Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry

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Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry
Ministère des Richesses naturelles et des Forêts (French)

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry headquarters at Robinson Place in Peterborough
Ministry of the Government of Ontario overview
Formed1972
HeadquartersPeterborough
Ministers responsible
  • John Yakabuski, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry
  • Mike Harris Jr., Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry
Websitehttps://www.ontario.ca/ministry-natural-resources-forestry

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) is a government ministry of the Canadian province of Ontario that is responsible for Ontario's provincial parks, forests, fisheries, wildlife, mineral aggregates and the Crown lands and waters that make up 87 per cent of the province. Its offices are divided into Northwestern, Northeastern and Southern Ontario regions with the main headquarters in Peterborough, Ontario.[1]

History

The first government office charge with responsibility of crown land management in modern-day Ontario was the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Northern District of North America, created in 1763[2] and initially headed by Samuel Holland. Holland was initially appointed Surveyor General of Quebec, but offered to assume the larger responsibility at no increase in salary.[3] In 1791, Upper and Lower Canada were created via the Constitutional Act 1791. Holland continued to serve as Surveyor General for both, but openly advocated that they should be separate posts.[3]: 14 

In 1792, David William Smith was named by Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe to be acting Surveyor General of Upper Canada (against Holland's advice to appoint William Chewett as his replacement), Smith and was subsequently officially appointed to the position in 1798 and held the office until his resignation in 1804.[3]: 14  The previously overlooked Chewett and Thomas Ridout were appointed to the position jointly in the interim. In 1805, Charles Burton Wyatt was appointed (along with Joseph Bouchette[4]) but was suspended in 1807. Ridout was named to the office in 1807 and held the position until 1829.[3]: 15 

The Office of the Commissioner of Crown Lands for Upper Canada was established in 1827.[5] By the 1840s, however, the crown lands department had been established over which the Commissioner presided, and by 1860, this was renamed the Department of Crown Lands. The primary responsibility of the department was the sale and management of public lands and the granting of land to settlers. Between 1827 and 1867, the responsibilities of the department expanded to include the duties of the Surveyor General (in 1845), as well as those of the Surveyor General of Woods and Forests (in 1852). By 1867, the Department had responsibility over mines, fisheries, ordnance lands, colonization roads, and Indian affairs, as well.[6]

In 1867, the Department of Crown Lands for the Province of Canada was replaced with the Department of Crown Lands for Ontario. Ordnance lands, Indian affairs and fisheries were, however, transferred to the federal government in 1867. In 1900, the department also acquired responsibility over immigration and colonization.[7]

In 1905, legislation was passed which renamed the Commissioner of Crown Lands to the Minister of Lands and Mines. With this change, the department was renamed the Department of Lands and Mines. At this time, responsibilities for forestry were transferred to the Department of Agriculture.[8] In 1906, the department was renamed the Department of Lands, Forests and Mines, resuming responsibilities for forestry.[9] It also resumed responsibilities for immigration and colonization between 1916 and 1920.[10]

In 1920, the department was renamed Department of Lands and Forests when a separate Department of Mines was established.[11] Responsibilities for immigration and colonization were also transferred back to the Department of Agriculture.[10]

The department existed until 1972, when it amalgamated with the Department of Mines and Northern Affairs to form the Ministry of Natural Resources.[12] The ministry was responsible for northern affairs until 1977, and for mines until 1985.[13] It was again merged briefly between 1995 and 1997 with Northern Development and Mines to form a single Ministry of Natural Resources, Northern Development and Mines.

In 2014 the ministry was renamed the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, but responsibilities did not change.[14]

List of Ministers (Commissioners prior to 1905)

