News Release: NDP Leader Tom Mulcair’s plan to invest in Canada’s forestry sector to create jobs and support innovation is good news for the industry in Northern Ontario, say local NDP candidates.
“We’ve lost 30,000 forestry jobs in this province since Stephen Harper’s Conservatives formed government,” said Claude Gravelle (Nickel Belt). “We need to ensure Canada’s forestry sector remains innovative and competitive to create the highly skilled jobs needed to move the sector forward.”
Stephen Harper has undervalued Canadian forestry, failed to invest in manufacturing, and left existing federal funding oversubscribed to the detriment of the sector. Mulcair announced today that his government will work with the forestry sector to leverage private sector investments and create new opportunities.
An NDP government will:
- Invest in forest product manufacturing facilities to help maintain or retool for competitiveness;
- Support research and development for new products, manufacturing methods and new wood biomaterials; and
- Expand promotion of Canadian wood products to gain greater access to key North American and overseas markets.
“We will help our forestry sector diversify, promote Canada’s quality wood products and create as many as 2,500 jobs in communities across the country,” said Sudbury candidate Paul Loewenberg. “By increasing federal commitments and leveraging private-sector investment, we will facilitate incredible technological advances as the industry continues to change.”
