Mayor Ken Boshcoff, CEDC CEO Jamie Taylor, Thunder Bay-Superior North MP Patty Hajdu, member of CRIBE's staff at TBCEDC for FedNor funding announcement - (CJ Goater/Acadia Broadcasting)
The federal government has announced $1.9 million in funding to support the forestry sector and economic development in northwestern Ontario.
A total of four projects are receiving funding, which is coming through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario (FedNor).
Most of the money, or $1,701,000, is going to the Centre for Research and Innovation in the Bio-Economy (CRIBE).
The organization is using the funding to develop, support, and scale up regionally specific Integrated Wood Biorefineries and manufacturing clusters (concentration of connected companies in a particular field).
The funds will also be used to help put on networking events and will foster development, commercialization, and investment in new products and services to grow the forest products sector.
CRIBE’s NextFor initiative will also be expanded with the funding.
“The tariffs on softwood lumber have been ongoing for a number of years and have been challenged by Canada in many cases,” explained the Minister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for FedNor, Patty Hajdu. “In fact, I believe in all cases we’ve won those appeals at the international tribunals; however, they continue to be applied.”
“So either we pivot and we figure out how we sell lumber to other countries, but also I think importantly through CRIBE’s lens, how we sell other products to other countries or we will continue to face these tariff actions from the United States, which is one of the biggest purchasers of our lumber.”
“So this allows CRIBE to do that innovation that they need to do for Canadian companies that will allow our region and the employers in our region to be able to think about how they diversify the products that they’re selling through the forestry industry.”
The Townships of Nipigon, Terrace Bay, and Schreiber are splitting the remaining funds.
The townships are using the funding to develop a five-year strategic plan, as well as a community profile.
