Скачать или смотреть Top officials say mandated herbicide restrictions raise 'concern' about timber supply

After last year's provincial election, Premier Susan Holt instructed several of her newly-minted Cabinet ministers to restrict aerial herbicide spraying, as recommended almost three years earlier by an all-party legislative committee.

But senior officials from the Department of Natural Resources told lawmakers on Tuesday that the province hasn't yet introduced a number of recommendations including buffers or "setbacks" meant to separate herbicide spraying from homes, bodies of water, and natural protected areas.

The delays raise questions about the degree of influence that industry is exerting over the provincial government. Chris Norfolk, acting assistant deputy minister of Natural Resources, told MLAs that the setbacks could hurt New Brunswick's softwood lumber industry.

"We have reviewed the implications of fully implementing these required setbacks and I can say, based on our preliminary estimates, we do have some concern that this would create a significant impact to the province's timber supply," Norfolk said during a presentation to the Standing Committee on Climate Change and Environmental Stewardship.

The committee hearing took place just as the volunteer-led group Stop Spraying NB announced the results of its latest annual "report card" evaluating the performance of New Brunswick's major political parties.

That group gave failing marks to both the governing Liberal Party and the official opposition Conservatives.

The governing Liberals, have "basically failed to follow through with their election promises in the amount of time that would have been reasonable," said Caroline Lubbe-D’Arcy, the chair of SSNB.

The NB Media Co-op requested interviews with the Minister of Environment and the Minister of Natural Resources. In response, the Department of Environment provided a statement attributed to Minister LePage. 

It said, in part, that pesticide use in New Brunswick is "tightly regulated" with a "strong, layered system" that he said is "guided by science."

LePage said that since the November 2021 report, the government has "added further oversight and restrictions."

To read the full story, go to our online publication, nbmediacoop.org.

David Gordon Koch is a journalist with the NB Media Co-op based in Moncton. This reporting has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada, administered by the Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS).