Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I believe I asked this question a few years ago and I have never really received a straightforward answer to it, or at least not one which I had a clear idea about. I understand that in places where they do clear cut logging in British Columbia and in the maritime provinces, because they destroy the whole lot, they then go about reforesting the area. From several of the presentations which we have had in this Assembly, we have been told that people do not do clear cut logging. What they do is select areas, because perhaps in our part of the world not that many trees reach the dimensions where you can justify cutting a large number of trees down in one area. I am not an expert in the area, however, I have read a lot and I have spoken with quite a few people. What I cannot understand is why do we reforest those areas, when I am told the best plan is to simply let nature take its course and that you would be far better off weeding out or taking out those trees which obviously are not going to come to very much and let the stronger ones grow. I am always struck when I am travelling on the highway that we have huge expanses of land where fire has, in fact, essentially clear cut the whole area. You have literally thickets of trees, they grow so close together. Everyone of them is struggling for space, air and nourishment. Why is it that we have gone the route of reforestation, in other words, putting in new plants and seeding things, where we have these huge expansions when all you really have to do is cut some of those trees out to let the other ones grow. I have never seen a program where we have done this; Where we simply take advantage of the work which has already been done by nature and then cut out the trees which are not doing that well so that the stronger ones can grow and have a better wood harvest for us sometime in the future. It is a long question but it has always puzzled me.
Brian Lewis on Committee Motion 75-12(3): To Adopt Recommendation 21
In the Legislative Assembly on March 1st, 1993. See this statement in context.
Committee Motion 75-12(3): To Adopt Recommendation 21
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
February 28th, 1993
Page 685
Brian Lewis Yellowknife Centre
See context to find out what was said next.