Backtracking on forestry standards.

• Author: Stewart, Nick
• Position: NEWS

A recent Ontario government decision to change its paper procurement policy does little more than threaten an already volatile forestry industry, according to Jamie Lim, president of the Ontario Forest Industries Association (OFIA).

As a consumer of thousands of tons of paper per year, the province's Ministry of Government Services has stated as of January 2008, that 30 per cent of the paper it purchases must be Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified. This number will increase to 50 per cent by 2012.

This runs counter to a 2004 announcement by the Ministry of Natural Resources mandating all of Ontario's forests to be certified to one of three internationally-recognized standards: the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), and FSC.

By singling out one of the three certification standards, the government threatens to weaken the others, Lim says.

"Everything is so fragile in our sector right now, and do you really want to rock the boat? The boat is barely floating and some would say it's sinking, so why would you create more uncertainty in this business environment?"

The decision is especially puzzling given the government took out newspaper ads in recent years to trumpet the value of the province's three certification standards.

While the exact dollar value of the province's annual paper procurement is practically impossible to determine, it represents a "substantial chunk" of the $3 billion of Ontario's procurement spending, according to Ministry of Government Services spokesperson Greg Dennis.

Although the undetermined financial impact is a problem, it's the message that the new "FSC-only focus" sends to the world that is the most damaging concern, Lim says.

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However, Dennis counters that the move leaves sufficient leeway for a healthy balance and may not affect paper-producing companies at all.

"There's still 70 per cent for non-FSC paper, so it's not like they're being shut out," Dennis says.

The move to a single-certification policy was done out of a motivation for environmental friendliness Dennis says. FSC was selected because many of its policies are in line with the Ministry of Government Services' social and...