Lafarge is to provide additional planned support in future years to enhance the conserved land's biodiversity.
Rob Cumming, head of environment & sustainability for Eastern Canada, says: “This is a big land area now held in trust for nature by NCC. It’s an area similar to 3,800 city blocks of forests, wetlands, and shoreline that the NCC will protect.”
David Redfern, CEO of Lafarge in Eastern Canada, says: “We use a variety of metrics to measure our success and establish the areas where we can make significant biodiversity progress. Working with partners like the NCC opens up doors to opportunities like this, but more importantly, this opens the opportunity to become strategic partners in our efforts in biodiversity. With nearly 45,000 hectares of land across Canada, Lafarge has vast land assets where the NCC’s expertise will help us find effective ways to manage and enhance biodiversity.”
Lafarge says the Vidal Bay Forests and Shoreline property covers 7,608 hectares (18,800 acres) and connects with adjacent conservation lands to form a protected area of more than 248 square kilometres of forests, wetlands and shoreline. Lafarge has a nearby 1,640 Ha quarry in Meldrum Bay with two nearby international shipping terminals servicing Ontario and the US.