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FPInnovations supports B.C. forest sector plan

Made in Prince George in the presence of industry stakeholders, Minister Thomson presented the Government’s vision as explained in three newly released documents that outlines a strong competiveness agenda and focuses on priorities and actions across all sectors of the industry.

Entitled, Strong Past, Bright Future: A Competitiveness Agenda for British Columbia’s Forest Sector; British Columbia Pulp and Paper Sector Sustainability: Sector Challenges and Opportunities; and British Columbia Forest Sector Competitiveness: Value Added Sector Action Plan, each is the result of extensive consultations with industry members and other significant stakeholders to develop a collaborative approach to address current and future challenges faced by the sector. For its part, FPInnovations played a significant role in informing the discussion around innovation strategies as well as holding a seat on the Competitiveness Steering Committee.

“As a champion of innovation across the sector, FPInnovations strongly supports the approach taken by Minister Thomson and the British Columbia government and its emphasis on science-based decisions, innovative new products and developing strong markets while taking into account the needs and interests of rural communities and First Nations,” stated Pierre Lapointe, President and CEO of FPInnovations. “FPInnovations is committed to working closely with the government and our many partners in British Columbia to implement the recommendations and actions presented by the Minister today.”

Quick Facts:

• More than 140 rural communities in B.C. depend on the forest sector.
• The forest sector represents 20% of all B.C. manufacturing with lumber sales at $8.6 billion and pulp and paper sales at $4.5 billion.
• Every year about 17 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents are stored indefinitely in wood-based consumer goods, buildings and other products. This is like taking 3.6 million passenger vehicles off the road for a year.
• FPInnovations, via contributions from its members, provincial and federal gov’t partners, invests approximately $18M in initiatives to drive innovation in the BC forest sector.

FPInnovations is a not-for-profit world leader that specializes in the creation of scientific solutions in support of the Canadian forest sector’s global competitiveness and responds to the priority needs of its industry members and government partners. It is ideally positioned to perform research, innovate, and deliver state-of-the-art solutions for every area of the sector’s value chain, from forest operations to consumer and industrial products. FPInnovations’ staff numbers more than 525. Its R&D laboratories are located in Québec City, Montréal, and Vancouver, and it has technology transfer offices across Canada. For more information about FPInnovations, visit: www.fpinnovations.ca