Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 27 November 2009 --- (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Ontario, Canada, is searching for innovative ways to use logs, branches, and other wood in Crown forests for manufacturing or other commercial purposes. This will help create green jobs and new investment in the forest industry.

Proposals are currently being accepted for the use of about 11 million cubic meters of wood. This competitive process is open to anyone – including existing and new forest companies – interested in using Crown wood supply and investing in Ontario. Proposals will be evaluated on a number of criteria, including fostering effective, cooperative relationships between industry and Aboriginal communities.

To help foster a stronger, more diversified forest sector, the government has launched Stage II of its Provincial Wood Supply Competitive Process.
    
Stage I, the Request for Expressions of Interests, was launched in January 2009 to help determine if a wood supply competitive process was warranted. The response was overwhelming, attracting 131 submissions from Canadian and international proponents with proposals related to biofuels, biochemicals, wood pellets, heat and power projects, composites, and other value-added uses.

Stage II is open to any proponents interested in using Crown wood supply and investing in Ontario. This includes existing forest companies that are interested in expanding their current wood supply or exploring new markets and business opportunities. Forest companies with idle processing or manufacturing facilities may also choose to participate to demonstrate their desire and commitment to reopen and resume using wood supplies.

The wood will come from 41 forest management units in Ontario -- the majority in northern Ontario. Part of the wood supply in this competitive process will come from harvest residues -- tree tops and irregular limbs – that can be used to support Ontario’s emerging bioeconomy sector, such as to produce wood pellets for energy.

Information sessions are scheduled for Kenora, Thunder Bay, Pembroke, Timmins, and Sault Ste Marie in the coming weeks.  

For more information on the Provincial Wood Supply Competitive Process and how to submit a proposal, visit ontario.ca/crownwood.  Proposals must be submitted by 04 March 2010.