Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon to you all. It's an honour to be here before the Standing Committee on International Trade. Thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to speak about our organization and the vital role of wood packaging in both the domestic and global supply chains and markets.
As general manager of the Canadian Wood Pallet and Container Association, or CWPCA, I am here to represent the views and perspectives of the wood packaging industry. We were founded in 1968. The CWPCA was built on strong professional relationships with its members, the private sector and the respective government departments tasked with regulating our industry.
The CWPCA has been the leading voice in Canada for the wood packaging industry since its inception. Our core objective is to promote the use of wood packaging and protect Canadian interests on the global stage while supporting our members by sharing tools and information that protect and sustain the wood packaging industry. We have successfully done this, and will continue to do so, by connecting our members with relevant and noteworthy industry-related information at the regional, national and international levels.
Since our creation, we've developed a compelling voice on domestic and international matters related to wood packaging, including supporting industry practices within regulatory affairs and promoting the sustainable nature of our business and products. We act as a conduit for the dissemination of industry news and issues, both domestic and international, and maintain strong relationships with sister associations and prominent industry representatives around the world via the Global Wood Packaging Forum.
The CWPCA has over 160 members across the country and almost two dozen more international members. Our sector generates just over $1 billion in sales annually and happens to provide one of the most critical elements that our supply chain is based around. While our sales figures of $1 billion may not be incredibly large in comparison with some, the actual value of goods that ship on and in wood packaging is astounding. Canada's international trade supply chain cannot properly function without wood packaging. This is why it's crucial to sufficiently support the industry by creating an environment that allows it to succeed and function effectively.
The CWPCA as an industry organization is quite unique in the fact that we also act as an alternate service delivery organization on behalf of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Our purpose in this role is to oversee facilities registered in the Canadian heat-treated wood products certification program who are engaged in the manufacture of wood packaging that is certified under the global ISPM 15 program.
The ISPM 15 program, for those who aren't aware, is a phytosanitary certification program that allows wood packaging to continue to be used in international trade and mitigates the risk associated with invasive forest pests that sometimes move via forest products in trade.
In addition to our connection with our core membership, acting in this role also keeps us involved with in excess of 325 more Canadian companies who manufacture certified wood packaging for export. This important role supports Canadian exporters and ensures that our wood packaging products meet the highest phytosanitary standards possible.
This role also enables our participation in Canadian task groups, such as the Canadian forest phytosanitary working group, which works to ensure global market access for our forest products, and the Canadian forest products advisory committee, which works on plant health issues and domestic regulatory programs. As well, we participate internationally in working groups spearheaded by the North American Plant Protection Organization and the International Plant Protection Convention.
As we in Canada return to somewhat more normal times postpandemic, Canada's wood packaging companies are slightly less consumed by strained operational demands. However, all things, as we know, are cyclical. We know that we could be called upon at a moment's notice to ramp up production to meet the needs of the supply chain, as we experienced during our COVID years. While many wood packaging companies were very profitable during the pandemic, the pandemic definitely exposed some cracks in our industry's armour. If unaddressed, these weaknesses can and will exacerbate issues caused by future disruptions.
With this in mind, we ask the Canadian government to learn from these experiences and recognize how close we as an industry came to not being able to meet the demands of our supply chain for several years. We feel that the time is now for the Canadian government to invest in the wood packaging sector, which can also be seen as an investment in supply chain stability and an investment in the future. Thus, in our most recent pre-budget submissions, we have requested that a specialized pool of funds specifically be earmarked for the wood packaging sector to support our domestic and export supply chains. We have explored funding at the regional and provincial levels, but we feel that a federal program would benefit us most. We ask that a pool of funds in the amount of $30 million—or $10 million a year over three years—be set aside in a special purpose account for investment into the wood packaging sector.
We need our supply chains to function properly in order for the Canadian economy to thrive and in order to boost the competitiveness of Canadian businesses. A healthy and robust wood packaging sector provides a solid foundation to support supply chains, and investment in the wood packaging sector is an essential element needed to help us achieve this.
Thank you again for the opportunity to appear before this committee. I'm happy to take any questions you have.