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Results: 1 - 15 of 30
Scott Doherty
View Scott Doherty Profile
Scott Doherty
2021-02-01 11:40
Thanks, Chair. It's Scott Doherty. I'm the executive assistant to the national president of Unifor.
As you know, Unifor is the largest private sector union in the country, with over 315,000 members. I'm responsible for the forestry sector for our union. I worked at Elk Falls pulp mill as a process engineer, the same as our other witness, in Campbell River for 16 years prior to starting on staff with the former CEP in 2008.
We have almost 22,000 members in the sector, with 250 units spread across 10 provinces. Unifor is well positioned to talk about every aspect of the forest sector. Members of this committee are well versed in the forestry sector, and I know that previous witnesses probably have shared information on the state of Canada's forestry sector and the contributions it makes nationally, regionally and to local economies in terms of the economic production, taxes and so forth.
It's Unifor's position that we will not create an effective COVID recovery plan without also addressing the challenges facing this sector prior to the pandemic, which are, as some have already said, low pulp prices, ever-growing fibre supply issues, obviously the ongoing softwood lumber dispute, volatile unpredictable global trade situations with China and the Trump administration, and obviously natural events such as pine beetle and forest fires.
All these factors have caused serious liquidity issues for many of our employers. Amidst all of these pre-existing challenges, the pandemic struck, worsening some of the problems and creating serious new ones. For example, pulp and paper producers across the country have made capacity adjustments in response to the impact of COVID-19. We've seen the number of layoffs across the country caused by temporary shutdowns or permanent shutdowns of pulp mills. For many of our members, the pandemic has deepened the sense of uncertainty and employment insecurity that they felt prior to 2020.
Unifor, however, is optimistic about the future of Canada's forest industry. We believe there are a number of concrete, pragmatic steps we can take to build a more sustainable, competitive and innovative sector as we plan for our recovery.
First, we believe we need urgent action to help producers weather the COVID storm. In the short term, we need support, and we support the call for producers' financial support and liquidity measures from the federal government, including loan guarantees and other measures. In the mid- and long term, we need to continue to work to build a comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable forest sector at the federal and provincial levels.
We support the call for a focus on new products and emerging markets, with an emphasis on sustainability and renewability for the industry. This must include incentives from government for investment and research. New developments in timber frame construction, along with biofuel development, are just a few areas of great opportunity as we continue to build the capacity to develop personal protective equipment, which is needed more than ever.
Finally, there is also hope that the Biden election will lead to less volatility with the U.S., our biggest trader. Simply put, the time has come for a fair and reasonable solution to the softwood lumber dispute. For years, people have referred to this industry as a sunset industry. Unifor will never agree to such a comment. It's a ridiculous assessment. The industry is a sunrise industry, with enormous opportunity for transformational change and growth. When governments, employers and labour work together, there is opportunity to invest in our future and build a more green, sustainable, inclusive and stable sector.
Thank you.
John Yakabuski
View John Yakabuski Profile
Hon. John Yakabuski
2020-12-07 11:21
Thank you very much, Chair. It's a pleasure and an honour to appear before your committee today.
As with almost every industry in Canada, operations in Ontario's forest sector stalled at the outset of the pandemic, due to widespread uncertainties in the early days.
Our government responded quickly. We were one of the first jurisdictions to include forest product producers on the list of essential workplaces. The essential status was justified and demonstrated by the surging demand for Ontario's forest products being needed from everything from hygiene to packaging for food to medical supplies. And of course, Ontario's forest products fed demand from our other key industries, like construction and the housing sector. Healthy demand levels meant that forest companies were able to overcome the initial lag very quickly, pushing themselves towards full capacity despite the operating challenges presented by the pandemic.
To offset the financial impact of COVID-19, Ontario implemented several measures to help the forest sector get back on its feet.
We expedited the implementation of this year's provincial forest access roads funding program to allow for infrastructure expenses to be reimbursed months sooner than normal. This helped forest companies cope with cash flow concerns.
