This question has been asked over many years. Property owners say no. Municipalities say yes. The courts … well … as always … it depends.
This is the first in a series of articles to review Municipal Tree Cutting By-laws in Ontario. There are 444 Municipalities in Ontario and not all of them have a tree cutting by-law.
Our focus will be on farms and private landowners, not corporations and land developers.
We will begin with a current case in Ontario where a municipality has charged a farmer and his wife with “destroying” trees on their farm.
The municipal by-law says,
“destroy – means any action which causes or results in the death of a tree, which includes but is not limited to cutting, burning, or knocking over a tree.”
The farmer says, “Harvesting” is not destroying a tree.
What does harvesting mean and how does it fit into Normal Farm Practice?
In the context of harvesting a tree, “harvest” refers to the process of cutting down and collecting trees for various purposes such as timber, paper production, or other wood products. This process involves several steps, including selecting the trees to be cut, felling the trees, removing the branches, and transporting the logs to a processing facility.
Harvesting trees on a farm is considered to be a normal farm practice, especially if the farm includes managed woodlands or tree plantations. This practice is often part of agroforestry, where trees are grown alongside crops or livestock to provide additional income, improve soil health, and enhance biodiversity. Trees on farms can be harvested for timber, firewood, or other wood products, and the process is similar to traditional forestry practices.
Farms in Ontario began harvesting trees for income as part of their agricultural practices in the late 18th century. This practice started when British loyalists, who settled in Ontario after the American Revolution, were granted land by the Crown (Crown Land Patent Grants). These settlers were required to clear trees, cultivate the soil, and build houses to earn the right to own their property.
By the late 18th century and continuing into the 19th century, tree harvesting became an integral part of farm management in Ontario. Early settlers in southern Ontario began by cutting trees to clear land for farming.
Harvesting trees can provide farmers with an additional source of income. Timber, firewood, furniture, veneer, tools, sawdust, BBQ Smokers, pulp and paper to name just a few products that trees are used for.
Harvesting trees on your farm is part of your farm income and part of growing crops.
Trees have a built-in shelf life just as all plants have.
When we plant corn in the Spring we harvest in the Fall, cook it, put the butter and spices to it and eat with Great Joy as we watch the movie, “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown” and we wonder if Linus will see the Great Pumpkin this year.
How many other plants do farmers plant in the Spring and Harvest in the Fall. Mmmmmm, apple and pumpkin pie … oh my.
Why are Trees any different. There are Christmas Tree plantations that seem to be exempt from the “Tree Destruction By-law” and what do we do with our wonderful Christmas tree when all the wonderment has vanished and the Turkey has been reduced to bones for soup.
The Christmas tree gets thrown to the curb, picked up, chipped and used for something else … just like a Harvested tree on a farm. How amazing is that !!!
Farming is not easy anywhere in the entire world, ask a farmer.
For those people who really believe that when you go to the supermarket that all the food is made out in the back and if you ask for a specific cut of meat the butcher disappears and comes back with exactly what you want … of course it is all made in the back … right?
In this case the farmer has been charged with cutting 64 trees. His wife was charged with cutting the same 64 trees, making a total of 128 charges. I kid you not.
Should they have been charged with 32 trees each for a total of 64? The answer to this will be discussed later in a future article in the series. Here is a hint… follow the money.
As I am writing and researching this article a thought came to mind about the restriction of government to cutting a tree on your own land. If they can restrict the cutting of trees, is it not possible, they could restrict corn, oats, wheat, barley, carrots, peas, cucumbers, arugula (of which I would be ok with), and many other agricultural crops? Government has restrictions, “quotas” on milk and eggs, why not on other products?
For history buffs you know about the Holodomor and Mr. Joseph Stalin. If you want to know more, I am including a link. Are we in Ontario on a long slippery slope? I hope not, however, who would have thought people would have their bank accounts frozen to support a protest.
How Joseph Stalin Starved Millions in the Ukrainian Famine | HISTORY
The farmer was told to cease and desist on his farm the cutting of trees. That was July, 2024. The charges were laid in December of 2024. There have been court appearances and a JPT – judicial pretrial, has been scheduled for the Fall. We will see what the arguments are going to be and when a trial might be scheduled in the future.
The question why the farmer was cutting the trees. The answer, for farm income, the trees were ready for harvesting, he is expanding the farm to plant more crops, to feed more people … well maybe … if you believe everything is made out in the back of the supermarket then our farmer is telling fibs.
So, this is the basis for the series of articles I will be writing on. As we move forward, we will delve deeper into the law in greater detail.
What is important, is the people of Ontario to see that farms Harvest trees for a specific purpose. Property owners need to limb and trim their tress on their Private Land. We do not need Tree Cutting by-laws for these scenarios. Clearing 100 acres and 1,000 home subdivisions is a different story, and we are not going there.
Watch our Video Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSldVgrFhUM
As I write future articles in the series, I want to note the excellent work that Elizabeth Marshall has done on researching Tree Cutting By-laws. For more information I am including the link to her report.
Tree Cutting By-Laws: What Municipal Councils Need to Know – Updated 2021 – Ontario
Jeff Bogaerts President – OLA