The C.D. Howe Institute has released a new report entitled Branching out: How Canada’s Forest Products Sector is Reshaping its Future. The study explores current industry trends and advancements that Canada’s forest products sector has made in the face of growing business challenges. It also provides a number of recommendations, which would enable the sector to enhance its contributions to the Canadian economy and our country’s environmental goals.

As noted by study author Eric Miller, “Canada’s forest sector shows potential as a leader in innovation, environmental sustainability and international trade.” The report proposed the following ideas for action:

Scale up the government contributions to FPInnovations, a non-profit innovation hub for the forestry industry, and other vehicles with a successful track record of commercialization;

Consolidate the early product and process innovations supported by the federal government in partnership with the industry to make Canada a global leader in the emerging ‘tall wood building space’;

Endeavour to ensure ‘regulatory neutrality’ for the use of emerging wood and wood-based products;

Create a window supported by carbon tax revenues to drive innovative local solutions to forest management, adaption and utilization; and

Develop a sectoral arrangement on trade in forest products with China, focused on the construction sector.