Building code changes support tall wood structures, 6-storey wood-frame as a means to ease BC’s rental housing shortfall. In related news: mass timber is trending in San Francisco; Scandinavian Airlines switches to fibre-based packaging; and New Zealand’s Zero Carbon Act is worrisome to the steel industry.
In other news: Australia bushfire smoke reaches record levels; BC and Alberta researchers on the health impacts of fighting forest fires; and a CBC video story on the link between herbicides and forest fires. Meanwhile; more on the CN Rail strike, and Tolko mill closure.
Finally, outdoor wood furniture with solar panels to recharge your laptop.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
Pressure is mounting on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to take action to end a railway strike that’s curtailing shipments of one the world’s biggest exporters of raw materials. More than 3,200 conductors and yard operators walked off the job at Canadian National Railway Co. on Tuesday …Capotex, the marketing arm for potash companies Nutrien Ltd. and Mosaic Co., said it relies heavily on CN Rail to move potash to its terminal in Vancouver. The Forest Products Association of Canada said its industry is responsible for 10% of the total tonnage transported through Canada’s railways. “While FPAC respects the collective bargaining process, and the right of workers to go on strike, we are concerned about the devastating economic impacts this dispute will have on our industry, which is already facing significant headwinds, not to mention the impacts on forestry families and communities.”
Woodtone in Spallumcheen is a BC forest industry company that is not only keeping its employees working, it is hiring more staff. Some 70 people are employed by the plant that has carved out a successful niche market while taking value added to a whole new level. The company takes small pieces of wood that were destined for the chipper or burner and turns them into large, valuable pieces of wood… “We partner with a lot of the primary mills around the Okanagan particularly, and we buy a lot of the lengths and odds and ends they can’t get rid of,” said Chad Richmond, Woodtone territory and product manager. [They] are then milled and finger jointed to make dimensional lumber. The final product undergoes rigorous testing… Most of the products head to the United States market. …“We’re hiring. We just trained five new recruits yesterday.” And they are looking for more employees.
Mike Dawson has been named as the 2019 Bronson J. Lewis honoree. Now in its 14th year, the Bronson Lewis award recognizes individuals for their leadership and outstanding contribution to our industry. …Dawson, former senior vice president of sales, marketing and logistics for Norbord, spent his 30-plus-year career in the wood products industry, starting as a forest sales rep for Noranda Aluminum. Throughout his career, he has been a champion for the engineered wood industry. Dawson is known for his passion and dedication in promoting wood products …his contributions and service to the engineered wood products industry include terms on the APA Board of Trustees as chair of the Marketing Advisory Committee and an active committee member for many years, the American Wood Council Board of Directors for five years and also as an adviser to the WoodWorks Board of Directors.
In response to the end of the mountain pine beetle epidemic and salvage of dead pine in the Lakes Timber Supply Area (TSA), the new allowable annual cut (AAC) for the Lakes TSA will be 970,000 cubic metres, effective immediately. The new AAC was announced by Diane Nicholls, chief forester, and includes three partitions:
A tight supply of Christmas trees in some parts of the country could mean parting with some extra green to get in the holiday spirit this year. Farmers in major tree-growing states like Oregon, Michigan, North Carolina and Missouri have cited hot weather, the 2008 recession and too much rain as factors in fewer trees being produced this year. The smaller supply could mean higher prices for trees in several areas of the country. However, while the national supply of trees is tight, everyone who wants one should be able to get one, one expert said. …There were 32.8 million trees sold last year, which was 5 million more than in 2017, and the average price nationally only went up about $3 per tree, according to O’Connor. Various factors have contributed to the tight supply nationally as well as dramatic shortages at individual locations.
TOKYO — An international trade union wants IOC President Thomas Bach to intervene and investigate alleged labour and safety violations at venues being built for next year’s Tokyo Olympics. The Building and Wood Workers’ International has been critical for several years of workers’ rights at Olympic venues… it has asked local organizers, Tokyo’s municipal government, and the Japan Sport Council, for outside inspections of construction sites. …The BWI alleges health and safety violations and has been critical of the treatment of migrant workers in Tokyo, the use of subcontractors, and wages. It has also complained about grievance procedures. …The letter says three workers have died during the construction process, and it also alleges that “venues have been built using tropical rainforest timber from companies with a documented history of indigenous and worker rights violations.”
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