The provincial government has announced a $500,000 contribution to a fund that鈥檚 meant to provide a measure of financial protection to contractors involved in the growing and harvesting of trees.

The money is meant to compensate those companies if their customers, called 鈥渓icensees,鈥� become insolvent and can鈥檛 pay for services rendered.

By the end of April, the compensation fund, which was first established in 2012, had dished up nearly $485,000 鈥� payments that were related to 鈥渢hree small insolvencies,鈥� according to a government media release.

The newly announced money tops up the available funding, bringing it to roughly $8 million.

Minister of Forests Doug Donaldson announced the cash injection during a logging industry trade show and conference that took place in Kamloops earlier this month.

He called forest-service contractors 鈥渁n extremely important link in the B.C. forest sector supply chain鈥� and said the money would offer them confidence 鈥渄espite any possible licensee insolvency.鈥�

Protections extends to silviculture

The fund was originally meant to safeguard the interests of logging contractors and related service providers. But in December 2016, the government broadened the scope of the fund, making it available to companies involved in the growing of trees.

Those companies can apply for relief funds from a 鈥渟ilviculture sub-account.鈥�

The newly announced funding is meant to benefit both the timber and silviculture contractors. 鈥淭his one-time grant will be split evenly, with $250,000 going to the general fund and to the silviculture sub-account,鈥� according to the government statement.