We announced a six-month deferral of crown stumpage fees for the very same reason.
We made $3.5 million in funding available to forest companies to help them put protective measures in place for tree-planting workers, to keep workers and communities safe from COVID-19 and to ensure planning of this sustainable, renewable resource could be carried out last spring.
In addition, we are currently working with Natural Resources Canada to finalize and launch the $5.3 million forest sector safety measures fund, which will assist Ontario's small and medium-sized forest sector companies with the additional cost of putting COVID-19 protective measures in place.
In May, I convened an advisory committee made up of forest industry leaders to provide insight on how the pandemic was affecting their operations. Through the work of this committee, my government heard several suggestions to help the sector. Their number one suggestion was to finalize and release our forest sector strategy. In August, we launched our strategy after two years of development and consultation.
“Sustainable Growth: Ontario's Forest Sector Strategy” has a sweeping, 10-year horizon that will help the forest sector reach its full potential, especially as we work towards recovery from the pandemic. The strategy is intended to promote economic growth and development, but it's also aimed at protecting our forests to make sure they're there for future generations. This is a whole-of-government plan. Almost half the ministries in our government will undertake actions in support of the strategy.
To achieve its objectives, our forest sector strategy has four pillars: promoting stewardship and sustainability; putting more wood to work; improving our cost competitiveness; and fostering innovation, markets and talent.
We're working to promote innovative uses for Ontario's wood resources so companies can tap into growing international markets for the products we produce today, and those we will produce 10 years from now. A good example of this innovation is the growing field of mass timber construction, where we believe that Ontario can establish itself as a global leader. I applaud Natural Resources Canada for making investments in advancing the use of wood in building and bridge infrastructure. This initiative aligns perfectly with our efforts to promote mass timber construction.
We're also taking action to increase the use of sustainable and renewable biochemicals and biofuels in Ontario. This innovative use of forest products represents a tremendous opportunity to diversify the sector even further. We don't want to miss this opportunity. We look to the federal clean fuel standard to recognize Ontario as a leader in the sustainability of all forest products, including biofuels.
And while on the subject of Ontario's leadership in sustainability, I would like to point out that Ontario, like the federal government and other jurisdictions in our country, is fully committed to sustainably manage its forest and its inhabitants. We might go about it in different ways, but we follow a scientifically based policy framework that is designed to meet the conditions and circumstances of our province. When there are differences in approach, it is important that we have mutual respect and remember that Canada is world renowned for its sustainable practices, and Ontario has contributed to this reputation. If the merits of the province's scientifically based approach are not recognized, we are concerned that the market will be confused about the sustainability of our forests and forest products.
On a more positive note, thanks to cutting-edge engineering, modern bioheat systems are as efficient as fossil fuel and electrically based heating systems. This provides another heating option for rural, northern and indigenous communities that currently depend on fossil fuels for heat.
As we look ahead to what's required for recovery, my ministry encourages Natural Resources Canada to renew its commitments to invest in valuable federal programs like Green Construction through Wood. These programs have a proven track record of promoting innovation in the forest sector and helping to expand the market for Ontario's forest products while supporting job creation and economic growth.
Finally, I would like to say a few words about our ongoing trade dispute with the United States over softwood lumber.
Recently, as a result of an administrative review, the duty rates for most of Ontario's mills were significantly reduced, which is positive news, but we still feel the duties are unfair and we appreciate the federal government's ongoing efforts to fight against these unwarranted trade barriers.
I'm grateful for this opportunity to address the standing committee. The forest industry, one of Canada's most renewable and sustainable economic sectors, will be needed now more than ever to support economic recovery from this crisis.
Thank you.
View Paul Lefebvre Profile
Lib. (ON)
View Paul Lefebvre Profile
2020-12-07 12:06
Exactly. I think it was very successful.
