ST. THOMAS – The Ontario government is opening the forest industry to jobs and promoting the use of sustainable renewable resources by investing in the province’s first cross laminated timber plant. John Yakabuski, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, announced an investment of almost $5 million in Element5’s new facility, which will create over 60 jobs in St. Thomas. The $32 million manufacturing facility will… be one of North America’s first fully automated cross laminated timber plants. …”This is a significant investment in the Ontario forestry industry, job creation, housing, innovation and technology, and the environment in the form of green building practices,” said Frank Dottori, Industry Leadership at Element5. The investment is being made through Ontario’s Forestry Growth Fund, which provides funding for forestry sector projects that improve productivity and innovation.