Evidence of meeting #48 for Natural Resources in the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was sector.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:15 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Leon Benoit
Thank you, Ms. Block.
We go now to the official opposition, to Mr. Rafferty, for up to seven minutes.
Go ahead, please.
4:15 p.m.
NDP
John Rafferty NDP Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON
Thank you, witnesses, for being here today.
My first two questions are for Mr. Lee. They probably won't require long answers, but we shall see.
You are managing director of a diverse group—and having had contact with owners of private forest land, I'm assuming it's a very diverse group. It's probably like wrangling a box of cats at times. I'm sure you earn every cent you make. You talked about exporting raw logs, and I think that's a very important issue. Let me just ask you this. Your members are quite happy, I'm sure, to export raw logs if no value-added manufacturing is available. Am I right in saying that your members, generally speaking, would much prefer to have their raw logs manufactured in Canada as value-added products?
4:15 p.m.
Managing Director, Canadian Association of Forest Owners
I guess, first of all, we don't like the term “raw logs”. There have been things done to that tree in order to change it from a tree to a log, so it's not really a raw log. There's a log and there's a tree.
Our members would prefer to get the highest value they could for that log. If that meant selling it to a domestic producer who was willing to pay the same price as would be paid in another country, they would sell it to them in a heartbeat, absolutely.
4:15 p.m.
NDP
John Rafferty NDP Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON
Is it your sense that the value-added manufacturing opportunities at the right price don't really exist in Canada for them?
4:15 p.m.
Managing Director, Canadian Association of Forest Owners
I'm not an expert in value-added, but I think if there were opportunities, people would be doing that. There's certainly the volume available. There's no question that in British Columbia there's a plentiful volume of logs to manufacture whatever people want to manufacture.
I think the challenge is what can be done in a competitive way that competes with everything around the world.
4:20 p.m.
NDP
John Rafferty NDP Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON
You mentioned the softwood lumber agreement. We heard from a previous witness that his organization would be quite happy if the status quo was maintained with the softwood lumber agreement.
What's your sense from your members about softwood lumber, the agreement, and perhaps where it should go?
4:20 p.m.
Managing Director, Canadian Association of Forest Owners
Well, the connection between my members and softwood lumber is the price of the log. If you have to pay a portion of your income from lumber in order to pay a softwood lumber duty, it reduces the value of the lumber or increases the costs, I guess, depending on how you look at it. So you would have to cover that cost by paying less for logs.
The concern is if we're having to pay these extra costs for duties, then it could reduce the price of logs, which is what our members in British Columbia concentrate on—growing logs.
4:20 p.m.
Managing Director, Canadian Association of Forest Owners
Their interest is to make sure that when those conversations start, the perspective of private landowners is part of that conversation, and they understand what the issues are in terms of what the private landowners are dealing with. That's the extent of their interest. How that plays out, and whether it means continuation of an existing agreement or something new, that's okay.
4:20 p.m.
NDP
John Rafferty NDP Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON
Are you expecting your association will be consulted when those talks begin?
4:20 p.m.
Managing Director, Canadian Association of Forest Owners
We haven't been in the past, which is why I raised it. It would be great if we had some support to have input into it, but I don't know if we will or not.
4:20 p.m.
NDP
John Rafferty NDP Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON
Thank you very much.
Mr. Atkinson, I have a question for you. Thank you for joining us and talking about your ongoing good work. I have to say it's inspiring to see an organization playing such a diverse and constructive role and demonstrating such leadership in your community, your province, and in the forestry sector.
I notice in my research that you have a pilot project, a training program for youth. You mentioned youth in your remarks. This sounds excellent for both first nations youth, who will receive the best possible training and job experience, and the B.C. forest industry, which will have a great new crop of skilled workers to help take the industry forward.
I wonder if you could provide this committee with an update on how this pilot project is progressing. If you deem the project successful, what plans do you have to expand it?
4:20 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, B.C. First Nations Forestry Council
Thank you very much for the question.
We're quite excited about what we're calling now the first nations forestry workforce initiative. After a number of years of looking at the upcoming demand in the forest sector for the workforce, we took it upon ourselves to get involved in provincial-level studies to identify what is that demand.
We saw 14,000 new workers needed in the forest sector in the next five years, so we went to our communities and took a look at what this young, aboriginal demographic in B.C. actually looks like. We can see 50,000 aboriginal youth ready for the workforce in the next 15 years, which is 16,000 per year, so it just slightly beats the total demand in the forest sector.
Our group is very strongly focused on how huge this opportunity is for our youth to participate in the sector. It absolutely requires a heightened level of support for aboriginal youth. We all know the challenges that our communities face, the barriers in education and the health and welfare of our communities, in trying to be ready for the workforce.
We've had good success in extremely small numbers. Our program itself is delivering under 100 candidates per year. We're trying to get a better sense across the province of other organizations and their efforts so we can address the overall opportunity and make sure we're moving towards it.
4:20 p.m.
NDP
John Rafferty NDP Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON
Let me ask you about opportunity, then. Do you think there's an opportunity for the federal government to be involved in this initiative moving forward, by offering financial support and perhaps encouraging similar programs throughout the rest of Canada?
4:25 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, B.C. First Nations Forestry Council
Yes, absolutely.
We've put in funding applications; we've had challenges. Western diversification is a good one. It has an envelope for education. We have one on the table now, hoping it will make it through the online submission, although we have not had very good success with our funding applications in that regard, because they're open beyond aboriginal content, and it's an extremely competitive environment right now.
For some of those organizations, you have to have some partner matching contributions. We struggle with finding available resources to match and bring to these kinds of developments. We will continue to try to do so, but there is a very good investment opportunity for the federal government to support this.
We are working with industry, I might add. We're definitely at the table with the major associations for wood products, the Council of Forest Industries, silviculture workers, contractors—all of the major groups. We are trying to work collectively with them to understand their needs and then understand how we prepare our youth to fit right in and mentor them into it.
4:25 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Leon Benoit
Thank you, Mr. Rafferty.
Mr. Regan, you have up to seven minutes. Go ahead, please.
4:25 p.m.
Liberal
Geoff Regan Liberal Halifax West, NS
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Thanks to the witnesses for coming today and being with us.
Professor Chui, let me ask you a question. You talked about the fact that three of the four research chairs already exist, but not one in Atlantic Canada. Can you tell us roughly when the other research chairs were established and how they are funded?
4:25 p.m.
Professor and Director, Wood Science and Technology Centre, University of New Brunswick, As an Individual
There's one funded right now that is being advertised, I think, at UNBC—that's in British Columbia. It is through provincial government funding. The one in Quebec was funded probably two or three years ago, and it's by a combination of federal government money through the NSERC program as well as some industry money. The one in Ontario was established quite some time ago; that one is more related to fire engineering and the fire performance of buildings.
4:25 p.m.
Professor and Director, Wood Science and Technology Centre, University of New Brunswick, As an Individual
It's in Carleton.
4:25 p.m.
Professor and Director, Wood Science and Technology Centre, University of New Brunswick, As an Individual
Yes, that's right.
We're working with provincial and federal governments to see whether we can establish a similar chair in Atlantic Canada. It would really help us.
4:25 p.m.
Professor and Director, Wood Science and Technology Centre, University of New Brunswick, As an Individual
Yes it is, so far.
4:25 p.m.
Liberal
Geoff Regan Liberal Halifax West, NS
What would the impact be for Atlantic Canada not to have one of these research chairs?