.
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With files Bridgette Watson and The Canadian Press