Saskatchewan’s Environment Minister, and Weyburn-Big Muddy MLA, Dustin Duncan was the host of the meeting of the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers earlier this week. The annual meeting was held in Elk Ridge, in the Saskatchewan boreal forest.

“The CCFM provides an important forum to discuss shared priorities and emerging trends in the forest sector across Canada,” Minister Duncan said in a written release.  “Although each jurisdiction has unique circumstances, there is tremendous value in identifying opportunities to work together on shared issues, and to hear about the many achievements that support a vision for a strong and sustainable forest sector.”

The ministers discussed a number of topics.

Among them is the mountain pine beetle, which is blamed for devastating forests in some parts of B.C. In the last few years, the Saskatchewan and Alberta governments have been stepping up efforts to limit the spread of the mountain pine beetle as it tries to move eastward. They would like to see further funding to help the issue.

Duncan explained wildfires were also a key topic discussed, and how they are handled.

“What we’re hearing from stakeholders, and indigenous groups and northern residents that live in, in our case, the boreal forest is they’re really looking for a whole of government and really a whole of society approach when it comes to dealing with forest fires," Duncan said.

As the meeting’s last order of business, Minister Duncan turned the CCFM Chair over to the Northwest Territories Environment and Natural Resources Deputy Minister, Dr. Joe Dragon, who will host the group’s 2020 gathering.