Earlier today, Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) appeared before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Natural Resources to speak with Members of Parliament about how government can work with forest sector workers and communities to advance economic recovery and help grow a lower carbon economy for tomorrow.
FPAC’s remarks outlined several potential solutions to stimulate the economy, including advancing over 140 shovel ready projects worth over $1.5 billion that can lower Canada’s carbon footprint, increase competitiveness on the global stage, and sustain and grow forestry jobs here at home.
FPAC also shared several ideas to secure a sustainable working forest for workers, contractors, and communities, and to improve market access opportunities for Canadian wood-based products and bio-products with customers in Canada and around the world. To view the full remarks, click here.
Quote from FPAC President and CEO Derek Nighbor:
“Sustainable forest management and the carbon benefits that it brings is at the core of Canadian forestry’s value proposition. We carefully manage our forests to reduce the risk of carbon emissions from pest and fire outbreaks, to promote renewal by growing new forests and keeping them as forests forever, and to keep carbon out of the atmosphere by locking it into essential long-lived wood products. We are in a unique position to drive these environmental and community safety benefits and at the same time create economic opportunity for workers, Indigenous businesses and communities, and 600 forestry cities and towns across the country. We look forward to working with the federal government to be a key partner in economic recovery – especially for northern and rural families.”
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FPAC provides a voice for Canada’s wood, pulp, and paper producers nationally and internationally in government, trade, and environmental affairs. The $73.6-billion-a-year forest products industry represents 12 per cent of Canada’s manufacturing GDP and is one of Canada’s largest employers operating in over 600 communities, providing 230,000 direct jobs, and over 600,000 indirect jobs across the country.
For more information contact:
Kerry Patterson-Baker
Vice President, Communications
e : kpatterson-baker@fpac.ca
t : 613-563-1441 ext. 314
Follow us on Twitter: @FPAC_APFC
