Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Members of the standing committee, thank you for the opportunity to present here today.
In northwestern Ontario where I live, the steady improvement in the forest products sector has become a major driver of economic recovery in our region. In communities such as Kenora, Ear Falls, Ignace, Longlac, White River, Terrace Bay, and even Thunder Bay, jobs are being created to build on the already significant impact that the forest sector has in Ontario.
In my community of Atikokan, the forest industry has been a key driver of the economy for many years. Atikokan was home to a sawmill for 45 years and to a particleboard mill, until both companies failed after the U.S. subprime housing collapse, putting more than 400 people out of work in 2008.
The impact on Atikokan was devastating. Many of our primary breadwinners were forced to commute to northern Alberta or southern Saskatchewan to work. Over the ensuing years some families have followed, but most have remained and continue to contribute to our community.
The resurgence of the forest sector has been very good for Atikokan. The old particleboard mill is in the final stages of being retrofitted as a pellet plant, employing about 40. A brand new, high-speed, state-of-the-art sawmill is being constructed on the site of the old sawmill, and it will employ about 100 workers. It is scheduled to open in May or June of this year—Canada's newest sawmill. In addition to the mill workers, there will be between 200 and 300 employed in harvesting and transportation, and many more in indirect and induced jobs. Ontario Power Generation’s coal-fired electricity generator in Atikokan has been converted to a wood pellet biomass generator, sustaining existing jobs in the area. Clearly, the forest industry will continue to be a major contributor to the Atikokan economy.
This story is being repeated in other communities in Ontario and indeed across Canada. The recovery is also benefiting many first nations communities in northwestern Ontario who are working alongside us, the municipalities, and with industry to ensure that they are able to capitalize on this rebound.
For example, six first nations communities near Atikokan recently signed a memorandum of agreement with Resolute Forest Products which has resulted in more than $100 million in new contracts for aboriginal businesses in the region.
These arrangements are becoming more and more common, and the capacity of our first nations partners to participate more fully in the regional economy is increasing every day.
With almost 350 million hectares of forest area, Canada is the world’s fourth largest exporter of forest products, providing jobs for more than 200,000 Canadians. The job numbers are growing, thanks to the recovery of the world economy, particularly in the United States.
In Ontario alone, the forest products jobs grew by almost 4% between 2011 and 2012, and the Forest Products Association of Canada forecasts that another 60,000 Canadians could be recruited to work in the forest sector by the end of the decade. On September 4, 2014, The Globe and Mail reported that forestry students have a 100% employment rate, higher than that of computer science, math, and physical science specialists.
To us, the residents of Atikokan and northwestern Ontario, these are not merely statistics. We can see these employment forecasts coming true in our own communities, with new investments and jobs on the rise, and it’s not just the jobs in the forest sector; the recovery is having spinoff effects everywhere.
But there are some troubling issues on the horizon that I want to take a few minutes to outline. The forest sector relies on two key drivers: access to a reliable, predictable, and affordable supply of wood fibre for manufacturing, and access to markets in which to sell its products. I would like to briefly discuss each of these business drivers, as they both are under pressure.
First, with respect to access to fibre, there is a growing concern that public policy is being developed, at least in the province of Ontario, that will unnecessarily reduce access to fibre with no understanding of the socio-economic impacts of these policies.
An example would be the policies related to the managing for caribou under the federal and provincial endangered species legislation. There are policies and regulations being developed at both levels of government based on limited or incomplete science that could have devastating effects on fibre supply, just at a time when communities are relying on this sector's rebound to stabilize our economies. Communities such as ours in Atikokan are concerned that if this problem is not addressed, uncertainty will be created, investments will dry up, and the stimulus will end.
Second, with respect to access to markets, we are seeing market campaigns being launched by radical environmental groups who misinform and mislead customers about forestry practices in Ontario and right across Canada. Without customers, no sector can thrive. We collectively need to rally behind our forest industry to correct misinformation and better promote the sector internally and abroad. This is so important. Our forestry practices are world-leading, and therefore our forest products should take their rightful place at the top of the customer's order file.
This is not to say that governments have not been supportive of the sector's recovery. Federal programs aimed at assisting in green energy projects, aiding in expansion into emerging new markets, and supporting science and innovation have been instrumental, and should be continued. Provincial governments have made similar investments. But these efforts will not bear fruit without a predictable and affordable industrial fibre supply and without a market strategy that ensures fact-based information about the sector.
In summary, the recovery of the forest sector is real. We are seeing the benefits first-hand in all of our communities, including the first nations in our area. Investments are happening, jobs are being created, and there is growth throughout our region. The sector is sustainable, renewable, and climate friendly. Trees grow, and the products that are made from the forest improve our quality of life.
We need to get behind this recovery and ensure that the forest sector is supported, that public policy considers the social, economic, and environmental pillars of sustainability in a balanced way, and that we promote our forest practices and correct misinformation from misguided special interests. We need all levels of government, federal, provincial, and municipal, to be much stronger in defending the social and economic interests of the communities, businesses, and working families who depend upon the forest industry.
Thank you for this opportunity.