Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty is being applauded this week for introducing a new law that will eventually protect 225,000 square kilometres of wild rivers, wetlands and pristine forests known to some as the Great Boreal Forest.
McGunity's draft legislation is intended to protect the ecological integrity of the region and keep this vast carbon storehouse intact, while providing new powers for its inhabitants. Northern First Nations communities would be handed more control over land-use decisions. And local polar bears, caribou and other critters that call the Boreal home would benefit from new more rigorous land-use planning processes that would ensure their lifestyles aren't trampled if and when industrial development sweeps into the region -- right now there are only two mines and one permanent year-round road in the region, but significant amounts of minerals and hydroelectric potential.
Aside from me selfishly hoping that iconic species like the polar bear and caribou are actually found in nature when my kid grows up, it is true that something this big does indeed have planetary impact. As Janet Sumner from CPAWS-Wildlands League says in this release:
"The Premier has made good on his promise to the planet, and has set in motion a plan to protect more than 50 billion tonnes of carbon.”Yes, the region's carbon-gobbling trees, soil and wetlands are absolutely full of it. And as long as they remain intact, they will continue to absorb millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.
I am glad McGuinty has stepped up. Because right now there are lots of clever people scouring the region for shiny metals to extract and hatching grand plans to build dams and the like. But given the stakes, I think McGuinty is on the right path -- let's map out a plan before we damn ourselves.
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