Province to invest $90 million over three years through new BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund

THE StrongerBC Economic Plan is delivering support for people in rural British Columbia through a new fund that will diversify local economies, promote value-added innovation in the forestry sector and create thousands of good-paying jobs for British Columbians, Premier David Eby announced in Prince George on Tuesday.

“We need to get more good-paying jobs from our forests and every resource in our province,” said Eby. “The investments we are making in rural B.C. will help do that by supporting companies to get into the business of creating value-added products, like mass timber. Our whole province benefits when local workers and their families can build good lives in the rural communities they call home.”

The Government of B.C. will invest as much as $90 million over three years through the new BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund. The fund will support high-value industrial and manufacturing projects to drive clean and inclusive growth in rural, remote and Indigenous communities.

“In B.C., our economic advantage is our people,” said Brenda Bailey, Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation. “As our natural resource sector transitions, our government is investing in local economies to provide new opportunities that will create jobs and ensure long-lasting prosperity for people throughout our province.”

The fund will support established for-profit organizations to plan and launch shovel-ready projects that bring direct benefits and stable, family-supporting jobs to regional and Indigenous communities.

For example, the BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund may provide funding to a forestry company that needs to buy new equipment to support new product lines, such as mass timber production or paper packaging, or smaller-diameter tree processing and manufacturing, or a company that wants to build or expand a plastics-alternative manufacturing facility in a rural community.

“Forestry is a foundation of B.C.’s economy,” said Bruce Ralston, Minister of Forests. “By driving innovation across the sector, we can ensure more value-added wood products are made in B.C. and create more jobs for every tree harvested. Now is the time to work together to build a stronger, more resilient forestry industry that better works for people and communities.”

The BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund will focus on areas experiencing economic impacts from changes in the forestry sector.

The new fund is part of the Forest Worker Community Support initiatives and the StrongerBC Economic Plan’s work to build resilient communities. The fund is in addition to the $185-million support package announced in Budget 2022 to ensure that co-ordinated and comprehensive supports are in place to offset any economic impacts from a changing forestry industry.

 

BACKGROUNDER
More information about the BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund

* The BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund will have two streams of funding: the project readiness stream, and the capital investment stream.
* Under the project readiness stream, the Province will provide up to 50% of a project to a maximum of $50,000 to help projects that are in the earlier stages of development.
* These grants will support final-stage business and project planning, and operational or technical assessments for a capital project.

* Under the capital investment stream, the Province will fund up to an average of 20% of a project, to a maximum of $10 million, for projects that are investment ready.
* These grants will be for capital projects, including new or renovated manufacturing infrastructure, technology, equipment and processes.

* Examples of eligible projects include:
– adopting innovative processes to manufacture value-added forestry products from biomass or other alternatives;

– expanding industrial facilities;

– machine upgrades;

– improvements to fabrication processes;

– construction of new facilities;

– business planning or technical assessments to prepare for capital investment; and

– renovating ageing industrial buildings, such as unused mills to serve new purposes.

* A program guide and proposal form will be available by February 28.