Now, I want to talk a bit about the forest sector investment and innovation program, FSIIP, that you have in the province.
What is the budget for that? What is the uptake?
Is that each year? You said that's around $10 million each year.
Which companies? Can you describe some of the projects that you've been able to help?
John Yakabuski
View John Yakabuski Profile
Hon. John Yakabuski
2020-12-07 12:07
It is $10 million a year. It replaces a previous program.
We had our first recipients this year. It actually was an operation in southern Ontario that produces pallets and recycles—more recycling than anything else. It's quite an operation. It should maintain about 66 jobs and provide 20 more jobs for a very sustainable and environmentally conscious business, which is recycling material that would otherwise be thrown onto a scrap heap or a landfill or burned.
Also, the new technology that they'll be using in improvements in that operation will make it even more environmentally sustainable.
That's the kind of thing we want to see. It used to be substantially a loan program. Now there's potential for some of it to be a grant, if they meet all of the benchmarks throughout the term of the contract.
John Yakabuski
View John Yakabuski Profile
Hon. John Yakabuski
2020-12-07 12:08
Other than that, it's a fifty-fifty loan.
View Mario Simard Profile
BQ (QC)
View Mario Simard Profile
2020-12-07 12:11
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I may not follow your recommendations. It's not that I don't like Ontario, but I think I'm going to go after Ms. Nicholls again. It's not every day you get to talk to a chief forester who probably has a little more knowledge.
You know, Ms. Nicholls, I come from a forested region. I feel like I'm hearing about the potential of cellulose fibres and all the developments that can be made from wood chemistry and biomass. I feel like I've been hearing about this for the last 15 years. Unfortunately, we have the impression that there is a lot of delay in the emergence of the forestry sector.
In that sense, I'd like to hear your thoughts on government measures that could be put forward to support what is being done in research and development, which is still fantastic. Just think about what FP Innovations is doing. Even back home, there are many college centres working specifically on this issue. I see all the potential for innovation that's there, but I can't see how it's taking shape in the markets.
Given your expertise, what do you think could be done to facilitate the emergence of this sector, which would be very beneficial in the fight against climate change?
Diane Nicholls
View Diane Nicholls Profile
Diane Nicholls
2020-12-07 12:12
Okay. That's a big question.
You are right. People have been talking about these new products for quite some time, and we're not seeing commercialization to the fundamental level that we're needing.
When you look at Scandinavia, however, they have been successful in producing some of these products, and when you think about what wood chemicals are being used in the cosmetic industry, that's a multi-billion dollar opportunity.
However, most people don't know how to take it to that level, and that's the commercialization. We have good research, we have good technology and we're starting to see some start-ups, but the piece we're missing, certainly in British Columbia, is that next step of taking that research and putting it into a commercial enterprise and showing the pathway forward.
How can we do that? Government has a lot of different programs. A lot of those programs can really help to move the dial in the sense of maybe focusing on commercialization, or giving incentives to commercialization in the sense that if you go into these new venues, there is an opportunity to have government support for a period of time, whether it be a loan or a grant or a combination of loan and grant, with parameters—
View Maninder Sidhu Profile
Lib. (ON)
Thank you for that.
Your department runs an interesting program, the forest sector investment and innovation program, the manufacturing and processing of wood products. Can you share more about the uptake and the impact of this interesting program?
John Yakabuski
View John Yakabuski Profile
Hon. John Yakabuski
2020-12-07 12:27
Yes, as I did with MP Lefebvre, we had Oxford Pallet, which was a big one. We also have CRIBE, which is another very innovative organization that we've recently worked with on agreement. I'm not a hundred per cent sure if the agreement has been finalized yet, but this is, as I say, a forest innovation and investment program, and it's designed to create employment and also broaden the industry.
In the previous funding program, we did deal with a mass timber production facility that should be opening this spring, which we think will put Ontario on the cutting edge of that very important part of this forestry sector. I think there are tremendous opportunities for mass timber.
