Exciting News for CEDFOB 

Centre d’expérimentation et de développement en forêt boréale (CEDFOB) is a college centre for technology transfer, based in Baie-Comeau and affiliated with the CEGEP Baie-Comeau. As one of the speakers at the Coasters Association’s Annual General Meeting on February 23rd, they shared a background of their work here on the Lower North Shore and an update on some exciting announcements.

CEDFOB has been active on the LNS since 2014 and has had full-time staff in the region since 2017. In 2020-2021 they hired three local staff, Shae-Lynn Roberts-Researcher, Kimberly Organ-Technician, and Delaney Collier-Student. To date, there has been an investment of approximately 40 000$ in the laboratory infrastructures in Gros Mecatina, a project made possible due to the use of the Centre de services scolaires du Littoral infrastructure.

There are three big announcements for 2021-2022. Thanks to funding from the MRC of Golfe du Saint Laurent and the National Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), CEDFOB will be able to begin investing in more equipment in Bonne Esperance (25 000$). They can also continue facilitating the partnership with the Coasters Association (30 000$) to support internships and collaborations. CEDFOB has also secured a 277 000$ investment from CRSNG from 2020-to 2022 to help enterprises across the LNS in the small fruits economy. The CEDFOB labs and offices in Baie-Comeau have also secured 8 963 477$ in funding to upgrade their facilities; this infrastructure will benefit the entire Cote-Nord.

Looking towards the future, CEDFOB looks forward to continuing their work on the LNS; for the 2021-2022 fiscal year, we hope to hire six staff in the region, so please keep an eye out for job postings. CEDFOB also has projects beginning in TALB and northern Quebec. Lastly, please watch their upcoming conference: La boRéalité: Innovation et perspectives d’avenir, in April.