GreenFirst Forest Products is getting more than $7 million from the province for its Chapleau operations, part of a $17 million package announced this week for four forestry projects across northern Ontario. A new sawline at GreenFirst’s Chapleau mill is already up and running. It’s part of the company’s effort to modernize and become more efficient as the trade war with the U.S. deepens. “So it’s about bringing a new line, about bringing efficiency, more value, also, for each log that we produce,” said Michel Lessard from GreenFirst Forest Products. Kapuskasing-Timmins-Mushkegowuk MP Gaetan Malette, who has a background in forestry, was on site for the Sept. 2 announcement. “The yield recovery to harvest timber is very expensive,” Malette said. “And when you bring it to your sawmill, you’ve got to recover the most lumber. And I was watching the line on Monday, and it’s extraordinary how technology has advanced and how they recuperate the maximum lumber from a tree.” Greenfirst said the funding will help sustain its operations as the company continues to face significant pressure from U.S. tariffs. “You know, we’re paying today in duties, in tariffs, 45 per cent,” said Lessard. “That’s huge. And we’re hoping also that … negotiations that happen between the Government of Canada and also the Trump administration could solve also the issues that we have and duties and tariffs. But you know, we have to live with that.” The province says the investment is part of a 10-year roadmap to defend, adapt and grow Ontario’s Forestry Sector. Kevin Holland, the associate Minister of Forestry and Forest Products, said the government rolled out a roadmap in April on how it will protect the forestry industry. “And it’s all about making sure that we’re positioning the sector to get through some of these challenging times,” Holland said. “Tariffs, obviously, are having a big impact.” Chapleau Mayor Ryan Bignucolo said the funding is more than just buying new equipment. “It creates jobs for employers, for people in the field, for the local people that live here, who are all taxpayers,” Bignucolo said. “It’s really, really important ... this stabilizes it. And, you know, if we keep the lumber prices where they are and hopefully things work out with the tariffs, it’ll be here for a long time into the future.” The announcement also included nearly $10 million for Interfor’s Elk Lake Sawmill and more than $180,000 for the Calstock Power Plant.
