The more split off products available the higher it pushes the net value for the fiber.

Most saw mills today already produce a variety of sizes of lumber products, wood chips (pulp mills), sawdust (pellet plants), hog fuel (pulp mills, cogen plants, pellet plants, city heating, UNBC ect), planner shavings (pellet plants), and trim blocks (finger joiner plants).

Where is the government going to get the money from? The total government (federal, provincial, and municipal) gross debt in Canada is approximately $1.9 Trillion, and with the large baby boom generation in Canada (the leading edge of which started to turn 65 in 2011) there are a lot of seniors in Canada who are going to require “looking after” as we go forward. Another major problem which has to be addressed in Canada is our large infrastructure deficit.

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/120615/t120615b004-eng.htm

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/130315/t130315a004-eng.htm

This reminds me of WAC Bennett’s warning about the folly of governments getting involved in financing ‘hot house industries’ that would invariably wither and die as soon as the grants and low cost government provided loans and subsidies stopped.

Years ago the Federal government subsidised both coal mining and gold mining, (amongst many other things), to ‘maintain employment’. When the subsidies stopped, both withered and died where they couldn’t be commercially justified. Or modified their methods of operating where they could be.

And then in the late 1970’s and early ’80’s we were going to have a ‘high-tech, value-added revolution’ that would usher in an era of endless employment opportunities making products that had never been made here before.

We’d become a real manufacturing powerhouse, globally competitive with the best of the best. At the end of that process, and every similar one since, we’d lost more jobs than had ever been created. Still governments don’t learn.

Now take the players involved above. Conifex has lost money consistantly since its inception, and measures its progress by reporting a smaller loss year to year rather than a profit.

Domtar used to be known as Dominion Tar and Chemical Company. And was consistantly profitable producing such products as treated poles and piling, railway ties, and other products where wood preservatives were applied to sawn lumber.

Then it ‘re-invented’ itself. It sold off everything it had that was profitable under any standard definition of that word as it (should) apply in accounting. And went into one money losing venture after another. And now this ~ a “fibre company”?

Sounds to me like these outfits have tapped into the new way of accessing the bloated standard of living for those charged with administrating them. HYPE. Seems there’s more in that nowadays than there is in doing anything ‘real’ ~ which always originates from the bottom up ~ from their being a CONSUMER DEMAND for the product produced sufficient to recover the costs of its making in price.

Not from hyped up proposals for things which have no demand, and would be unaffordable anyways.

And our City went into a bio energy project the created some jobs but all it did was to shift the cost from gas to wood products at a great cost to the tax payers. Mayor Rogers once said, “I have a dream” and that about summs up the efforts by our governments to become involved in industrial projects.
Cheers

“Bio-Economy”. Never heard that word in the sixties. Times have changed? Who makes up these words? Anyone who wants a job with interesting funding sources? I can use my “bio-wallet” to pay for it.

Bend over taxpayer, the real free enterprise system at work

How about building a wind turbine on Cranbrook Hill? It would be the equivalent of taking 12 cars of the road. Less dust too.

LOL how does putting a wind turbine on Cranbrook hill take 10 cars off the road? It would most likely cause an extra 100 cars on the road to go look at it. When did cars start generating electricity?

When Mr. Alternator came up with an idea.

“Bio-Economy needs Taxpayer support to flourish”

There, I fixed the headline.

Funny middle finger, I knew someone would say that. Maybe you can explain how that energy gets from your cars alternator to the grid!

What if Mr Altinator has a short circuit?
Cheers

I did not like the headline of this report from the beginning either.

“Bio-Economy needs Taxpayer support to flourish” is an improvement.

However, the ultimate objectives surely must be:

“Bio-Economy needs improved product utility, demand and sales to flourish.”

I “get government support to flourish”. It’s called a pension. I lied. I exist but I don’t flourish.

It’s $$$green$$$ man, you dig? You need to give us the $$$green$$$.

Oil pipelines pay for themselves. Get with the program, woodheads.