New Brunswick Report
by Gaston Damecour, RPF


One of AGFOR’s current projects relates to the forest sector’s labour requirements, including silviculture. While a shortage of labour is in the news a lot today, people are often surprised when they are reminded that we had a serious labour shortage across eastern Canada in the 1970s. 


At that time, there was a strong demand for skilled and semi-skilled labour, across several sectors, during a period of strong economic growth. The boom was accompanied by a high degree of temporary and permanent mobility in New Brunswick and all the way to the Lakehead in Ontario. 


During the labour shortage of the 70s, the forest sector went to great lengths to attract and keep labour in an effort to maintain desired levels of activity in the forest. These efforts included impressive camp infrastructures and the rapid development of forest mechanization. 


In an earlier issue of Canadian Silviculture, we looked at mechanical pre-commercial thinning (PCT) as a breakthrough in the pre-treatment of daunting high-density juvenile stands (> 60,000 stems per hectare). The mechanical PCT is now being used on larger industrial and crown sites to enhance production in response to a declining labour force. Its application is now being fine-tuned in lower density stands (> 40,000 stems per hectare). This was undertaken to keep up with the aggressive silviculture commitments of management strategies. 
Aside from the silvicultural and technical challenges of mechanical PCT, there are logistical challenges to optimize scheduling of the mechanical units to keep costs in line with investment and with the task. 


Over the last few years, several mechanical harvesting contractors have moved west, along with other skilled trades, and now the first mechanical PCT contractors are following suit. Will this put the development of mechanical PCT on hold? 


The 5-year PCT commitments on crown land have been met and perhaps exceeded in some areas. Consequently, treatable areas should see a 20% decrease in the PCT program for the next 5-year period. This would help offset a possible reduction in a workforce with an estimated average age of about 45 with very little recruiting of replacement workers. 


Crown planting is expected to remain stable for the 2007-2012 period.
The commitment by the previous Conservative provincial government to fund a 5-year silviculture program for private lands provides a degree of stability. This is in contrast to an estimated 40% decrease in harvesting activities in the private lands sub-sector. 


Many of the private land-harvesting contractors have returned to their roots in silviculture, which has enhanced the productive capacity in this sector. There is every indication now that the 2006 $8 million program will be completed. According to Ken Hardie of the New Brunswick Federation of Woodlot owners, the 5-year commitment to fund silviculture work has created a significant amount of work and stability - extending several years.
The newly elected Liberal government committed itself during the election to the conversion of abandoned farmland to forest production. How this will play out now that they are in power is yet to be seen.

Gaston Damecour, RPF, NB & NS, is the principal of AGFOR Inc, a forestry business consulting firm based in Fredericton, New Brunswick. He can be reached at 506-462-0333 or gdamecour@agfor.nb.ca.