The Saskatchewan government declared last week National Forest Week with the theme Our Forests-Continually Giving.  The week highlights the important role that provincial forests play both in terms of the economy and environmental sustainability.

Resources Minister Bronwyn Eyre says the government’s recent announcements of timber allocations for new mills and expansions will increase production, create thousands of direct and indirect jobs and help them reach their growth plan goals to double the forestry sector by 2030. That includes One Sky Forest Products which is set to build a new Oriented Strand Board Mill in Prince Albert enhancing Indigenous economic and labor development opportunites.

Forested land covers 34 million hectares in Saskatchewan, more than half the province.  Every spring approximately seven million trees are planted in the province.  Forestry is northern Saskatchewan’s largest sector supporting eight thousand jobs and hundreds of businesses.  In 2020 the industry produced more than 1.1 billion dollars in sales which was an increase of nearly 30 percent compared to the previous year.