*With files from Cole Kelly, MyPGNow.com Staff*
The province is looking to utilize unused wood fibre to create jobs.
Ravi Kahlon, Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development came to Prince George this afternoon (Wednesday) to announce more than $27 million dollars in project grants to increase the use of wood fibre that would otherwise be burned as slash.
“This was done by the Forest Enhancement Society of B.C. (FESBC), which distributes the grants, in partnership with the B.C. government and the Government of Canada. ͞Nothing frustrates people more than seeing piles of slash go to waste rather than be used to help create jobs,” said Kahlon.
According to the minister, these projects will employ forestry contractors, some of whom might otherwise be unemployed, and will help to employ mill workers who produce electricity, wood pellets, and pulp at mills that produce these products specifically. As a result, more wood waste will be turned into electricity, heat energy and pulp products to help achieve B.C.͛s and Canada’s climate change targets.
This latest round of grants by the society cover 38 different projects in British Columbia, with individual grant amounts ranging from $16,980 to $1.5 million. As of today, about $230 million has been provided by the Forest Enhancement Society of B.C. to support 251 approved projects.
You can find more information on these projects here.