STATEMENT: Building a Stronger Future for Canadian Forestry

AFPA Statement on the Canadian Forest Sector Transformation Task Force Recommendations

The Alberta Forest Products Association (AFPA) welcomes the critical measures announced today by Canada’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Tim Hodgson, to provide the stability, competitiveness, and certainty needed to support forestry-dependent communities across the country for the long-haul.

The measures, informed by the Canadian Forest Sector Transformation Task Force Report, provide a roadmap for action to improve access to fibre, increase domestic demand for wood products, expand market opportunities, and strengthen the long-term competitiveness of Canada’s forest industry.

Our forest sector has faced extraordinary challenges in recent years, including escalating trade barriers, wildfire impacts, transportation constraints, rising operating costs, regulatory uncertainty, and growing global competition. These pressures have placed significant strain on the workers, businesses, and communities that depend on a strong and sustainable forest sector.

We look forward to working collaboratively with governments, Indigenous partners, and communities to translate these recommendations into meaningful action and timely implementation that strengthens Canada’s forest sector for generations to come.

AFPA thanks the members of the Canadian Forest Sector Transformation Task Force for their leadership and dedication in advancing recommendations that support forestry workers and working forests across Canada.

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About the Alberta Forest Products Association

The Alberta Forest Products Association (AFPA) is a non-profit association that has represented the sustainable forest industry in Alberta since 1942. We foster success and innovation in the forest sector by providing a broad range of resources, guidance, and training for member companies, and we’re also responsible for increasing public understanding of our forest resource and how the forest industry maintains it.

We’re closely engaged with our members, the community at large, and other forest stakeholders, including governments, representatives from other industries in Alberta, such as teachers, students, and NGOs. Our goal is to make this industry the best it can be, and to fulfill that responsibility with transparency, integrity, and accountability.

For more information, contact:

Aspen Dudzic, Director of Communications
M: 780.996.4377
adudzic@albertaforestproducts.ca