Provincial funding destined for Haida Gwaii forestry operations

The Province of British Columbia  set to distribute 3 million dollars in grant funding across the province towards jobs in the forestry sector and to increase the use of wood fibre that would otherwise be burned for slash.

Katrine Conroy, the Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development outlined some of the scope of the project which will allow roughly 250,000 cubic metres of post-harvest waste wood to be utilized in the production of pulp, wood pellets, electricity, and compost for soil remediation. 

The funding for the work, to be shared amongst the fifteen recipients will also provide environmental, economic and social benefits to B.C. communities, including a reduction in greenhouse gases. 

North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice, who represents Haida Gwaii offered up a few notes on how the funding  could be put to use on the islands.

“On Haida Gwaii, things like high transportation costs make it difficult for forestry operations to take advantage of forestry by-products for things like pulp and wood pellets. This grant will mean that more usable wood waste from Haida Gwaii will go to mills for secondary processing, and less will be wasted or go into our atmosphere.” 

The Haida Gwaii funding is associated to the the work by Husby Forest Products, also of note is the funding for Pinnacle Renewable Energy Incorporated to increase figure used by manufacturing wood pellets at locations across the province, much of that could ship through Pinnacle's Westview Terminal in Prince Rupert.

The investment is part of B.C.’s Economic Recovery Plan, to help people, businesses and communities recover and come out of COVID-19 stronger and better prepared. B.C.’s total provincial response to the COVID-19 pandemic exceeds $8.25 billion.

More on today's announcement can be reviewed here.

A wider overview of forestry industry themes is available here.

For more notes on the Legislature see our archive here.