Government invests in six forestry projects in Northern Ontario

THUNDER BAY, ONT. — The Government of Canada recently announced nearly $13 million in funding for six projects to equip northern Ontario communities with tools to build greener businesses and promote further economic opportunities in the forestry sector.

The projects will help Indigenous communities reduce their reliance on fossil fuels, decrease emissions and demonstrate the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of biomass heating, indicates a release.

The funding will be allocated to the following projects:

• $1,670,000 to Askii Environmental Inc. to install biomass heating systems in Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug and Pikangikum First Nation, which will offset the fossil fuel used to heat schools in these communities;
• $2,452,750 to the Wikwemikong Development Commission to demonstrate the effectiveness of forest-based biomass and efficient residential heating sources in Wikwemikong Unceded Territory through the installation of pellet stoves, biomass boilers, wood pellet furnaces and wood pellet storage silos;
• $2,532,000 to the Nishnawbe Aski Nation to replace existing woodstove heating appliances in six of the nation’s communities with upgraded high-efficiency woodstoves, which will reduce fossil fuel heating use by lowering demand on the community’s diesel-generated electricity supply;  
• $1,051,000 to Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek to replace the community’s sawmill diesel heat source with a biomass system and to install biomass-compatible heating systems in three new housing units in preparation for future biomass heating expansion;
• $4,168,000 to Sagatay Cogeneration Limited Partnership to develop engineering plans for a biomass cogeneration system, which, once constructed, would reduce the community’s dependence on diesel fuel for heat and electricity; and
• $983,000 to Wahgoshig First Nation to install a forest-based biomass heating system for four community buildings — the Community Firehall, Lands and Resources Office, Community Centre and Community Elder’s Residence — which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Funding for the projects comes from the Clean Energy for Rural and Remote Communities Program: BioHeat Stream. The six-year, $220-million program aims to reduce reliance on diesel in rural and remote communities.

“This 300 kW wood chip boiler project is not only about clean energy and diesel reduction but also so much about capacity development,” said Cara Sanders, principal at Askii Environmental Inc., in a statement. “Each Nation now has a team of five workers who are primarily youth working and learning in the multifaceted wood gathering program. Each Nation now has a sawmill to make lumber in the community, chain saws to harvest for firewood and fuel for the boilers, and Pikangikum First Nation also has tools to fabricate value-added items such as sheds and furniture. It is hoped that Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug will have carpentry tools next year.”