Forestry industry hurting, Dolter tells leaders

CORNER BROOK - Sean Dolter gave the Municipalities Newfoundland Labrador a glimpse of the forest industry, and it wasn't pretty.

The general manager of the Model Forest of Newfoundland and Labrador addressed the industry perspective portion of MNL's Local Action for Developing Regions workshop Friday evening.

Sharon McLennon, co-chair of the Western Newfoundland Oil and Gas Steering Committee and Stan Cook Jr., past president of Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador, also gave their take on the economic development potentials of their industries.

Dolter said there are a number of pressures facing the timber side of the industry - the pulp and paper and sawmill sectors.

He said the soaring loonie and the slumping U.S. economy - where most of Newfoundland and Labrador's forest exports go - are combining to hit that segment of the economy hard.

"We do have to work with the industry to make it more sustainable," Dolter said.
"Communities have to work with the industry to see what they can do to make it stronger and more efficient."

Cook, meanwhile, said the tourism sector can be a great economic generator for the province. He said most communities now list tourism in their Top-3 industries, which is wonderful, but there has to be a balance. He said not every attraction is going to be at the top of tourist's to-do list. He said the province has natural beauty and natural resources in spades and that's one reason tourists visit.

"We're a very unique destination," Cook said. "People actually come here because of our culture, which is kind of a strange thing. People go to Florida for see the sun and the beaches. People go to Arizona to see the Grand Canyon. We generally don't travel for the culture. We enjoy it when we're there.

"It's actually a motivator for this province. People actually will come and do come for the people and the culture."

McLennon said the oil and gas industry is in its infancy and can learn a lot from the mature forest sector and the burgeoning tourism sector.

"Municipalities have experience of developing different sectors," McLennon said. "The municipalities, except for Corner Brook, we really haven't worked with them to develop the oil and gas sector yet, but with a west coast approach, hopefully they'll lend us their expertise."