1240 



Canadian Forestry Journal, Auyiist, 191/ 



ii 



Provincial Rights'' — And the 

 Western Forests 



By the Editor. 



What Ownership of the Forests Would 

 Actually Mean to Prairie Provinces. 



Premier Sifton of All)erla was 

 sponsor of a resolution at the recent 

 Winnipeg Convention of Liberals to 

 the effect that Manitoba, Saskatch- 

 ewan and Alberta should be placed 

 upon the same basis as the older 

 provinces in respect to ownership of 

 their natural resources. 



With the political side of the long- 

 standing dispute over control of 

 natural resources in the prairie prov- 

 inces the Forestry Journal has no 

 concern. So peculiarly, however, is 

 the c[uestion related to proper man- 

 agement of the Western forests that 

 some reference to it in these pages is 

 legitimate and desirable. 



No Canadian concerned in con- 

 servation as a vital public policy has 

 his primary interest in the name or 

 political identity or even the location 

 of those entrusted with the protec- 

 tion and development of the forest 

 resources of the prairie provinces. 

 What happens to the western forests 

 is the main, indeed the only point 

 of apprehension. One may retort 

 that the western provinces are as 

 capable of estimating their own forest 

 problems and applying policies as is 

 the Dominion; and to that end might 

 be willing to institute Departments 

 of Lands and Forests. 



Does West Expect Revenues'! 

 On the other hand, it is undoubted- 

 ly true that the Western provinces, 

 or at least the bulk of their citizens 

 have an impression that ownership 

 of the forests would constitute an 

 immediate and rich source of revenue 

 to the provincial treasury and that 

 in demanding control of the forest 

 resources they are asking the Dom- 

 inion to enhance their cash income. 

 That the ownership of the Western 



forests is an immediate financial lia- 

 bility to the Dominion Government, 

 that the total income from Western 

 oresLs does hot equal the total outlay 

 for protection and improvement is 

 a plain fact that invariably causes 

 incredulous- wonder when brought to 

 the attention of the Westerner. In 

 speaking to audiences in many West- 

 ern cities in April last the Secretary 

 of the Forestry Association encounter- 

 ed a universal impression that the 

 Dominion Government was making 

 a snug fortune from owning the for- 

 ests of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and 

 Alberta, and that the m^in motive 

 in retaining the forests under Dom- 

 inion authority was probably cupid- 

 ity. 



What Protection Costs 

 The Dominion Forestry Branch 

 spends $100,000 annually on for- 

 est protection in Manitoba. The 

 total revenues do not exceed 

 $12,000. 



On the forests of Saskatchewan 

 $145,000 is spent by the Branch 

 and S9,000 is received. 



On the forests of Alberta S200,- 

 000 is spent and $18,000 is re- 

 ceived. 



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. 



If the forests are handed over to 

 the western provinces, they must 

 accept the situation as it actually is, 

 not as political fairy tales would have 

 it appear. Manitoba, Saskatchewan, 

 and Alberta, instead of adding to 

 their revenues, would then have to 

 find at least $200,000 from some 

 fresh source with which to pay the 



