Natural Resources committee  The forest products industry, by reducing energy consumption of classical energy sources and converting to biomass, have dropped their GHG reductions over the last number of years substantially. So there is certainly work going on to reduce their consumption of classic fossil fuels and convert that to bio-energy, and, as a result, reduce the greenhouse gas emissions.

Natural Resources committee  As a department, we have quite a capacity around developing more energy efficient technologies, both within our own laboratories as well as in collaboration with universities and the private sector. More specifically, with respect to the forest industry, about 20% to 25% of the funds we identified in the innovation envelope of the long-term competitive strategy are around bio-products and bio-refining.

Natural Resources committee  I can, but I could offer, Mr. Chair, to provide the committee with some of the projects and some of the studies that are ongoing, both within the department and in collaboration with FPInnovations around this issue of reducing GHG emissions from the forest product sector.

Natural Resources committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Canadian Forest Service has had a number of activities around climate change and greenhouse gases. For example, we have had a team of scientists who worked domestically and networked internationally to look at this question as to whether Canada's forests are in fact a sink of CO2.

Natural Resources committee  For the mountain pine beetle program, as for all of the $200 million, we are required to do an evaluation that talks about performance measures and effectiveness. As a matter of fact, in both the mountain pine beetle as well as the competitiveness strategy, the evaluation will start next year.

Natural Resources committee  Mr. Chair, the $200 million Mr. Harris refers to was designed to target three broad areas. One was innovation, a second area was markets, and the third area was an allocation made to HRSDC around an older worker pilot, a national pilot. I can say all those funds are committed. The funding continues into next fiscal year, 2008-09, and then wraps up at the end of 2008-09.

Natural Resources committee  If I understand your question, Mr. Harris, I believe many of those universities--half a dozen or so in British Columbia, I believe--for the most part have been engaged in the R and D program around the mountain pine beetle. For example, the University of Northern British Columbia has some very fine researchers in and around the mountain pine beetle.

Natural Resources committee  We have been tracking closures, and we have also been tracking the numbers of employees who have been affected as a result of those closures. We have not tracked any parallel study, in terms of tracking those individuals as to where they've ended up in terms of the economy. We can provide the committee with that data on the front.

Natural Resources committee  Yes. We have the Value to Wood program, and it has two dimensions to it. It moves research that relates to secondary manufacturing to the shop floor more quickly, and it provides expert advise in the mill to mill owners and operators about how to improve their efficiency. It's a partnership between ourselves, most of the provinces, the regional agencies, FPInnovations, and four or five universities across Canada.

Natural Resources committee  As I am sure you're aware, Mr. Chair and Ms. Bell, there are federal and provincial restrictions and tests that must be met in the export of raw logs from public as well as private lands. I'm the first to admit I'm not an expert in that area; it's managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade through their import-export bureau.

Natural Resources committee  I have a lot of compassion for people in small communities and forest-dependent communities. I started my career in 1975 in a mill town of 800 people in northern Manitoba, and, remarkably, it is still operating. Since then I've lived in a number of places in northern Saskatchewan and northern Ontario where the mills have closed, so I certainly understand how important they are to rural communities.

Natural Resources committee  I will.

Natural Resources committee  It is a cumulative number. Maybe I could just add to that. We have a database tracking the job losses, and in any week there are mills that close and open. So those numbers are pretty close.

Natural Resources committee  I would say that in terms of R and D spending in both public and private, Canada is about in the middle of the pack if you compare it to other countries. However, as the deputy has mentioned, I should go back to FPInnovations, which was an undertaking that was coordinated with provinces and the industry in the country to consolidate and focus our R and D investments to in fact make them more effective.

Natural Resources committee  There are a number of ways that people measure investments in R and D: as a percentage of GDP, or in terms of total investments, or R and D embedded.... I'm not trying to be evasive, but a lot of Canada's R and D, particularly in pulp and paper, is actually acquired through technology as opposed to being performed itself.