First Nations-owned businesses recently announced a study for a new wood processing facility on the B.C. coast. Iskum Investments Limited Partnership, a consortium of coastal First Nations-owned businesses, is comparing three coastal locations as part of a study supported by a $1.275-million contribution from the Government of Canada in Vancouver. They are advancing the study of the new, state-of-the-art facility. The contribution from the government was through Natural Resources Canada’s Indigenous Forestry Initiative (IFI). …This kind of facility will be designed to strengthen the entire coastal economy, which includes supporting the pulp and paper operations that are struggling to secure an economic supply of fibre. An updated wood processing facility would provide a long-term, steady source of chips they need, while also creating a dependable domestic market. The facility would also be used to process second-growth logs, i.e. hemlock and balsam, which are often exported as unprocessed logs.