The Parliamentary Secretary of Forestry says $27 million in grants for forest companies announced yesterday is money that was already committed in the budget.

Speaking on NL Newsday, Ravi Kahlon says that funding is part of a quarter-billion dollars that the province has asked the Forest Enhancement Society of B.C. to hand out to worthy applicants over several years.

“This isn’t dollars that will keep initiatives for these companies going all the way through, this is transition money to help them access some fibre. Our hope is this will carry them through this difficult transition so that they won’t be dependent on a government influx of money.”

More than $8.85 million (nearly one-third) of the most recent intake of grants will go to companies in the Kamloops and Merritt areas, including Ledcor ($3.86M), Arrow Transportation ($3.08M), Domtar ($1.25M), Valley Carriers ($500K), and the Logan Lake Community Forest Corporation ($150K).