Province sending mixed messages on status of wood-heating program

The Houston government is denying an initiative — started by the previous Liberal government — is stalled, even though a letter from a deputy minister appears to suggest as much.

In a message to the standing committee on public accounts on May 3, Public Works Deputy Minister Peter Hackett said that: "Presently, NRR [Natural Resources and Renewables] Wood Heat Initiative is on hold pending allocation of capital."

Hackett also wrote that he was sharing information provided by the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables, which is leading the initiative.

The province launched the program in January 2020. Nine public facilities are now using wood chips in their heating systems, including three high schools, Nova Scotia Community College buildings in Bridgewater and Lawrencetown, as well the Bridgewater courthouse and three Perennia buildings in Bible Hill.

According to Hackett's letter, the government is currently reviewing a "20+ candidate sites short list,"  made up mainly of health facilities such as hospitals and seniors homes, to add to the program.

Individual departments decide whether, in their capital plans, they will pay to convert existing systems from oil heat to wood-burning or whether they will install systems that burn wood chips in new construction projects.

There's no mention of funding for wood-heat conversions or new installations in the 2023-24 capital plan released by the Nova Scotia Government in March.

However, Department of Natural Resources and Renewables communications director Adele Poirier said the wood heat initiative "was never placed on hold."

"We're working with departments across government to identify opportunities for Phase 2," she wrote in an email to CBC News. "We don't have any further information that we can share at this point."

Public Works media relations officer Gary Andrea said that Hackett's comment about the initiative being "on hold pending allocation of capital" refers to "capital that would come from candidate projects, such as schools and health facilities."

"The 'hold' simply refers to the time it is expected to take for candidates to bring projects forward and for them to be evaluated," Andrea wrote.

Stephen Moore, executive director of Forest Nova Scotia, wasn't surprised to hear the program might be stalled.

"We've seen for quite some time that well over 100 buildings were identified for conversion, and we've only seen six sites converted at this point," said Moore, who once worked in former Liberal premier Stephen McNeil's office.

New market for wood after Northern Pulp

Suggested by Bill Lahey in his 2018 report on transforming forestry in Nova Scotia, converting oil to wood-burning heat and installing wood-chip burners in new buildings was supposed to provide a new market for wood that would normally have gone to Northern Pulp. The company shuttered its Abercrombie Point mill in 2020.

"It's no secret that we need new markets for low grade wood," Moore said. "What we're seeing right now is that many people in the sector are struggling because of the lack of markets."

Moore estimated there are currently half as many forestry contractors as there were when Northern Pulp was in operation. He also suggested there was a much broader potential impact to shelving the initiative.

"Without a place to sell it and without the people to take it out, really what we're seeing is an increase of dead and dying wood on the ground and that's an increase of forest fire fuel around Nova Scotia."

Moore said he hopes the government will find the money to restart conversions and new installations.

"We have members and contractors [who] are willing to do the harvesting," he said. "We have people who are willing to do the work. What we need from the province now is [for] them to get moving and to fund the conversion of these buildings."