Good afternoon Chair and Vice-Chairs. I want to say a special hello to our member of Parliament, Guy Caron.
Members of the committee, my name is Guylaine Sirois and I am the chair of the Réseau Forêt-Bois-Matériaux de Témiscouata. I am also the elected warden of the Regional County Municipality of Témiscouata. With me are Roger Robitaille, the executive director, and Caroline Roy, the advisor for innovation and business development.
First, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to present our vision and our expectations for strategic innovation in the forest industry. We would also like to thank the Government of Canada for its support for our forest industry, our communities and our research centres in recent years. Without its help, we could not have achieved the same product diversification and value-added production results in such a short time.
Since 2008, our forest industry has taken the initiative and moved from producing commodities to producing high value-added products. This transition has improved its productivity, diversified its markets and maximized the value of its products. The industry has also become more nimble. As for the environment, our industry has generally been a good corporate citizen, further reducing its pollution emissions and investing in sustainable energy.
Our industry began producing new wood products such as cross laminated timber and three-dimensional poplar panelling. New reproduction methods such as somatic embryogenesis now enable us to produce trees that grow faster and have the desired physical properties. Optimizing harvesting processes has helped reduce the cost of wood. Growing poplars is revolutionizing the supply side of an entire sector of our industry. Our region is beginning to use biochemistry, as shown by the conversion of a pulp and paper mill into a biorefinery.
Research programs on forest extractives are also underway, with the goal of opening up a new sector in the forest industry. All this has been accomplished in part thanks to the support of the Canadian government and research centres such as FPInnovations, the Centre de recherche industriel du Québec and technology transfer centres such as SEREX in Quebec’s Matapedia Valley.
Nevertheless, much remains to be done for our forest industry to complete its transition into the new green economy. That is why the forest industry and socioeconomic organizations in the Regional County Municipality of Témiscouata established the Réseau in 2012. The Réseau supports innovation, product diversification and export-oriented commercialization in the local wood processing industry.
The first point we want to talk about is forestry innovation. Improving our knowledge of forests, producing trees with the desired characteristics, optimizing forest management techniques and identifying better operating strategies to reduce costs and make the most of the value chain will require much more research and development. The research program in the Lower St. Lawrence on ways of improving harvesting practices in the first commercial thinning of a plantation is a good example of cooperation between governments, universities and forestry companies. Both private and public forests need a helping hand.
With respect to innovation in processing, optimizing processes, modernizing equipment, producing next-generation wood construction materials and developing commercial biochemistry applications will require major investments in research, development, technology transfer and the acquisition of original and innovative technologies. Small and medium-sized businesses, because of their limited working capital, are often in particular need of support.
The third point has to do with innovation in forest biomass. The use of forest biomass as a fossil-fuel substitute for heating purposes has increased significantly in recent years.
However, conversion is expensive and the return on investment long. Eight years is fairly normal when burning wood chips or biomass pellets for heat. We believe the federal government should offer financial support to households and forestry sectors such as sugar maple growing that are engaged in these activities.
The use of other forms of forest biomass, such as biofuels, as an energy source will require a great deal more research and development.
The fourth point is on innovation in commercialization and exports.
Experience has taught us that research and development and commercialization are inextricably linked. By linking products with markets, the design and development of a new product moves more quickly, efficiently and cheaply. This integration leads to the creation and production of innovative and distinctive products.
Our companies cannot flourish in the local market alone. Local demand is quickly met, and the outcome is what we see today. Plants are not operating at capacity, and products enter the market more slowly. Exports remain the only solution, but small and medium-sized businesses often need to join forces to begin exporting.
These businesses make up most of the industry in our region, and they are particularly poorly equipped to deal with the export environment.
Even large corporations often face major delays between designing and distributing a product owing to non-tariff barriers and regulations imposed by the target country. We hope the federal government will continue to support our industry and the businesses that want to enter export markets.
The fifth point is on the spruce budworm epidemic.
The North Shore and eastern part of Quebec are currently suffering from an infestation of spruce budworm. This epidemic is expected to spread to the rest of Quebec, the Maritimes and, possibly, Ontario. The medium- and long-term damage to the economies of the affected communities and the forest industry cannot be underestimated.
We believe it is important for the federal government to play a more active role in combatting this epidemic and assisting the businesses and communities affected by it.
Finally, I would like to talk about the raison d'etre of the Réseau Forêt-Bois-Matériaux de Témiscouata. It is a non-profit organization established in 2012 by the forest industry and socio-economic organizations in the RCM of Témiscouata to support the development of that industry through innovation, new product development and market diversification.
Most of the area’s forestry stakeholders are now members of the Réseau. The organization is headquartered in the town of Témiscouata-sur-le-Lac and governed by a 12-person board of directors. The Réseau engages in networking, collaborative work, knowledge transfer and research. To that end, it relies on the services of universities, research centres and technology transfer centres, as well as private consultants.
We are prepared to answer your questions.
