Ontario vows to protect boreal forest
KAREN HOWLETT
Globe and Mail
TORONTO — The Ontario government has declared a huge swath of land in the Far North off-limits to industrial development, as part of a plan to combat climate change and preserve much of the province’s boreal forest and its endangered species.
The government has not yet drawn the boundaries for the areas to be protected. But it announced yesterday that it plans to ban mining exploration and forestry in one-half of the boreal forest, an area 1½ times the size of the Maritime provinces. About 225,000 square kilometres will be restricted to tourism and traditional aboriginal uses, such as hunting and fishing.
