FPAC Looks Forward to Support for Canadian Forestry Workers and Communities in 2023 Federal Budget

Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) President and CEO Derek Nighbor will be available for comment tomorrow following the tabling of the 2023 Federal Budget. FPAC is hoping to see a few key moves in Tuesday’s Budget:

Endorsing of a Sector Specific Approach to Accelerate Industrial Decarbonization. Canada has many of the right pieces in place to lower GHG emissions and to enable economic growth, but the lack of policy coherence is holding Canada’s forest sector back. We hope to see the Government of Canada follow the lead of leading forested nations like Finland and Sweden by adopting deeper sector specific approaches to decarbonization to support the future of Canada’s forestry communities.

Recognition of forest biomass in the Government of Canada’s Investment Tax Credits to support new markets for the use of stranded wood fibre and wood waste. This will support the growth of Canada’s forest bioeconomy and will assist in addressing growing concerns around wildland fire risks and associated carbon emissions.

Renewal and expansion of core sector programs to support innovation and transformation including the Indigenous Forestry Initiative, the Investments in Forest Industry Transformation (IFIT) program, and the Emerging Market Opportunities (EMO) program. These initiatives have been oversubscribed for years and are critical to enabling sector growth and investment in Canadian operations.

FPAC provides a voice for Canada’s wood, pulp, and paper producers nationally and internationally in government, trade, and environmental affairs. As an industry with annual revenues exceeding $75B, Canada’s forest products sector is one of the country’s largest employers operating in over 600 communities, providing 225,000 direct jobs, and over 600,000 indirect jobs across the country. FPAC and its members are committed to collaborating with Indigenous leaders, federal and provincial governments, labour partners, community groups, and other rightsholders and stakeholders to secure and advance the sector’s environmental, social, and economic potential for the long-term.