September 24, 2014
Montreal
Natural Resources Canada
Royal Galipeau, Member of Parliament for Ottawa–Orléans, on behalf of the Honourable Greg Rickford, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario, today joined officials from the City of Montreal, the Tree Canada Foundation and Les Amis de la Montagne and teachers and students in celebrating National Tree Day at Montreal’s Mount Royal Park. The event was organized to help highlight National Tree Day by breaking the Guinness World Record for the number of people simultaneously hugging trees for one minute. The previous record of 2,001 people was set in Nepal on June 5, 2014.
National Tree Day is a celebration of our forests and trees and their importance to the quality of life in cities, towns and villages throughout Canada. Urban trees and forests have been shown to improve air quality by removing atmospheric carbon dioxide, absorbing air pollutants and producing oxygen. The average urban tree in Canada is estimated to remove about 200 kg of carbon over an 80-year period.
While there is much to celebrate, some trees are under serious threat. In communities in Ontario and Quebec, one insect species — the emerald ash borer — is killing millions of ash trees and changing the landscape of our urban areas. Natural Resources Canada is undertaking scientific research to promote the health of ashes by developing tools that municipalities can use to combat the insect pest, as well as other tools that landowners can use to assess their options if they have ash trees on their property.
Canada’s trees are, of course, of great commercial value. The Government of Canada recognizes that our forest sector is an important economic driver, and it has been making strategic investments to help ensure an internationally competitive forest sector. By striking a balance between environmental and economic needs, our government is ensuring that Canada’s vast natural forests will continue to play a major role in our communities, providing numerous reasons to join the celebrations of National Forest Week and National Tree Day this year.
Royal Galipeau
Member of Parliament for Ottawa-Orléans
Alexandra Lemieux
Press Secretary
Office of Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources
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