WINNIPEG - Canada's forestry ministers are working on plans to stop the ravenous mountain pine beetle from spreading eastward across the Prairies and killing more forests.
An epidemic of the insects is threatening to destroy 80 per cent of mature pines in British Columbia, and the beetles are spreading into Alberta.
"If we don't take some kind of preventative actions in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, for sure that mountain pine beetle will be in our backyards as well,'' Manitoba Conservation Minister Stan Struthers said Tuesday after meeting with his federal and provincial counterparts.
Saskatchewan recently banned imports of pine products that have the bark attached in an effort to thwart the spread of the bugs. Manitoba is now looking at similar measures.
"Manitoba will be stepping forward this fall with legislation in this area,'' Struthers said.
"We need to be doing those kind of things to try as best we can to get ahead of the pine beetle.''
The federal and provincial ministers discussed the problem, but did not emerge with any new concrete plan of action and will continue to talk, he said.
Ottawa committed $200 million over three years in 2006 to fight the mountain pine beetle.
Alberta is planning a huge forest fire near Canmore this fall to create a treeless buffer-zone that might help stop the beetles' eastward drive.
The infestation has spread quickly, growing from 19,000 infested trees in Alberta in 2005 to more than three million this year.
Tuesday's meeting also saw the ministers talk about a five-point plan to help the forestry sector, which has been battered by mill closures and job losses.
Struthers refused to reveal details of the plan, saying it is still a work in progress, but hinted it may include new tax breaks.
"That may be having taxes that are applied not to profit, not to the equipment and the innovation that gets us to where we want to go,'' he said.
"But we don't want to be making pronouncements coming out of this meeting and putting (federal and provincial) officials in a straight jacket when they have the freedom to come back to us with a lot more recommendations.''
