Canada Invests in New Brunswick’s Indigenous Forestry Initiative

Tobique First Nation, New Brunswick - Canada’s forests continue to be important sources of good jobs in communities across the country, especially rural, remote and Indigenous communities. To ensure a direct benefit to Indigenous communities, our government is supporting Indigenous peoples’ participation in natural resources projects.

 

Member of Parliament for Tobique–Mactaquac, T.J. Harvey, on behalf of Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources (NRCan), the Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, today announced $295,000 in funding for two Indigenous forest sector projects in New Brunswick that will create jobs and boost the local economy.

 

The first project is a multi-year investment of $255,000 to the Tobique First Nation that will establish a forest-based community business to create long-term employment opportunities and increase revenues in the community. Part of this funding has so far supported a detailed analysis of Tobique’s manufacturing options, which led to the purchase of a sawmill in Perth-Andover. The next phase of this funding will create standard operating procedures, training in grading and stamping lumber and management succession planning for the mill that will lead to more local jobs. 

 

The second investment of $40,000 will help Mi’gmawe’I Tplu’taqnn Incorporated launch a sustainable forestry strategy for its nine member communities. The strategies will assess and identify manufacturing options and opportunities in the local forest sector.

 

Both projects are funded by NRCan’s Indigenous Forestry Initiative, part of the Canada’s Softwood Lumber Action Plan, which offers opportunities to Indigenous communities that rely on forest sustainability by increasing Indigenous participation in forestry-related opportunities, businesses, careers and governance

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.