ABSTRACT
Quebec’s forest regime appears similar to those in other Canadian provinces, characterised by provincial granting of long-term licences to vast timber volumes on public forests to large private mill owners. This raises the question of the lack of space(s) for community-based forestry. Since the Great Depression of the 1930s, social movements have repeatedly questioned the preference for industrial-scale licensing and have advocated for community forestry. However, up to 2021, community forestry has struggled to carve out space(s) for itself. Quebec’s history of forest use is reviewed, and three major obstacles to community forestry are discussed. The first is the failure by local leaders to develop a realistic vision of the form that community forestry could assume in the context of the economically important industrial forestry sector. The second is the culture of professional foresters, which has been slow to accommodate legitimate community requests within forest management planning. The third is the absence of venues for dialogue. Key factors that can support community forestry include greater provincial government recognition and support of all forest values, the intrinsic rights of First Nations, and the cultural concerns of local communities. Collaboration with organisations at regional or higher-scale levels would also support local initiatives.
