Government of Canada Supports Forest Product Innovation in Ontario

July 11, 2017                     Newmarket, Ontario                          Natural Resources Canada

Canada’s forest sector is leading the way in innovation and clean technology, while supporting environmental sustainability and combating climate change.

Kyle Peterson, Member of Parliament for Newmarket–Aurora, on behalf of Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, the Honourable Jim Carr, today visited Natures Affinity’s production facility, which is producing biodegradable packaging that reduces greenhouse gases.

Natures Affinity’s innovative product was developed with the support of $188,000 in funding from Natural Resources Canada’s Investments in Forest Industry Transformation (IFIT) program.

Natures Affinity has developed Biobinder, a new and innovative Canada-based technology that combines natural chemistry with nanotechnology. Biobinder adds strength and water-resistance to pulp materials to produce packaging that uses a renewable, wood-based product that can replace petroleum-based bonding agents, such as polypropylene and polystyrene, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Biobinder meets Health Canada’s food packaging regulations and is certified as USDA biopreferred.

The project will deliver economic benefits to the community and surrounding region by improving the competitiveness of the pulp moulded product industry.

On June 1, 2017, the IFIT program received a further $55 million over three years as part of the Government of Canada’s $867-million response to support worker and forest-dependent communities that have been affected by U.S. duties on Canadian softwood lumber. This new funding will enable future innovative transformative technologies for the sector, which employs more than 200,000 Canadians, including 9,500 Indigenous people.