Category Archives: Funding Announcements

The government of Newfoundland and Labrador is giving Kruger‘s Corner Brook Pulp and Paper a $90 million loan.

The loan won’t kick in until new contracts are in place for all the union at the mill.

“Corner Brook Pulp and Paper is a key employer and a strong contributor to our economy. The mill is important not only to the west coast, but the entire province. Government has clearly stated that we will provide support only when negotiations for a new contract are concluded for all eight unions at the mill,” said provincial Natural Resources Minister Tom Marshall.

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The Government of Canada has announced 2 financial contributions in support of Quebec‘s forestry industry.

The support is through the Canada Economic Development’s Quebec Economic Development Program

The non refundable grants are:

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The Government of Canada has recently announced the projects it will fund under its Investments in Forest Industry Transformation program (IFIT) program:

• Tekle Technical Services (TTS), Drayton Valley, Alberta – $4.5 million
  This investment will support the creation of Canada’s first facility that manufactures engineered biocomposites fibre mats – made with world-first, Canadian-developed processes. Lightweight, renewable biocomposite fibre mats can be used to make dozens of products including compression-moulded panels for the automotive industry.
• Millar Western Forest Products Ltd., Whitecourt, Alberta – $6.75 million
  For the first time in Canada’s forest sector on a commercial scale, Millar Western Forest Products will generate green energy from pulp mill effluent by using innovative anaerobic hybrid digester technology. This waste-to-energy technology has strong potential for replication at other mills across Canada.
• Tolko Industries Meadow Lake, Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan – $4.9 million
  The innovative technologies funded through this project will make Tolko Industries the first facility in North America to produce specialty- and commodity-oriented strand board products on one production line, while enhancing quality and performance of the final product.
• Structurlam, Okanagan Falls, British Columbia – $2 million
  Structurlam will install the necessary technology and equipment to manufacture the innovative EcoStructure Wall System, a new cross-laminated timber product that provides a renewable alternative to more traditional, energy-intensive building materials such as concrete and steel.
• BC Passive House, Pemberton, British Columbia – $1.4 million
  BC Passive House will be Canada’s first manufacturing plant for prefabricating a panelized system that meets the rigorous Passive House Standard, currently the world’s most rigorous energy standard. These prefabricated panels combine Canadian wood and wood byproducts, advanced design, superior insulation and air tightness to create an ultra low-energy-use building.

For more information on the Investments in Forest Industry Transformation Program, visit www.forest-transformation.nrcan.gc.ca.

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Nova Scotia is giving Northern Pulp more than $20 million in loans and refinancing to upgrade their mill.

Details:

• $14.7 million repayable loan
• $2.5 million forgivable loan, contingent on installing the new air pollution equipment and reaching employment and wage target
• refinancing $5.4 million of a repayable loan from 2009

Northern Pulp has been ordered by the province to fix its air pollution.  These loans, along with $5 million from the company, will allow Northern Pulp to implement new environmental technology sooner to significantly reduce air particulates, and make other capital improvements on the more than 40 year-old mill.

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Tolko is one of 11 organizations to receive funding from the Immigrant Employment Council of BC (IEC-BC)’s  Employer Innovation Fund.

This fund’s aim is to help develop initiatives and resources to attract and integrate skilled immigrants into BC workplaces.

The Tolko project will involve the development of a multilingual recruiting website targeted at immigrants and the creation of an inclusive onboarding program to support immigrant integration with the company. Through this project, Tolko will also work to reach and encourage immigrant youth to consider a career in the forest products sector.

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The Honourable Joe Oliver, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, today toured facilities at Irving Paper Limited where he observed the positive impact of the Government’s funding on the region’s pulp and paper industry and jobs in New Brunswick.

Irving Paper Limited received $8.3 million through the Pulp and Paper Green Transformation Program (PPGTP) in 2011 for a project to increase the energy efficiency of its operations.

“Our positive investments are helping Canada’s forest industry increase their energy efficiency and global competitiveness,” said Minister Oliver. “Projects like this in Saint John serve as evidence that our Government is contributing to lasting environmental and economic benefits in our communities.”

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An extension of an agreement between British Columbia government and the Central Interior Logging Association (CILA) will allow 30 more students to train as log and chip truck drivers or heavy-equipment operators under the Forest Industry Readiness Skills Training (FIRST) program and place them in permanent positions within the sector.

Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training Pat Bell and John Rustad, Parliamentary Secretary for Forestry, visited O’Brien Training Ltd., the facility that runs the FIRST program, to announce the additional investment of $494,296 through a Labour Market Sector Solutions (LMSS) agreement.

The FIRST program is operating as a pilot in Prince George where there is the highest demand for this type of training. It consists of in-class training on topics like general forestry operations and safety.

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The Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) is asking the federal government to use Budget 2013 to continue to build on the existing momentum of innovation and transformation in the job-rich forest sector. This should include replenishment of the successful Investments in Forest Industry Transformation (IFIT) program.

The original $100 million IFIT program generated 107 applications and was over-subscribed by a factor of five, demonstrating the significant appetite by the Canadian forestry sector to develop and commercialize new innovative technologies in the areas of bio-energy, bio-chemicals and new solid wood projects. About a third of these project applications were for world-first innovations. By investing $300 million over the next three years in IFIT, the government will continue to support the ambitious Vision2020 agenda of the Canadian forest sector.

“We know the government is facing an era of fiscal restraint,” says the President and CEO of FPAC, David Lindsay. “However by continuing to demonstrate support for our transformation agenda the government will maximize the return on its significant investment in industry transformation to date, help the Canadian sector lead the world in innovative products and unleash the potential of Canada’s vast forest resource.”

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The Government of Nova Scotia has announced a $500,000 investment for woodlot owners in western Nova Scotia to build and upgrade access roads to move products, make silviculture work easier and increase forest fire protection.

“People in western Nova Scotia, where the Bowater mill’s closure has the greatest effect, deserve this kind of support for their local economy,” said Queens MLA Vicki Conrad, on behalf of Charlie Parker, Minister of Natural Resources. “We are advancing the provincial natural resources strategy by engaging and helping small, private land owners to improve the management of their forested lands.”

Improved woodlot access will help landowners meet provincial ecosystem management goals and improve things woodlots provide to the environment.

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First Nation forestry businesses throughout British Columbia will continue to receive the technical support they need to succeed, thanks to an additional $400,000 provided by the government of British Columbia.

The First Nations Forest Sector Technical Support Program helps First Nations develop new and existing forest-related businesses by providing technical advice and hands-on expertise. The program supports job creation, community development, market development and improved economic well-being.

Started in 2010 in a partnership with FPInnovations and the federal government with a total commitment of $1.2 million, the program has exceeded initial targets and engaged with more than 50 First Nations. As a result of the program:

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