Ontario Creating New Program to Support Forestry Innovation and Job Creation

Today, Minister Graydon Smith and MPP Kevin Holland announced the new $19.6 million Forest Biomass Program. This program will support projects to harvest more wood from Crown forests, increase forest sector job creation and regional economic growth and find new uses for wood in collaboration with stakeholders, industry and Indigenous communities. It includes four streams, designed to position Ontario as a leader in innovative uses of forest biomass:

• Indigenous Bioeconomy Partnerships, to increase Indigenous participation in forest biomass opportunities and their economic benefits.
• Exploring Biomass Pathways, to help the public and private sector research technical, financial and scientific aspects of using forest biomass.
• Innovative Bioproduct Manufacturing, to increase the use of forest biomass in manufacturing, infrastructure, energy services and resource extraction. 
• Modernization, to support forest sector transformation, competitiveness and participation through use of forest biomass.

The application portal to the program will be available on Ontario.ca website in the coming weeks.

Learn more: https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1003099/ontario-creating-new-program-to-support-forestry-innovation-and-job-creation