Press Release
Eleven forestry companies, including AbitibiBowater, have accepted wood supply offers from the province, creating 163 new jobs and sustaining 404. This will also help create other jobs in the forestry sector, and support local economies.
AbitibiBowater in Thunder Bay will produce stud lumber at their sawmill, creating 50 jobs and sustaining 160. This is thanks to an allocation of 221,000 cubic meres per year of conifers.
The 11 companies will use the proposed wood allocations for traditional and new forest products including:
•Creating clean-burning wood pellets and briquettes for energy production;
•Providing a wide variety of lumber for construction; and
•Producing drill core boxes and timbers for the mining industry.
The wood supply competition is aimed at putting Ontario’s unused wood to work while the government takes steps to introduce a new forest tenure and pricing system. Helping build a stronger forest industry is an important part of the Open Ontario plan to create jobs and opportunities in Northern Ontario.
“I’m very pleased that these wood supply offers are putting people and wood to work in Ontario,” said Northern Development, Mines and Forestry minister Michael Gravelle.
“This is part of our job creation and economic development plan for the North,” he added.
The total wood supply offered to the 11 companies is 765,700 cubic metres per year.
Ontario received 115 submissions under the provincial wood supply competition from existing and new forest companies interested in using provincially owned wood and investing in the province.
