Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) President and CEO Derek Nighbor released a statement in response to the 2024 Federal Budget tabled by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland. “FPAC took note in Budget 2024 of the government’s recognition of how Canadian forest sector workers and communities can grow the economy, address affordable housing needs, and help mitigate the risk of more catastrophic fires across the country. We welcome the over $16 billion towards home construction, including a $50 million carveout to fund the uptake of innovative building techniques like prefabricated and modular housing and mass-timber construction. …The $265 million offered to support wildfire prevention will help – but to keep people, communities, and critical infrastructure safer from fire, more must be done in collaboration with provinces, municipalities, and Indigenous Peoples to support more active management of our forests – similar to investments and approaches we are seeing in the United States and Europe.