A total of $27 million in grants will be handed our across the province.
There’s some good news for Canfor Pulp and Paper from the B.C. government.
It was announced today (Nov. 13) more than $27 million in project grants is being awarded to help create more jobs provincially which will also help the use of wood fibre that otherwise would have been wasted and burned as slash.
The initiative is done by the Forest Enhancement Society of B.C. with the B.C. government as well as the Government of Canada which will see $1.5 million go to Canfor Prince George Pulp and Paper (about 143,000 cubic metres from Prince George area).
“Nothing frustrates people more than seeing piles of slash go to waste rather than be used to help create jobs,” said Ravi Kahlon, Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development in a news release.
The government says projects being funded will help employ forestry contractors which may have been unemployed otherwise.
They also say it will help give work to mill workers that produce electricity, wood pellets and pulp mills that produce the products.
“As result, more wood waste will be turned into electricity, heat energy and pulp products to help achieve B.C.’s and Canada’s climate change targets,” the release added.
As of today (Nov. 13), there has been close to $230 million provided by the Forest Enhancement Society of B.C. to support 251 approved projects.
The projects that are funded by the FESBC help minimize risks, enhance wildlife habitat, improve low-value and damaged forests, re-plant damanged forests and use fibre for green energy production.
“Supporting greater utilization of fibre and improving greenhouse gas management are two of our key objectives,” said Wayne Clogg, board chair of the Forest Enhancement Society of B.C. “These 38 projects will help achieve these objectives while supporting rural communities. We are very pleased to work with the provincial government on projects that support important climate action goals.