The government of Canada last week announced $30.4 million
in federal funding toward "the transformation of the forest industry
through innovation and market expansion." The mostly wood products
investments also include a $42 million bioenergy project at Millar Western
Forest Products' pulp and lumber mill site in Alberta.
Addressing forest industry stakeholders at the annual Council of Forest Industries (COFI) convention in British Columbia, Minister of Natural Resources Joe Oliver announced an investment of $19.5 million in five projects in Western Canada under the Investments in Forest Industry Transformation (IFIT) program. He also announced $10.9 million in funding for the 2013-14 Expanding Market Opportunities Program, including support for a Canadian wood products trade office in India.
Addressing forest industry stakeholders at the annual Council of Forest Industries (COFI) convention in British Columbia, Minister of Natural Resources Joe Oliver announced an investment of $19.5 million in five projects in Western Canada under the Investments in Forest Industry Transformation (IFIT) program. He also announced $10.9 million in funding for the 2013-14 Expanding Market Opportunities Program, including support for a Canadian wood products trade office in India.
The IFIT funding includes $6.75 million to Millar Western in
Whitecourt, AB. For the first time in Canada's forest sector on a commercial
scale, the mill will generate green energy from pulp mill effluent by using
innovative anaerobic hybrid digester technology, the government said. This
waste-to-energy technology has strong potential for replication at other mills
across Canada.
