Question Period Note: Forest Sector Support

• Over 300 communities – including rural, remote and Indigenous – and nearly a quarter million workers across Canada rely on the forest sector for employment and their long-term prosperity.
• The Government of Canada is supporting the sector through investments in product and market diversification, innovation, clean technology and the bioeconomy, to create and sustain good jobs, and to enhance the sector’s resilience and competitiveness.
• Budget 2019 announced an investment of $251.3 million to extend and increase existing innovation and forest sector diversification programs, in addition to the $100 million made available through the Strategic Innovation Fund in the 2018 Fall Economic Statement.
• Our government continues to work with industry, provinces and territories and Indigenous communities to strengthen the long-term competitiveness of Canada’s natural resources sectors through investments in world-class science and innovation, while expanding markets for Canadian products.

Canada’s forest sector is vital to employment in rural communities across the country. The sector continues to face challenges due to the cumulative impacts of trade disputes, disturbances (e.g. pests, wildfires), climate change, and competing objectives of conservation.

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