ABSTRACT
The goal of this article is to look at the different currents of thought that have animated the forest debate in the province of Québec, Canada, focusing primarily on developments in the last decade. Our aim is to explore the various initiatives and intercultural compromises that have been struck over time to shape the Québec forest-industrial regime and their potential role in shaping the regime in the future. Though we explore some of the major historical, political and economic factors impacting on the forest industry, we focus on the discursive battle surrounding the environmentalist and social critique of forest practices that has emerged over the last decade. This critique is well portrayed in the film L'Erreur boréale by the singer, song-writer and social commentator Richard Desjardins and his colleague Robert Monderie (1999). The film has been the most potent and widely debated forestry issue in Québec since its release in 1999. It conveys a highly critical view of forest management, and it has found sympathy with the public and propelled a broader questioning of forestry practices and forest policy. It has since framed the debate and reactions of the forest industry and other interest groups.
