On short notice the Wilderness Committee Manitoba hosted an Open House at Place Louis Riel on January 22nd, in the room adjacent to multinational logging giant Tembec’s Open House.

Our intention was to bring Tembec’s plans to further abuse our forests to more Manitobans. Displays documenting Tembec’s upcoming plans for clearcutting our wilderness were presented and explained to a group of over 50 concerned citizens. These people included Wilderness Committee members and supporters, cottage owners, outfitters and lodge owners, and Forestry students from the University of Manitoba, among others. After discussing the many concerns with Tembec’s activities we walked over to Tembec’s Open House to ask the hard questions about Tembec’s plans. People from a diverse range of backgrounds asked questions. Tembec's Divisional Forester was on hand, but was unable to explain Tembec’s actions in any satisfactory way. Most people went away disgusted with Tembec’s flagrant abuse of our forests.

Attending Tembec’s Open House was an auditor for the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international organization which certifies forestry operations as ecologically responsible. Tembec is attempting to get certification as responsible foresters right now.

Below are some images from the event.

Manitoba Director, Eric Reder, explaining some of Tembec's plans for provincial parks.

Eric and a map of Nopiming Provincial Park, which shows all of the old growth forests in the park. Tembec plans to log it all in the next two years.

Tembec's Divisional Forester trying to blame the government Department of Conservation for Tembec's logging of a proposed Ecological Reserve in Nopiming Provincial Park. Tembec stated in documents to the FSC that they would not be logging this area, yet their 2006 Operating Plan clearly demonstrates this as false. Taking notes in the background is the FSC auditor.

Cottage owner and outfitter Russ Popp confronting Tembec's Divisional Forester about the pattern of illegal cut block sizes, and Tembec ignoring the legally required consultations of cottage owners and outfitters.

Eric asks about Tembec's plan to clearcut the calving grounds of the threatened woodland caribou. At first Tembec tried to say the calving grounds were protected, and then backtracked to say this wasn't part of their planned operating area. Eric countered by presenting a map downloaded from the Tembec website clearly showing Tembec plans to log the calving ground.

Eric waits in vain for a Tembec response to the question of why Tembec is logging the Manigotagan River corridor after so many Manitobans worked to protect it. CBC television films. No explanation was forthcoming.