Canadian Forestry Journal, December, 1918 



1967 



The West Asks for Its Forests 



Possession of the natural resources 

 in the three prairie provinces remains 

 for a while longer vested in the name 

 of the Dominion Government. A 

 meeting of the Provincial premiers 

 at Ottawa in November brought this 

 interesting question again into the 

 realm of discussion, with the net 

 result that the House of Commons 

 will have to adjudicate the claims not 

 only of the West but the counter 

 claims of the East for Federal aid. 



The Canadian Forestry Journal 

 has frequently pointed out that en- 

 tirely apart from the merits of their 

 case, any expectation by the Western 

 provinces of reaping an income rom 

 their forest possessions is a gross 

 misapprehension of facts. 



The Dominion Forestry Branch 

 spends $100,000 annually on forest 

 protection in Manitoba. The total 

 revenues do not exceed $12,000. 



On the Forests of Saskatchewan 

 $145,000 is spent by the Branch and 

 $9,000 is received. 



On the forests of A'berta $200,- 

 000 is spent and $18,00 ) is received. 



Even counting in the receipts of 

 the Timber and Grazing Branch, 

 the Dominion Government spends 

 about $200,000 a year on the prairie 

 forests that is not covered by income. 



The real and costly job. 



Not all the premiers of East and 

 West can alter the situation that 

 actually exists. Some one will have 

 to find S200,000 and more every year 

 to pay the cash deficit in the honest 

 handfing of the prairie province for- 

 ests. The devastation of forest fires 

 has been so tremendous that the 

 business of any custodian, Dominion 

 or Provincial, is to nurse back the 

 timber growing lands into a self- 

 supporting state. 



If the West is willing to meet this 

 outlay from provincial taxation, if it 

 is willin to better the conservation 

 methods at present in vogue, then 

 who could quarrel with the transfer 

 of the control from present hands? 



These points were discussed by the 

 conference at great length. It is 

 understood that the Dominion Gov- 

 ernment interposed no objections to 

 provincial management of lands, 

 mines, etc. Protest came mainly 

 from British Columbia, Ontario, 

 Quebec, and the Maritime Provinces. 



The Eastern and Pacific provinces 

 did not object to the Prairie Govern- 

 ments getting their lands, but they 

 claimed that, as it is a domain in 

 which all the provinces have a com- 

 mon interest, they are entitled to 

 extra subsidy in consideration of the 

 transfer. Five millions is what was 

 asked. Ontario and Quebec would 

 get about S2,800,000, and the lower 

 provinces $2,200,000. 



The West at once entered a demur- 

 rer. It would not concede that the 

 East had any proprietory interest in 

 its domain upon which additional 

 subsidy should be based. It d_d not 

 object to extra subsidies for the Mari- 

 time Provinces, but held that Ontario 

 and Quebec were wealthy states and 

 could afford to let well enough alone. 

 At this impasse the matter rests. 

 The Federal Government may con- 

 sider the whole problem during the 

 next session of aPrliament. 



WHITE PINE SKY-ROCKETING 



Readers of the Forestry Journal 

 will be interested in a recent sale of 

 white pine by Gustave Boswick, of 

 Berthierville P.Q., at $17 per thousand 

 board feet, standing. Such a price 

 for standing white pine timber has 

 seldom been equalled. Nothing be- 

 low 16 inches diameter was allowed to 

 be cut on Mr. Boswick's property. 



ERNEST POOLE MARRIED 

 At Cochrane, Ont., the marriage 

 is announced of Miss May Gertrude 

 Bryerton, daughter of Mrs. Theresa 

 Bryerton to Ernest J. Poole, Fire 

 Superintendent of the Ontario For- 

 est Service. 



