Government Policy Impact on the Evolution of Forest-dependent Communities in Canada since 1880

Abstract

"An analysis of how government forestry policy orientation has influenced the planning and development of forestry towns and affected people's well-being in Canada since 1880. The forests of Canada have traditionally been one of the mainstays to' the local economy. Whether in terms of the aboriginal people, the European colonizers or the modem industrialists, Canadian forests have been and, in many ways continue to be the catalysts of growth and development. The forests, however, provide more than just an economic basis for Canadian society. Indeed, the forests, and particularly the community structures that have evolved around them, offer a context through which Canadian society can be defined (Innis, 1950). Government policy, particularly in regard to forestry, has had a discernable impact on the development, structure and sustainability of forestry towns and on the people who live in them."