Saskatchewan’s forest industry has received a financial reprieve from the federal government.
The federal ministry of natural resources has restored $300,000 in funding for the Saskatchewan Forest Centre that had been cut in the May federal budget.
That’s good news for the province’s nascent agroforestry industry, which is being developed in part on the basis of research being conducted through the forestry centre.
The provincial government has established a goal of converting 10 percent of Saskatchewan’s arable land, or about 4.5 million acres, to agroforestry over the next 20 years.
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Forest centre officials were taken by surprise when the money didn’t appear in the budget, but several weeks of lobbying by local politicians, forest industry officials and provincial government representatives convinced the government to change its mind.
“There were a few weeks of uncertainty and concern, but it has all worked out, at least for the next year,” said Robin Woodward, chief executive officer of the SFC.
The federal government also provides funding to the centre through Western Economic Diversification to the tune of $600,000 annually, money that was never in doubt for 2006-07. The other $300,000 comes from Natural Resources Canada.
The federal funding represents about one-third of the centre’s annual budget of roughly $3 million. Of the remaining $2 million, about 75 percent is provided by the provincial government and 25 percent from forest industry sources.
Federal funding for the centre was first announced in 2001 as a five-year commitment but SFC officials had been under the impression it was to be automatically extended for another year.
Brian Fitzpatrick, Conservative MP from Prince Albert, where the SFC is located, was credited by Woodward as being instrumental in getting the funding restored.
Fitzpatrick said in an interview the forestry centre is crucial to maintaining the health of the forestry industry in the province, as well as developing the agroforestry industry.
Asked why the funding was cut in the first place, he said the money formally ran out at the end of the fiscal year March 31 and with all the changes associated with the change in government, the funding got lost in the shuffle.
As for whether more federal money will be available after this year, Fitzpatrick said it will up to forestry industry officials to make a case.
“I would encourage those involved with the forestry centre to do their homework on how they can access other funding for some of their projects,” he said.
Asked if he favoured extending federal funding beyond this year, Fitzpatrick said: “If SFC can show they are a part of the solution to the problems we have, why not?”
Woodward said the SFC is undertaking an internal review, part of which will focus on ways to raise more money from industry.
But he added he also believes there will be no problem making the case to government that funding should be extended beyond this year.
“”In five months time all these issues like softwood lumber and pine beetles and agroforestry aren’t going to go away, so I suspect we’ll be able to re-engage with the government.”