Name Term of office Tenure Political party
(Ministry) 		Note
Commissioner of Crown Lands Liberal
Conservative
(MacDonald)
Stephen Richards July 16, 1867 July 25, 1871 4 years, 9 days
Matthew Crooks Cameron July 25, 1871 December 21, 1871 149 days
Richard William Scott December 21, 1871 October 25, 1872 1 year, 348 days Liberal
(Blake)
October 25, 1872 December 4, 1873 Liberal
(Mowat)
Timothy Blair Pardee December 4, 1873 January 18, 1889 15 years, 45 days Resigned due to poor health, subsequently died on July 21, 1889.
Arthur Sturgis Hardy January 18, 1889 July 21, 1896 7 years, 185 days
John Morison Gibson July 21, 1896 October 21, 1899 3 years, 92 days Liberal
(Hardy)
Elihu Davis October 21, 1899 November 22, 1904 5 years, 32 days Liberal
(Ross)
Alexander Grant MacKay November 22, 1904 February 8, 1905 78 days
James Joseph Foy February 8, 1905 May 30, 1905 111 days Conservative
(Whitney)
Minister of Lands and Mines
Francis Cochrane May 30, 1905 April 27, 1906 6 years, 135 days
Minister of Lands, Forests and Mines
Francis Cochrane April 27, 1906 October 12, 1911
William Howard Hearst October 12, 1911 October 2, 1914 3 years, 71 days
October 2, 1914 December 22, 1914 Conservative
(Hearst) 		While Premier
Howard Ferguson December 22, 1914 November 14, 1919 4 years, 327 days
(first instance)
Minister of Lands and Forests United Farmers
(Drury)
Beniah Bowman November 14, 1919 July 16, 1923 3 years, 244 days
James W. Lyons July 16, 1923 March 1, 1926 2 years, 228 days Conservative
(Ferguson)
Howard Ferguson March 2, 1926 October 18, 1926 230 days
(second instance)
5 years, 192 days in total
William Finlayson October 18, 1926 December 15, 1930 7 years, 265 days
December 15, 1930 July 10, 1934 Conservative
(Henry)
Peter Heenan July 10, 1934 May 27, 1941 6 years, 321 days Liberal
(Hepburn)
Norman Otto Hipel May 27, 1941 October 21, 1942 2 years, 82 days Concurrently Provincial Secretary and Registrar (October 27, 1942 – May 18, 1943)
October 21, 1942 May 18, 1943 Liberal
(Conant)
May 18, 1943 August 17, 1943 Liberal
(Nixon)
Wesley Gardiner Thompson August 17, 1943 November 28, 1946 3 years, 103 days PC
(Drew)
Harold Robinson Scott November 28, 1946 October 19, 1948 5 years, 188 days
October 19, 1948 May 4, 1949 PC
(Kennedy)
May 4, 1949 June 3, 1952 PC
(Frost)
Welland Gemmell June 3, 1952 June 18, 1954 2 years, 15 days Died in office
Clare Mapledoram July 7, 1954 July 4, 1958 3 years, 362 days
Wilf Spooner July 23, 1958 November 8, 1961 4 years, 94 days
November 8, 1961 October 25, 1962 PC
(Robarts)
Kelso Roberts October 25, 1962 November 24, 1966 4 years, 30 days
René Brunelle November 24, 1966 March 1, 1971 5 years, 70 days Concurrently Minister of Mines (November 23, 1967 – February 13, 1968)
March 1, 1971 February 2, 1972 PC
(Davis)
Leo Bernier February 2, 1972 April 7, 1972 5 years, 1 day Concurrently Minister of Mines and Northern Affairs
Minister of Natural Resources
Leo Bernier April 7, 1972 February 3, 1977
Frank Miller February 3, 1977 August 18, 1978 1 year, 196 days
James Auld August 18, 1978 April 10, 1981 2 years, 235 days Concurrently Minister of Energy
Alan Pope April 10, 1981 February 8, 1985 3 years, 304 days
Mike Harris February 8, 1985 June 26, 1985 138 days PC
(Miller) 		Concurrently Minister of Energy (May 17, 1985 – June 26, 1985)
Vince Kerrio June 26, 1985 August 2, 1989 4 years, 37 days Liberal
(Peterson) 		Concurrently Minister of Energy (June 26, 1985 – September 29, 1987)
Lyn McLeod August 2, 1989 October 1, 1990 1 year, 60 days Concurrently Minister of Energy
Bud Wildman October 1, 1990 February 3, 1993 2 years, 125 days NDP
(Rae) 		Concurrently Minister Responsible for Native Affairs
Howard Hampton February 3, 1993 June 26, 1995 2 years, 143 days Concurrently Minister Responsible for Native Affairs
Minister of Natural Resources, Northern Development and Mines PC
(Harris)
Chris Hodgson June 26, 1995 October 10, 1997 2 years, 106 days
Minister of Natural Resources
John Snobelen October 10, 1997 April 14, 2002 4 years, 186 days
Jerry Ouellette April 15, 2002 October 22, 2003 1 year, 190 days PC
(Eves)
David Ramsay October 23, 2003 October 30, 2007 4 years, 7 days Liberal
(McGuinty) 		Concurrently Minister Responsible for Aboriginal Affairs (June 29, 2005 – June 21, 2007), Minister of Aboriginal Affairs (June 21, 2007 – October 30, 2007)
Donna Cansfield October 30, 2007 January 18, 2010 2 years, 80 days
Linda Jeffrey January 18, 2010 October 20, 2011 1 year, 275 days
Michael Gravelle October 20, 2011 February 11, 2013 1 year, 114 days
David Orazietti February 11, 2013 June 24, 2014 1 year, 133 days Liberal
(Wynne)
Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry
Bill Mauro June 24, 2014 June 13, 2016 1 year, 355 days
Kathryn McGarry June 13, 2016 January 17, 2018 1 year, 218 days
Nathalie Des Rosiers January 17, 2018 June 29, 2018 163 days
Jeff Yurek June 29, 2018 November 5, 2018 129 days PC
(Ford)
John Yakabuski November 5, 2018 Incumbent 5 years, 193 days

Organization

MNRF is organized into divisions; within each division are branches/regions, sections, and units.[15]

Divisions
  • Regional Operations Division
  • Provincial Services Division
  • Policy Division
  • Corporate Management and Information Division

Responsibilities

The Ministry is responsible for:

