APEC has been asked by the Forest Products Association of Nova Scotia (FPANS) to provide an updated economic profile of the of the forest industry in Nova Scotia. The report highlights the major challenges facing the industry, recent economic trends within the Nova Scotia forest industry, its contribution to the provincial economy and how the industry is addressing sustainable forest management issues.
Chapter 1 provides a profile of the industry and its importance to the economy of Atlantic Canada. In Chapter 2, the competitiveness challenges facing the industry are analyzed. Chapter 3 explores new directions for the industry while a final chapter summarizes the findings and highlights the key recommendations. Of particular interest to readers will be the views of those engaged in the forest industry in Atlantic Canada, gathered from six industry roundtables held across the Atlantic Provinces between April and June of 2007 as well as from individual interviews.
The report highlights the changing structure of the labour force over the past decade while profiling the labour force in more detail at the time of the 2001 Census. A brief analysis of what is driving demographic trends in the province and the implications for the forest industry is also included.