Bug lab gets $5-million toward energy-saving upgrades (update, 4 photos)

The Great Lakes Forestry Centre (GLFC) in Sault Ste. Marie is receiving a $5-million upgrade as part of a larger $380-million investment in federal laboratories and research centres by the Canadian government.

The money will primarily be put toward replacement of chillers, lighting, fume hoods, air distribution systems and building automation systems in an effort to increase energy efficiency within the centre.

“It’s a very large facility and energy costs are going up all the time. As a result, this announcement will allow us to keep up, to reduce our resources we have to spend on energy,” said Dr. David Nanang, director general for Canadian Forest Service.

Nanang said about $1-million is spent annually by the centre on energy costs alone and he expects the improvements will cut the centre’s energy costs by about 25 percent.

GLFC is one of five research centres within the Canadian Forest Service and parts of the sprawling facility are over 50 years old.

The original centre began construction in 1943 as the Forest Insect Laboratory at Church and Queen Street to fight a spruce budworm infestation in the region, before moving to the larger GLFC further east on Queen.

MP Bryan Hayes made the announcement on behalf of Greg Rickford, minister of Natural Resources.

“Every day over 120 staff, scientists, technicians and researchers here at the Great Lakes Forestry Centre advance our understanding of sustainable forest management through your world class research,” Hayes said during the announcement.

Asked during the media scrum if the recent spate of federal spending announcements were timed with an upcoming election, Hayes countered that the $380-million was announced a year ago. 

“The staff here actually put in the request and put forth the proposal and that’s how long it took to field all of the proposals. Some people will call it electioneering, I don’t call it electioneering," said Hayes.

The following is a news release from MP Bryan Hayes:

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Bryan Hayes, Member of Parliament for Sault Ste. Marie, on behalf of the Honourable Greg Rickford, Canada's Minister of Natural Resources and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario, today announced investments in science and infrastructure upgrades to Natural Resources Canada's Great Lakes Forestry Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

This $5 million in new funding builds on the Government's unprecedented and historic investment in public infrastructure to ensure Canada's future economic growth for years to come.

The funding announced today will be used for energy-efficiency and infrastructure upgrades to the Centre.

The upgrades will provide long-term cost savings and will help federal scientists conduct important research on sustainable forest management including biological control of forest pests and diseases, forest ecosystems and forest productivity, and forest fire research.

Across the country, the Government of Canada is investing $380 million in federal laboratories and research facilities for major repairs and upgrades that will improve the ability to perform leading-edge research.

For example, the Great Lakes Forestry Centre is working to combat the highly destructive emerald ash borer.

Since 2007, the Government has invested a total of $1.8 billion in support of the ongoing transformation and renewal of Canada's forest sector.

Budget 2015 maintains this momentum by investing $86 million over two years to further extend the Forest Innovation Program and the Expanding Market Opportunities Program.

These investments are working to help ensure that Canada's forest industry continues to support and create jobs. Operating profits for Canada's forest sector reached $2.7 billion in 2013, up 152 percent from 2012.

These are the highest operating profits earned over the past eight years.

Since 2012, exports of forest products from Ontario have risen by $142 million.

Quick Facts

• Canada's forest sector contributed $20.9 billion to our nominal gross domestic product in 2013, directly employing over 216,000 workers in all regions of the country and more than 43,000 in Ontario.
• Less than 0.5 percent of Canada's forests are harvested annually to manufacture products for the domestic and international markets, and all forests harvested on public lands must be regenerated.
• Canada's forestlands include over 160 million hectares of forestland certified by third parties as being sustainably managed — 43 percent of the world's certified forests.
• In 2013, the value of Canada's forest product exports increased by 13.1 percent from 2012 levels — rising to $28.4 billion from $25.1 billion — and production levels were higher across all market segments.
• In addition, the Expanding Market Opportunities Program has also helped to open doors to new business opportunities and has diversified markets for Canadian forest products. These efforts have been particularly successful in increasing sales of Canadian wood products to China, where exports have grown by more than 1,000 percent between 2007 and 2013.

"Our government is proud to support the re-emergence of our forest sector. In fact, since 2006, our government has invested an unprecedented $1.8 billion toward the ongoing transformation and renewal of the forest industry across Canada. Today's investment in science and infrastructure upgrades is welcome news for the scientists conducting leading-edge research at the Great Lakes Forestry Centre in Sault Ste. Marie," said Bryan Hayes, Member of Parliament for Sault Ste. Marie.

"Today's announcement is part of the Government's unprecedented and historic investment in public infrastructure to ensure Canada's future economic growth for years to come. Our government's support for forest industry innovation is helping create jobs and growth across Canada. This investment supports important scientific research that will enhance competitiveness and prosperity in Canada's forest industry." said Greg Rickford, Canada's Minister of Natural Resources and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario.

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(PHOTO: Research scientist Krista Ryall shows wood infected by the emeral ash borer to MP Bryan Hayes and Dr. David Nanang, director general of Canadian Forest Service, during a tour of the GLFC on Tuesday. Kenneth Armstrong/SooToday)