FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 2002-11-07

STANDARDS COUNCIL OF CANADA SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH ONTARIO MINISTRY OF NATURAL RESOURCES ON REGISTRATION OF CROWN LANDS

TORONTO - The Standards Council (SCC) announced today that it has entered into an agreement with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR) with the aim of establishing a mutual confidence between the province's regulatory framework and the SCC's voluntary, third-party accreditation system.

"This agreement represents a progression of the work that the SCC and the Ministry have undertaken independently and leverages the strengths of both organizations to help reduce costs, while improving operating efficiencies across Ontario's forestry industry," said Peter Clark, Executive Director of the Standards Council of Canada.

The SCC's Forestry Management or SFM sector program uses its Environmental Management Accreditation Program as its foundation and utilizes the National SFM standard (CAN/CSA Z809), developed by the Canadian Standards Association, and approved by the Standards Council as a national standard of Canada.

When audited by an SCC accredited Registration Body, the ISO 14001, combined with CAN/CSA Z809 standards provide significant contributions to verification that an applicant satisfies OMNR's sustainable forest management regulatory requirements. Through this agreement SCC acknowledges the role that OMNR's regulatory framework and Independent Forest Audits can contribute to satisfying national SFM requirements and standards on Crown lands in Ontario.

"This government recognizes the importance of certification to the management of Ontario's forests and our economy," said Jerry Ouellette, Natural Resources Minister of Ontario. "The forest products sector is a multi-billion dollar industry in Ontario, providing tens of thousands of jobs."

Independent third-party registration, also known as certification, to national and international standards plays an important role in the marketing Ontario forest products around the world. Increasingly, governments, consumers, and retailers are demanding registration to recognized forestry practice standards.

OMNR is the legislated authority responsible for sustainable forest management of all Crown land forests within Ontario. To harvest forest products in Ontario, forest companies must first obtain a licence to do so from OMNR. OMNR monitors and independently audits licensees for both compliance with requirements and effectiveness of management activities in achieving set objectives.

The SCC is a federal Crown corporation that promotes efficient and effective voluntary standardization in Canada. The SCC is involved in coordinating Canada's participation in the development of international standards and, as Canada's national standardization body, oversees the efforts of the National Standard System.

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