Forest Sector Competitiveness

The province of Ontario and northern Ontarian's, are working on ways to strengthen and make forestry a viable sector attracting new investment and helping the industry become more globally connected.

The government is making more than $1 billion available through various programs to assist the forest sector over five years. These programs will help stimulate new forest sector investments in value-added manufacturing and co-generation as the industry becomes more competitive and transitions into the future.

The initiatives include:

• $350 million in loan guarantees to stimulate new investment in value-added manufacturing, energy conservation and energy co-generation
• $150 million over three years in conditional grants to support new capital investments
• $140 million in electricity rebates for Northern pulp and paper mills
• $75 million annually for the construction and maintenance costs of primary and secondary forest access roads
• $70 million in a one-time stumpage fee refund for 2005/06
• $10 million per year by 2007/08 to enhance the Forest Resource Inventory
• $3 million a year for three years to reduce timber fees for poplar veneer and white birch, beginning in 2006
• $1 million per year, beginning in 2006/07, in an Ontario Wood Promotion program to enhance value-added manufacturing

These measures respond to the many challenges facing the forestry industry, including changing global markets, increasing competition, escalating costs and a rising Canadian dollar.

The forest industry provides good jobs for northerners and supports the prosperity of the entire province. With annual sales of about $18.3 billion and exports of about $8.4 billion, the forest industry provides direct and indirect employment to over 200,000 people across the province. While many communities in the north depend on the industry, thousands of jobs in southern Ontario depend on companies that supply the industry or use its products.

Supporting our province's forestry sector is part of our government's plan to build economic prosperity and responds to the report of the Forest Sector Competitiveness Council. The council’s 26 recommendations cover a range of broad areas of interest to the forest industry. These include energy, wood supply, delivered wood costs (which refers to the cost of forest industry activities related to supplying wood fibre to processing facilities), the climate for investment, and working together.