DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS FOR 1934 17 



preparations to proceed with operations, and under agreements filed the 

 Government is assured of having a minimum of 10,000 men busily engaged 

 in the bush, on the spring drive and in sawmill operations. 



As a record of the extent to which assistance was thus granted the follow- 

 ing copy of the Order-in-Council sanctioning same forms part of this report. 

 Appendix No. 8 gives the detailed cut throughout the year of all species. 



Copy of an Order-in-Council approved by the Honourable the Lieutenant- 

 Governor, dated the 11th day of September, A.D., 1934. 



Upon consideration of the Report of the Honourable the Minister of 

 Lands and Forests, wherein he states: 



In order to re-establish the lumber industry in Ontario and bring about 

 the employment of 10,000 men, the Ontario Government proposes to enter 

 into an agreement with the sawmill operators in the Province covering this 

 season's cut and providing somewhat reduced stumpage rates. 



The industry is at the present time in a very unsatisfactory condition. 

 Logging camps have been closed down, large numbers of regular bush men 

 are unemployed, many of whom are subject to direct Government relief, a 

 number of Ontario's largest sawmills have ceased to operate, while others 

 have been operating on a considerably reduced scale, in consequence of which 

 Provincial revenues have been drastically reduced. 



This condition of affairs has been brought about by 



(a) Falling off of international trade, generally due to tariff restrictions, 

 which have curtailed our buying power and in consequence our 

 ability to sell the country's natural products, including those of the 

 forests. 



(b) Keen competition from outside quarters such as British Columbia 

 and Southern United States, as well as in some respects from the 

 Eastern Provinces, stumpage prices, labour, freight rates and general 

 price levels having operated to the disadvantage of Ontario producers. 



(c) Inability of the operators to secure continued bank credits to tide 

 them over their difficulties. 



(d) The high stumpage prices bid in open competition at times when the 

 prospect of favourable trade returns was bright. 



From time to time during the last five years strong appeals were made 

 by the operators to the late Government for special consideration in the hope 

 that effective steps would be taken to check the downward trend of the indus- 

 try and to rehabilitate it on a basis approaching normalcy. While these 

 representations were not denied, the only extent to which the late Govern- 

 ment went towards asisstance was in the way of providing an abatement in 

 the interest charges for the operating season of 1929-30 and certain reductions 

 in the Crown dues only for the seasons of 1931-32, 1932-33 and 1933-34. Such 

 reductions, however, were far from what the operators sought, as they felt 

 the bonus, which is by far in most cases the larger portion of the prices paid 

 the Crown, it being in addition to the Crown dues, should be reduced to the 

 extent of fifty per cent. 