I've had the opportunity to be under more than a few bridges. People may not know that they are supported by timbers as opposed to concrete and steel. It's amazing how sturdy and solid these structures are. They've been in existence for some time.
We see great opportunities in tall buildings, mass timber buildings, and also in the construction of bridges and that kind of infrastructure that hasn't been traditional for some time. As for mass timber, we've got the highest quality wood in the world here and, with all respect to Alberta and B.C.... We're among the highest quality, we'll say that.
We're looking forward to opportunities from that. Those are the kinds of things that we're trying to support in those programs.
John Yakabuski
View John Yakabuski Profile
Hon. John Yakabuski
2020-12-07 12:29
We're already there in our industry. Part of our forest sector strategy, putting more wood to work and investing in innovation, markets and talents speaks to exactly that, the uses of wood that can be broadened in so many different ways that we're not currently using but have opportunities. Wood is used in a lot more things than most people see, understand and recognize, but there are still other opportunities out there.
The United Nations has forecasted that the demand for wood products is going to increase by 30% by 2030. We want to make sure that we're right there here in Ontario and, of course, in Canada to be able to supply that global demand. Some of it, of course, will be in traditional uses of wood, but much of it will be in non-traditional uses or ones where innovation has allowed us to fill that need in a marketplace with wood, whereas previously it was some synthetic. We're looking forward to those opportunities.
View Mario Simard Profile
BQ (QC)
View Mario Simard Profile
2020-12-07 12:43
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Unfortunately, Ms. Nicholls, you didn't have time to finish your answer earlier. I was asking you what makes it difficult to commercialize bioproducts. You gave us the example of some Scandinavian countries that have done it.
I'd like to hear the rest of your answer on that.
Diane Nicholls
View Diane Nicholls Profile
Diane Nicholls
2020-12-07 12:43
Some Scandinavian companies are further ahead of us with regard to looking at the new bioeconomy products, and I think we can learn from them as to how they did the commercialization. Some of it was driven by government policy. Some of it was driven by programmatic supports on an ongoing basis to establish commercialization and then lessen it as they became successful. Certainly it's working with the demand side—making sure that the demand is strong and that the public is looking for those green-based products, making sure that they're aware that they are a possibility and therefore going out and looking for those alternative products so that we could then have an investment world for commercialization.
Alain Paradis
View Alain Paradis Profile
Alain Paradis
2020-11-30 11:39
Good morning, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. Thank you for this opportunity.
Allow me to begin by telling you a bit about who we are. The Coopérative forestière de Petit Paris is a 50-year-old organization based, of course, in Quebec, not in Paris. We are located in Saint-Ludger-de-Milot, in Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean, in the heart of the beautiful Lac-Saint-Jean area. We are a co-operative of forestry workers and all of those workers own the business. As a small and medium-sized enterprise, or SME, we are not a multinational, so the forestry sector is very important to a company like ours. It is also important to the residents of our beautiful area.
Some 300 workers are involved in the co-operative, in every area of forestry operations. We own a sawmill, a SME and one of the largest independent sawmills in Quebec. It processes softwood lumber.
I would like to address two things in particular, the current context and the importance of the recovery in the forestry sector.
First, because of the current situation, the industry is having a tough time. I would even go so far as to say that, on some levels, the situation will turn precarious if the industry's future is not properly addressed. Second, keep in mind that the recovery in the forestry sector is fundamental to the fight against climate change and regional development.
Currently, the industry is dependent on a very volatile market—the lumber market. The past two or three years have been quite devastating for businesses. Those that did not modernize before the industry began experiencing these low periods a few years ago are obviously struggling to survive these difficult times.
The pandemic gave us a slight boost, which led to an increase in lumber prices—one that is temporary. We have no idea what is around the corner. Since our market covers the American northeast, we are heavily dependent on what happens in the U.S. In the past few months, we have been able to take a breath, but we are very concerned about the future and the impact on the markets.