  • Fish & Wildlife Management – sustainably managing Ontario's fish and wildlife resources.[citation needed]
  • Land & Waters Management – leading the management of Ontario's Crown lands, water, oil, gas, salt and aggregates resources, including making Crown land available for renewable energy projects.[citation needed]
  • Forest Management – ensuring the sustainable management of Ontario's Crown forests.[citation needed]
  • Ontario Parks – guiding the management of Ontario's parks and protected areas.[citation needed]
  • Forest Fire, Flood and Drought Protection - protecting people, property and communities from related emergencies.[citation needed]
  • Geographic Information – developing and applying geographic information to help manage the province's natural resources.[citation needed]

The ministry also has responsibility for the Office of the Mining & Lands Commissioner and the Niagara Escarpment Commission agencies.[citation needed]

Ontario Parks

Ontario Parks protects significant natural and cultural resources in a system of parks and protected areas.[citation needed]

Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services

The Ministry's Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services (AFFES) program coordinates forest fire detection, monitoring, suppression and public information and education services for Ontario. AFFES also provides aviation services for the Ontario government and leads emergency management planning and response for natural hazards such as forest fires, floods, erosion, dam failures, unstable soils and bedrock, droughts and oil and gas emergencies.[citation needed]

The Ministry's entrance into the field of aviation started with hiring Laurentide Air Services to carry out fire patrols however the government soon realized it could save money by carrying out the operations itself and formed the Ontario Provincial Air Service, (O.P.A.S.) in February 1924 with 13 second hand Curtiss HS-2L flying boats that had been originally built for the US Navy. The OPAS was an early pioneer in the use of aircraft for the discovery and extinguishing of forest fires. Initially this involved carrying warnings of fires back to existing fire patrols, to be extinguished by teams that travelled by canoe or overland but soon they began landing firefighters (never more than a few at a time due to the limited carrying capacity of the aircraft available) with a hand-operated water pump near a fire. As a part of this program the OPAS completely rebuilt damaged aircraft before they began building a number of aircraft under license to meet their requirements such as the Buhl Air Sedan, and later provided considerable input on the development of the de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver and de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter and finally were central to the invention of the water bomber. The first water bomber was an OPAS DHC Beaver with a tank mounted on the float designed to dump the water out quickly. This had followed unsuccessful experiments with bags of water.[16]

Current AFFES Airfleet
Retired[19]

Aircraft on display

OMNR Image Gallery

See also

References

  1. ^ "Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry | Ontario.ca".
  2. ^ "History of the Office of the Surveyor General - Science and Information Resources Division - Ministry of Natural Resources, Government of Ontario". Mnr.gov.on.ca. Retrieved 2012-04-17.
  3. ^ a b c d Ballantyne, Dr. Brian (2010). Surveys, Parcels and Tenure on Canada Lands (PDF). Natural Resources Canada. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-100-17563-8.
  4. ^ http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/bouchette_joseph_7E.html
  5. ^ Alexander Fraser (1903). First Report of the Bureau of Archives for the Province of Ontario. Vol. I. Toronto: L.K. Cameron, King's Printer. pp. 19–25.
  6. ^ Bishop, Olga Bernice (1984). Publications of the Province of Upper Canada and of Great Britain: Relating to Upper Canada, 1791-1840. Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Culture. ISBN 978-0774389310.
  7. ^ Bishop, Olga Bernice (1976). Publications of the Government of Ontario, 1867-1900. Ontario Ministry of Government Services. ISBN 978-1341908729.
  8. ^ Act to Amend the Act respecting the Executive Council (Statutes of Ontario, Chapter 5). 1905.
  9. ^ An Act respecting the Department of Lands, Forests and Mines (Statutes of Ontario, Chapter 10). 1906.
  10. ^ a b MacTaggart, Hazel I (1964). Publications of the Government of Ontario, 1901-1955. Queen's Printer of Ontario.
  11. ^ Department of Mines Act (Statutes of Ontario, Chapter 12). 1920.
  12. ^ The Ministry of Natural Resources Act (Statutes of Ontario, Chapter 4). 1972.
  13. ^ Government of Ontario Telephone Directories, 1972-1996
  14. ^ https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/ontario-ministry-of-natural-resources-adds-forestry-to-its-title-1.2706127
  15. ^ "Organization Chart for Ministry of Natural Resources - Communications Services Branch - Ontario Government, Ministry of Natural Resources". Mnr.gov.on.ca. Retrieved 2012-04-17.
  16. ^ West, Bruce. Firebirds. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Queen's Printer, 1974.
  17. ^ "Current Fleet - Aviation and Forest Fire Management - Government of Ontario, Ministry of Natural Resources". Mnr.gov.on.ca. 2007-12-05. Retrieved 2013-07-03.
  18. ^ a b c d e f g Transport Canada (2 July 2013). "Canadian Civil Aircraft Register". Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  19. ^ Government of Ontario (2008). "History of the Air Service". Archived from the original on 11 April 2014. Retrieved 2008-12-10.
  20. ^ Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre (n.d.). "de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver". Archived from the original on 2010-09-18. Retrieved 2008-12-10.

External links

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