Forest Products Industry Encouraged by Federal Budget
January 27 2009, Ottawa, ON
The Forest Products Association of Canada today welcomed the measures proposed in the federal Budget that it says will enhance the business conditions needed by the sector to maintain its status as the world-leading exporter of sustainable forest products.
“The government has clearly heard the message and embraced our vision of becoming the producers of the best quality, most innovative and greenest forest products in the world. And it understands that in order to get there Canada needs to attract investment and secure the jobs of nearly 300,000 skilled Canadians forest workers and the communities they work in,” says Avrim Lazar, President and CEO of the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC).
“Access to credit is the number one issue for our industry. We are very encouraged by the Budget measures aimed at ensuring access to credit for Canadian businesses, particularly the expansion of the powers and financing authorities of the EDC, and we look forward to working with the government to determine how these measures can help our companies and workers” said Lazar.
“The Budget investments in innovation, market promotion and research and development signal to us the government gets it. The US housing market will rebound and world economic growth will significantly increase the demand for sustainable Canadian forest products. Acting now will pay big dividends down the road,” says Mr. Lazar.
Mr. Lazar noted a number of other Budget initiatives that he says will improve Canada’s future productivity. Investments in infrastructure, particularly transportation and border infrastructure, as well as funding for housing for First Nations peoples – (the forestry industry is the largest industrial employer of First Nations people across the country) - will help the Canadian economy in the long term.
“The investments in worker training through EI, the extension of the EI work-sharing program and support to communities that have been affected by the economic downturn, are welcome initiatives that will help more Canadians keep their jobs and employers hold onto talented workers,” says Mr. Lazar.
While the extension to the accelerated capital cost allowance will provide the industry with some incentives for new spending on capital, the forest industry would have preferred more aggressive action on the taxation front to encourage major investments in capital and innovation.
“Overall we are encouraged by the direction the Budget is taking – helping to alleviate Canada’s current economic woes while keeping an eye to future prosperity,” says Mr. Lazar.
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FPAC is the voice of Canada’s wood, pulp and paper producers nationally and internationally in government, trade and environmental affairs. Canada’s forest industry is an $80-billion dollar a year industry that represents over 2% of Canada’s GDP, and 12% of Canada’s manufacturing GDP. The industry is one of Canada’s largest employers, operating in over 300 Canadian communities and providing nearly 750,000 direct and indirect jobs across the country.
For more information, contact:
Monica Bailey
Manager, External Relations
Forest Products Association of Canada
(613) 563-1441 ext: 323
Monica.Bailey@fpac.ca