Furthermore, the fundamental importance of the recovery in the forestry sector cannot be overlooked when it comes to climate change and regional development. There is an imbalance as far as sustainable development is concerned. As you know, the industry is under tremendous pressure from an environmental standpoint.
Keeping that environmental balance is crucial. There is significant pressure in Quebec to increase protected spaces in various ways. Clearly, we want to achieve the government's objectives, but we face all sorts of pressure with respect to woodland caribou and endangered species, for example. The result is less forest development. Over the past decade, the volume of timber harvested has dropped by at least 10 million cubic metres annually.
I also want to point out that the regulatory regime is not necessarily geared towards the industry's needs. Quebec's forestry regime is highly restrictive, so we can't be nearly as nimble in controlling our prices. Earlier, when I talked about markets, I was to some extent talking about revenue. We have to be able to ensure high productivity while keeping operating costs under control. The current regulatory regime poses significant challenges. We have even called on the government to review the regime because it falls well short of our needs.
Lastly, proper financial support is necessary. That means robust programs to support the industry. I will give you an example. In an effort to promote sector-based development, the federal government introduced a program where 80% of the funding was allocated to British Columbia, when in Quebec, 30% of jobs are related to the forestry sector.
The sector must receive fair treatment. We really need the government's support if we are to play an effective role in the industry.
I mentioned the current context. As we look towards the future, it will be necessary to rethink certain strategies to ensure the forestry sector's survival. That brings me to two important points: one, mitigating climate change and, two, supporting regional adaptation.
The forestry sector is an indispensable partner in the fight against climate change.
First, carbon sequestration is an important consideration. Cutting mature trees, which no longer sequester carbon, and replacing them with young trees supports the capture of carbon.
Second, promoting the use of wood in all buildings and consumer products is an important avenue. By making greater use of this renewable feedstock, which has minimal environmental impact, we can achieve carbon neutrality.
Third, encouraging innovation is essential, particularly when it comes to materials such as lumber. Such an initiative would help the industry become more productive and competitive while providing added value through new products and new markets.
Fourth and finally, establishing tailored regulations and ensuring true sustainable development are of the utmost importance. Balancing economic, social and environmental interests is key. Although we are working hard to maintain that balance, environmental interests are currently superseding economic considerations.
With respect to regional adaptation, the sector's recovery will play a central role in regional development. Nearly 250 municipalities depend on Quebec's forestry sector. If we don't endeavour to preserve that, we will not be able to attract and retain workers. The regions are facing a labour shortage, one that will continue unless they can turn things around. If not, everyone will move to the major urban centres, and I'm not sure how that will do anything for regional development.
I must stress what an asset our industry is to the fight against climate change, so the government should do what is necessary to strengthen and empower the industry.
Stéphane Renou
View Stéphane Renou Profile
Stéphane Renou
2020-11-03 16:36
That's okay. We can still go forward. I will talk first.
Good afternoon, everyone.
If there are any questions in French, I'll gladly answer them.
I'll do the piece in English and then we can move on from there.
First, what is FPInnovations? FPInnovations is a private, not-for-profit organization. It's an applied research centre, so we don't do fundamental research. We are focusing on research that makes things happen in the sawmill directly, for real.
Our key mission is to help the forest industry be more competitive, and also to help it transform, to evolve. That's critical in the situation we are in now. The pandemic, the situation with COVID, has created a place in which we actually have shaken up the markets a bit and shaken up the industry, so it's all about relaunching and pulling forward more quickly so we can take our place in the bioeconomy.
What is that? What is the bioeconomy? To put it simply, it's creating an economy based on biology. For us, in the forest industry, it's about how we use trees, how we use the forest to create a more active economy.
How do we use a sustainable forest? We harvest trees and then we use them to build more with wood. We use fibre from the forest and put it in a multitude of products. So we can create products that help to capture carbon. We can create new products that actually reduce the load of carbon across the economy and we can create products that are biodegradable or that can be recycled more easily.
