This afternoon, standing  outside of the Northumberland Wood Marketing Board offices,  Green Party Leader David Coon announced that a Green government would ensure that private woodlots return to being the primary source of wood supply for New Brunswick mills.

Coon said that he would bring changes to the Crown Lands and Forests Act within the first one hundred days of a Green government in order to ensure equitable access to the market for private woodlot owners.

“Forty years ago, woodlot owners and their families were promised a fair deal when the Crown forests were turned over to a handful of large corporations. A deal that said they would be the primary source of wood fibre to the mills, so they could continue to market their wood to provide for their families ” said Coon. “Successive  Liberal and Conservative governments reneged on that deal, making it nearly impossible  for woodlot owners to live off of the wood they produce.”

“I will stand up against the special pleading of the big guys and fight to ensure fair market access for small woodlot owners from Northumberland County to Charlotte County, and from Kings County to Restigouche County,” said Coon.