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Wilson questions government over closure of Tree Seed Plant in Angus

By
In Council Watch
Oct 5th, 2017
2 Comments
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Jim Wilson MPP

News release from MPP Jim Wilson

Today in question period, Simcoe-Grey MPP Jim Wilson challenged the Liberal government over the recently announced closure of the Ontario Tree Seed Plant in Angus.

The facility is slated to close September 2018.

“If the announced closure goes ahead we will be losing the ability to protect and restore our forests with native, genetically appropriate species,” said Wilson. “My constituents are concerned not only for their jobs-by the way, it’s not a really large operation; there are six jobs involved-but also for the loss of this valuable resource that is being thrown away by your government with no consultation.”

Wilson referenced an Ontario Government press release from 2013 that praised the seed plant for preserving biodiversity, protecting the environment and supporting forest products and wood manufacturing sectors. He also noted that the government just spent $1.6 million last year upgrading the facility.

The Ontario Tree Seed Plant was established in 1923. It collects seed from approximately 50 different native species, stores over 9.5 billion viable seeds, maintains a seed bank of native tree species from across the province, supplies seeds to smaller nurseries and large forestry companies and provides seed for reforestation.

For more, please watch the full video clip.

2 Responses to “Wilson questions government over closure of Tree Seed Plant in Angus”

  1. Bonnie North says:

    From the presentation last night in Utopia, it was painfully obvious that the fate of the Seed Plant was determined in 1996, when the Harris government changed its “business model”. Mr. Wilson was a part of that government, but he speaks up about it now? Convenient and disingenuous.

  2. S. R. Jay says:

    Whether it is convenient or disingenuous do you really know ?

    The fact that Mr. Wilson is presently defending the seed plant is perhaps because he is recognizing the plants importance within the conservation and ecological strata of Essa. His comments seem broad based and appear to recognize the role of conservation and the seed plants present and future usefulness as a provincial resource.

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