By ADELLE LARMOUR
Imagine a Northern Ontario where landfills are a thing of the past, communities are completely fossil-fuel free, bio-energy production is commonplace and commitment to environmental sustainability has not only doubled the region’s wood volume, but has improved the quality of life of its residents.
On May 28, 27 people representing 18 organizations in northeastern Ontario ventured to Finland and Sweden on a trip called the Nordic Mission. This group of private sector and government officials (including Minister of Natural Resources David Ramsay), who represented Team Northern Ontario, went with the objective to create more value-added opportunities for the forest industry in Northern Ontario, says Jay Aspin, export development officer for the North Bay Chamber of Commerce.
The focus of the mission was twofold. Business-to-business matchmaking meetings were pre-arranged, along with networking opportunities at the world’s largest forestry trade show, called Elmia Wood 2005. Secondly, technology transfer and training opportunities were presented in order to gain insight and knowledge to act as a catalyst for diversifying the forest product industry in Northern Ontario.
The initiative for the mission grew out of a forestry forum held in the spring of 2004 in Mattawa, where two world-class speakers from Sweden and Finland spoke of their industries and technology. The temporary and permanent loss of jobs in the forest products sector across the North in the last four years and concern over fibre management also prompted the mission.
Team Northern Ontario went with the vision to have Canadians learn from the technological successes of the two Nordic countries. After 40 years of development performed in Finland and Sweden, Aspin says it is not necessary for Canada to reinvent the wheel.
“We want to get educated and garner some insights as to what they are doing and how they’ve managed to double their volumes of wood and increase their capacity.”
Sweden is known as the “superpower” of forest products.
Nordic countries focus on sustainability while taking full advantage of the forest value-chain, according to Aspin. With an emphasis on research and development, the forest industry plays a key role in the national economy of both Finland and Sweden.
The terrain and species of trees in Sweden and Finland are similar to that of Northern Ontario, with Pine, Spruce and Birch being the most common. The biggest difference is that while 94 per cent of Ontario’s forests are crown land, only a quarter of Sweden’s landmass is publicly owned. In Finland, that figure drops to 18 per cent. He pointed out that the two countries have a holistic approach to forest management and production, with a greater degree of collaboration between industry and government.
“They get economic development, but they do it with a social and ecological conscience.”
Aspin says the team was very interested in a new and evolving technology in Sweden called CHP, which stands for combined heat and power. The system produces power from residue from the forest. These power plants are called district heating units, which produce both electricity and heat for houses, industrial facilities and commercial buildings. In a summary paper, Christopher Rees, director of Collège Boréal’s Centre for Ecology and the Forest, says the majority of biomass comes from the forest, either directly as residues from logging, chips or round wood harvesting, but also indirectly as by-products from sawmills, wood processing or pulp and paper industries.
Aspin calls the power facilities “state of the art” and says as a nation, we owe it to ourselves to exploit these opportunities, not only in terms of energy, but also for the environment.
“We could adapt the technology and use it here,” he says. “A number of sites in Northern Ontario could gain from the process.”
With external pressures from the Kyoto Accord and ever rising oil prices, adapting Nordic technology is a consideration that would benefit Northern Ontarians. Consequently, the networking and relationships established on the trip were described as positive. Aspen says the two countries are willing to work co-operatively with Canadians, while he recommends further exploration of Nordic technology for Northern Ontario.
“Communities that are willing to explore new technologies can secure themselves with energy,” he says. “And communities that have secured themselves with good energy in the future will be those that grow.”