All that's a great concept, but if you really get down to it, what is it to have a bioeconomy? In the end, practically speaking, it means that, at a certain point in time, you should be able to look around you and see more things built of wood. You should also see—if you're in Prince George, Saguenay, La Tuque or Thunder Bay—biorefineries, bioproduct plants that transform chips of wood, the residue of wood, into bioproducts, the precursor chemistries that will create the new bioplastic. Concretely, that's what success in a bioeconomy means. It's not just a concept; it's creating those mills.
In Canada, we're actually at a tipping point right now. Other countries have moved more quickly than we have. In Europe you can now see biorefineries, complete plants, being built in the Nordic countries. In Germany and even in Brazil there have been some announcements recently.
In Canada we need to accelerate. We need to go faster. We need to create the context in which we can do that at scale. Scale is important. That's what we need to do.
But what's great about the bioeconomy? What is great about the forest industry? Something fundamental that we all need to remember constantly is that the forest industry does three things for all of us when we grow it. Of course it creates more economic impact for the regions; it creates more economic impact per se, and it also helps climate change. It's actually one of the rare sectors that help three things at the same time: the economy, regional growth and the carbon economy. It does all three at the same time, so anytime we grow, we can do this.
We actually put in the federal pre-budget consultations two asks. We tried to make them as clear and crisp as possible. Those are the missing pieces to accelerate the bioeconomy, to accelerate the scale-up of the bioeconomy
The first recommendation was to provide funding in the order of $10 million per year for five years to demonstrate and accelerate those scale-up elements and to help reduce the risk of scaling up. If you want to construct a large biorefinery tomorrow, it won't take an investment of $10 million; it could take as much as half a billion dollars, so we need to help the industry de-risk that path as quickly as possible so we can help their decision-making process.
We also need to really understand where to go. The bioeconomy needs multiple products that come out of the trees in multiple elements that we can form; we need to enter multiple supply chains. From the same wood, I'll have product that goes into asphalt, product that goes into plastic, and product that goes into insulation in construction. These are all different molecules going into all different markets that need to open at the same time, so reducing risk is important. That's the first recommendation.
The second one is to create a public procurement policy. We can pull on those markets, we can prime them, we can start them, and that starts with a public procurement policy.
Select the right market to enter, create the public policy and de-risk the industry capital investment with the right technical activity. That's what we need to accelerate. Is that possible? Is that real, or am I just talking in big terms? I will give you an example that we lived through this summer when we started a project to create masks to respond to the pandemic. We took the challenge with the help of NRCan to ask if it was possible to create a biodegradable mask tomorrow to produce at large scale.
Taking up the challenge, within three months we did a demonstration that this could be industrialized and put on a tissue machine in the order of weeks now, from the work we've done. Why or how could we do that? We could do that because we had the facility to scale up rapidly. I could pass from my chemistry lab, and in the afternoon I was on the pilot machine and I was running the pilot machine, and if it runs on the pilot machine, I can then go into a mill, and within one week I can produce millions of filtration media per day. That's what we need to do, more of those industrially focused activities in R and D to accelerate the scale up of products.
If we do that, then we can dream of the bioeconomy. We can dream of those plants being created in Prince George, in Quesnel, in Thunder Bay and in La Tuque. We can think about the future for an industry that is not under the stress of a rapidly transforming economy.
With this, Mr. Chair, I complete my presentation.
View Jeremy Patzer Profile
CPC (SK)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that.
I want to thank everybody for sharing today. I'm going to start with Mr. Nighbor.
As somebody who grew up in an agricultural riding with a farm background, I see a lot of similarities between the two sectors and some shared issues. In terms of further developing your industry, especially with a clear focus on technological innovations, I'm curious to know how the lack of rural and remote access to broadband or cell services affects these efforts.
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