The federal government has established a new task force tasked with fundamentally rethinking the future of Canada's forest sector, which faces persistent commercial pressures and the need to bolster long-term competitiveness.
Meeting for the first time this week, the group will conduct an extensive 90-day consultation with industry stakeholders, provinces and territories, Indigenous organizations, unions, and the general public through an upcoming web portal.
Its mandate: to identify concrete pathways for modernizing, restructuring, and retooling the industry. The work will focus on adopting innovative construction methods such as mass timber, modular systems, and prefabrication especially in the residential sector as well as product diversification, including advanced wood based materials and bioproducts.
Priorities also include improving market access, boosting productivity through innovation, digitalization, and cutting-edge technologies, and modernizing existing facilities.
At the end of this consultation period, the task force will deliver a report of recommendations to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, the Honourable Tim Hodgson.
The Task Force is co-chaired by Ken Kalesnikoff, Senior Advisor and Director of Kalesnikoff Mass Timber, and Frédéric Verreault, Vice-President of Corporate Affairs at Chantiers Chibougamau, and comprises the following members:
- Lana Payne, National President, Unifor
- Lennard Joe, Chief Executive Officer, BC First Nations Forestry Council
- Don Roberts, CEO of Nawitka Capital Advisors Ltd.
- Brad Carr, CEO of Mattamy Homes Canada
- Jim Irving, Co-CEO of J.D. Irving Ltd., Kent Homes
- Luc Thériault, Chief Executive Officer, Wood Products, President of Domtar Canada, and Co-Chair of the Canadian Alliance for Softwood Lumber
According to Natural Resources Canada, this initiative aims to support workers, communities, and regions dependent on forestry, while preparing the sector for structural transformation in the decades ahead.
Source: Natural Resources Canada
