Madam Chair, let me tell the House what we are doing for the industry. Economic recovery is on the horizon although it is still fragile. However, the fact remains that the price for softwood lumber has increased by 71% over the same period last year and the price of pulp has gone up by 50%.
A number of companies have started resuming operations in some plants, such as Quesnel and Crofton. Thanks to the community adjustment fund alone, labs in Quebec will receive $78 million in support for innovation and the development of new technologies in the forestry sector in areas such as bioenergy and next generation construction systems, and they will receive more than $1 million to develop a business plan and a technical design for a pilot demonstration project for the production of nanocrystalline cellulose.
In 2009, EDC provided services to more than 200 forestry businesses in Quebec, which resulted in roughly $14 billion in exports. Recently, I went to Quebec City to meet with the Quebec Forest Industry Council and announce funding for cecobois and for QWEB to help them better develop markets. Not only do we respect all the efforts being made, but we support them as well.