June 17, 2009

The Harper Government fully understands that the global recession has created serious challenges for forestry-dependent communities throughout Canada.  That is why the government has taken decisive steps under Canada’s Economic Action Plan to ensure that support is available to workers, families and communities who depend on this the sector during this difficult time.  Economic Action Plan initiatives include:

• $1 billion, over two years, for a Community Adjustment Fund (CAF) to help create jobs and maintain employment in communities affected by the current economic downturn, including forest-dependant communities
• $170 million, over two years, to improve the competitiveness of Canada’s forest sector through new investments in market diversification and forest innovation.
• The Extraordinary Financing Framework has allocated $13 billion in incremental financing to financial Crown corporations.
• Increased financial flexibility through increased borrowing limits will enable Export Development Canada (EDC) to extend additional financing to Canadian businesses in the current extraordinary circumstances, including to forestry companies. 
  • In 2008 alone, EDC provided $14 billion in commercial solutions to Canada’s forest sector, and has helped 539 different forestry companies. As of April 30, 2009, EDC served 446 forestry companies for a total business volume of $2.06 billion this year.
• $100 million has been provided to the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) to create the Operating Line of Credit Guarantee (OLCG).  This is a time-limited facility that allows BDC to guarantee lines of credit that financial institutions already extend to their clients. This guaranteed portion goes above and beyond what the banks are already committing. Through the program, financial institutions and BDC will share the risk while providing increased support to their clients. The Operating Line of Credit Guarantee applies to operating lines of credit with authorized limits of a minimum of $400,000 and a maximum of $40 million. This funding will have a total market impact of at least $300 million.
  • In the last 12 months, the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) provided support to 1,112 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Canada’s forest sector.
• $8.3 billion through the Canada Skills and Transition Strategy to help workers directly affected by the economic downturn with enhancements to Employment Insurance (EI) and funding for skills and training. This includes:
  • An increase in funding of $1 billion over two years for provinces and territories through existing Labour Market Development Agreements (LMDAs). This funding will help deliver skills training support for up to 100,000 workers who qualify for EI benefits.
  • $500 million, over two years, for a new Strategic Training and Transition Fund for all workers facing training and adjustment needs, whether or not they qualify for EI.
  • Increasing the funding for the Targeted Initiative for Older Workers by $60 million over three years to help older workers get the specialized support they need while they transition to new jobs, as well as expanding its reach to all communities with a population of less than 250,000, which will help an additional 250 communities.
  • $200 million to extend Work-Sharing agreements, over the next two years, to a maximum of 52 weeks to assist employers and employees to avoid temporary layoffs while their industry recovers, thus minimizing the financial impact of the downturn on workers and the communities they live in.