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There are many things I love about my summer job as a Silviculture student with West Fraser, the number one naturally being the fact that I am surrounded by nature nearly every day.

I love to take my dogs with me whenever and wherever I can. However, the wilderness is hazardous, and you never know what might be around the corner.

Just living in Northern Ontario has honestly been one of my favourite things about the past two summers. Being surrounded by forests, rocky hills, and literally hundreds of thousands of lakes, makes for some pretty good recreational opportunities! Unsurprisingly, my favourite ways to spend my days off all involve going right back into the bush (As if I’m not there enough already…).

Whitecourt prides itself in being a FireSmart community, so in this blog I will share what Firesmarting is and how we can all help reduce the risk of fires. Additionally, I have interviewed a special guest, Whitecourt Fire Chief Brian Wynn, to share his knowledge on this topic.

The purpose of the Jobs to Grow interview series is to present the journey and dedication to the forest industry of people who started out working in production at Resolute Forest Products and who have now become managers. These managers are proof that the opportunities for growth are enormous in the forest products industry.

It is an uphill battle to repair roads that are constantly under heavy use from logging trucks, oil workers, and recreational vehicles, but without our roads division, we wouldn’t have access to our forests, and with no access we wouldn’t have wood products. Always appreciate your roads division and the hard work they put in!

I visited a block that was about 100 hectares in size. It took some time to navigate as the roads were deactivated and there was lots of debris. I usually drive to the back of a block and work my way to the front, so that’s what I did here. I parked my quad and was sitting preparing my notes before I walked into the trees when I started hearing movement not far from where I was parked.

Meadow Lake started out as a trading post in 1799 and soon grew to a small village. Meadow Lake continued to grow throughout the 1900s and was boosted with the introduction of the three mills. Meadow Lake is often nicknamed “the Mill Town” and even has a great restaurant named after it. These mills offer a wide variety of jobs for pretty much any field of study. However, I truly believe that what draws people to the area is how scenic the forests and lakes are around here.

Normandin is a small town in the north of the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean region with a population of 3029. Its territory is mainly occupied by producers who are mainly involved in dairy production. Its geographical situation makes it a privileged place for tourists who appreciate the large plains and bucolic landscapes.

It is our hope that during this federal election campaign all parties will continue to support the important call to ensure all Canadians have reliable access to high-speed internet. The future of our northern and rural communities and their ability to strengthen their post-pandemic economies depends on it.