Natural Resources committee  As the committee will notice in B.C.'s Wood First Act, it speaks to placing a priority on the use of wood; it doesn't say B.C. wood products or wood species. I understand that there are interprovincial and WTO requirements where there are limitations on specifying a particular jurisdiction's wood.

Natural Resources committee  Yes, very much. We in British Columbia have very active programs to promote wood products in various markets, in Asia, China, Japan, Korea, India, for example. The innovations that we invest in at home in British Columbia are absolutely critical to the work we're doing to try to advance wood use and expand opportunities for B.C. companies internationally.

Natural Resources committee  I would like to respond to you quickly before that. I'm not a scientist and I'm not a forester, but the basic fundamentals are fairly straightforward. As a forest grows and ages, like all living things, of course, trees will eventually die. When they die naturally in the forest, they will decay, and they will emit the carbon that was stored during their lifetime.

Natural Resources committee  We are. The images I showed you today were really focused around public buildings in British Columbia because that was the focus of the bill in front of this committee. I could easily have shown you a number of other examples that are being driven by cost, performance, versatility, and aesthetics where the private sector is using wood.

Natural Resources committee  If you look at British Columbia, you'll see that 95% of the forest lands are owned by the government and, frankly, are a public resource. Producing more products, advancing innovation, using wood in interesting and expanded ways, and generating greater value out of that resource of course generates greater value for the public resource and provides additional dollars for hospitals, schools, highways, and all that fun stuff.

Natural Resources committee  There's a definite link, absolutely.

Natural Resources committee  Absolutely.

Natural Resources committee  Yes. Let me just back up a minute—

Natural Resources committee  The building—the product that is in the building does not continue to sequester carbon. The carbon is sequestered during the growth of the tree, and then it continues to be stored in the products that are used in the building. But, when forests are harvested in Canada, they're replanted and regenerated.

Natural Resources committee  I can at least speak from my experience in British Columbia. The Wood First Act, in British Columbia is fairly strongly worded around requiring the use of wood and developing the wood culture. I don't know that I have a lot to offer you in wordsmithing. I think there are a lot more experienced people in developing legislation than me, and whether it's “requiring” or “encouraging” or “providing preference for” or “an initial consideration of”, I think I'll leave to others.

Natural Resources committee  I'd like to thank the standing committee for the invitation to appear today. I'm Michael Loseth, the president and CEO of Forestry Innovation Investment. My colleague Sonya Zeitler Fletcher is our vice-president of market development. Forestry Innovation Investment, or FII, is a crown corporation of the province of British Columbia tasked with developing and diversifying markets for B.C. forest products and with fostering innovation in the use of wood.