Alberta is one of the first provinces to utilize existing legislation to defer timber dues in response to the extreme near-term pressures the forest sector is experiencing.
“Alberta’s forest sector is our third largest resource industry, behind energy and agriculture. Ensuring the economic viability for our responsible forest companies will help Alberta families and contribute to our economic recovery.”
This deferral of dues will support companies that have self-isolating staff or constraints that require working from home and help many rural economies by providing stable employment in the forest industry.
The forest industry has been experiencing low markets for lumber, oriented strand board and pulp due to the pandemic.
Quick facts
- In 2018, the forest sector directly supported 946 small businesses and 58 medium- and large-sized businesses.
- There are 18,700 employed in the forest sector, which also supports 25,000 additional indirect jobs and 90 communities.
- Alberta forest product manufacturing contributed almost $2.2 billion to the provincial GDP in 2018.
- In 2018, Alberta exported our high-quality forest products around the world, including to the United States ($2.76B), China ($715M), Japan ($294M) and South Korea ($157M).
Alberta has a comprehensive response to COVID-19, including measures to enhance social distancing, screening and testing. Financial supports are helping Alberta families and businesses.