Thank you, Mr. Chair.

First of all, I'd like to thank the committee for welcoming us today.

Kwe, Chief Dufour. Good morning, committee members. My name is Yanick Baillargeon and I am a warden. I'm appearing today as president of Alliance forêt boréale, a political organization made up of elected municipal officials from the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, La Haute-Côte-Nord and Manicouagan RCMs. Our territory is made up of 65 municipalities, 34 of which depend on the forestry sector. For these municipalities, forests are an important source of economic development, employment and vitality. Without the forestry sector, the future of these municipalities would be severely compromised, as it is our territory's largest employer. In fact, it creates over 20,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs, and generates over a billion dollars in wages.

Our organization advocates sustainable development and, in that respect, I would like to point out that we are requesting that measures to protect the woodland caribou be determined in consultation with local stakeholders in order to find win-win solutions.

In his July 16, 2024 impact analysis, Quebec's chief forester estimated the allowable cut for all species combined at nearly 800,000 cubic metres of wood for the Pipmuacan provisional zone, and at 357,000 cubic metres for Charlevoix. Several guaranteed-access licensees carry out forestry operations in these areas. In addition to timber harvesting, many forestry contractors carry out silvicultural work. The entire forestry sector is linked and interwoven like a chain. As soon as one link is cut, the chain breaks. If the decree is applied as it stands, more than 1.1 million cubic metres will be subtracted from our territory's allowable cut. Such a reduction jeopardizes not only the future of our forest communities, but also that of our entire region.

In that sense, Alliance forêt boréale is highly concerned about the socio-economic consequences that would transpire were the decree proposed by the Government of Canada to be applied. It is estimated that 100,000 cubic metres of wood create 325 direct, indirect and induced jobs, and that each cubic metre of wood harvested generates $200 in tax benefits. Based on the results of Quebec's chief forester, job losses in the Pipmuacan region alone are estimated at nearly 2,500, which would be catastrophic. In the Charlevoix region, an additional 1,160 workers will lose their jobs.

We wonder how the Government of Canada can justify such consequences for workers, families and forest communities in Quebec.

Environment and Climate Change Canada considers only the cubic metres of wood that will be lost for each mill. Yet the decree will also have an indirect impact on forestry contractors and subcontractors, as well as induced impacts on businesses and other services in our communities. That is to say nothing of the social upheaval that could result from job losses.

Once again, we wonder how the Government of Canada can make the decision to implement such a decree without considering the indirect, induced and, above all, social impacts on forest communities.

The Government of Canada must consider that, in the Pipmuacan provisional zone, there are over 700 cottagers, three controlled harvesting zones, six outfitters, thousands of kilometres of multi-use roads, tens of kilometres of off-road vehicle trails as well as 11 trapping camps. So we're talking about significant economic and social activity.

How can the government claim to be able to achieve a disturbance rate of 35% by maintaining these uses and occupations in the sector, but prohibiting forestry activities there, when the sector is currently more than 80% disturbed?

Alliance forêt boréale also found that the Government of Canada had reached an agreement with Saskatchewan to allow a 60% disturbance rate in the northern part of the woodland caribou range. The essential condition for signing such an agreement is to demonstrate scientifically that this rate of disturbance does not jeopardize the survival of the species and its future. In other words, if this agreement has been signed, it is because it has been demonstrated that the species could survive with a disturbance rate of 60%.

Why not set a disturbance rate for Quebec that takes the territory's forest productivity into account, as is the case for Saskatchewan?

We believe that imposing protection measures by emergency decree is unacceptable given that Quebec is working on a comprehensive protection vision. We demand a balance between protecting the species and preserving forest communities. Our organization believes that it is possible to reconcile forest management and caribou protection through rigorous management that respects biodiversity, and that, as such, the Quebec government has all the jurisdiction and credibility to achieve this.

Alliance forêt boréale urges the federal government to refrain from adopting this decree, which would have disastrous social and economic consequences, to refrain from interfering in the Quebec government's areas of jurisdiction, and to respect the processes currently underway.

Alliance forêt boréale is convinced that the imposition of this emergency decree will have catastrophic consequences on the economy and workers of our forest communities. More than 3,600 families will be directly affected by this measure that the Canadian government wishes to implement. How can it not take into consideration the social and economic consequences—not to mention the human suffering—that will result from the application of this decree?

Is the Government of Canada prepared to throw 3,600 families out on the street, including 2,500 in the Haute-Côte-Nord MRC territory alone, kill our territory's regional economy and create ghost villages that live off the government?

Thank you.