BC Forests Minister Ravi Parmar brought passion and urgency to the stage at the COFI Conference in Prince George, delivering a high-energy speech before joining a panel discussion on how leadership across governments, communities, and industry can shape the future of the province’s forest sector. Parmar, the youngest MLA in the legislature and newly appointed minister, began by describing his recent travel to over 20 BC communities as part of an effort to understand the challenges and opportunities facing forestry. “Leadership starts by listening and learning,” he said. “When I make decisions, I want to be damn sure they’re grounded in the reality of people on the ground.”
Drawing on stories from the road, Parmar spoke of mill workers with decades of experience, First Nations forestry tours, and bold new entrepreneurs like Jack Gardner of Stein Lumber who, with his family, bought the old Teal Jones facility in Salmon Arm and rehired the local workforce. Parmar said these experiences reinforced his determination to fight for forestry’s future. Parmar emphasized the province’s softwood lumber advocacy efforts, including the formation of a new advisory council and a recent mission to California to raise awareness among US lawmakers. “Americans need our lumber, and duties and tariffs hurt them as much as they hurt us,” he said. Parmar added that BC is pressing the federal government to do more, including establishing a federal backup program and investing in trade diversification.
The centrepiece of Parmar’s remarks was his overhaul of BC Timber Sales (BCTS). Parmar said BCTS must evolve from a market-pricing tool into an active driver of forest stewardship. “We should harness this organization to deliver on the public’s expectations and support the future we want to see in forestry.” He announced that BCTS will double its volume allocation for value-added and untenured manufacturers, allowing small companies to submit joint bids, and that it will expand its leadership role in forest stewardship. The new direction includes commercial thinning, wildfire risk reduction, salvage of damaged timber, and cultural and prescribed burning in partnership with First Nations.
Parmar acknowledged that BCTS has underperformed and needs to be more flexible. “Too many sales are being put up where the upset is higher than the value of the trees,” he said. “That costs us money, costs those trying to bid money, and just delays, delays, delays.” He said changes are coming to how auctions are handled to improve fibre flow and reduce failed bids. He called on the audience to provide feedback to ensure the review delivers real change. Wildfire response was another dominant theme. Parmar announced that BCTS will immediately begin work across four business areas to reduce fuel loads, remove damaged trees, expand thinning practices, and restore rangelands. He also committed to more use of prescribed fire in collaboration with Indigenous communities.
He said the province is investing nearly $100 million in wildfire prevention this year and has made the BC Wildfire Service a year-round operation with record hiring levels. He also cited 70 new projects funded by the Forest Enhancement Society of BC and highlighted how salvage opportunities and fast-tracked permits are helping communities recover. Parmar didn’t shy away from hard truths, saying, “We knew many of these challenges were coming. The writing was on the wall, and as a province, as a sector, we didn’t prepare like we should have.” He warned that the biggest threat to forestry is not just trade or market shifts but the climate crisis. “Five of BC’s worst wildfire years in the last hundred have occurred in the last eight,” he said.
The minister connected wildfire and fibre supply to broader goals of renewal and innovation. “Silviculture isn’t just planting trees,” he said. “It’s thinning, partial harvesting, and selective logging… it’s creating a more predictable and stable supply of fibre and wood.” He praised Indigenous leadership, including Chief Corrine Leween of the Cheslatta Carrier Nation, who is working with the ministry and BC Timber Sales to implement innovative practices like continuous cover harvesting. Parmar said partnerships like these show how Indigenous stewardship and forest resilience can go hand-in-hand.
At the heart of Parmar’s mandate is the goal of reaching a sustainable annual harvest level of 45 million cubic metres. He quoted sawmill operator Nick Arkle, who shared with him what Parmar called the best equation in forestry: “The right log to the right mill at the right time, at the right cost, for the right product, in the right program to maximize margins.” He also said transportation costs remain a major unsolved problem and admitted he doesn’t yet have a clear solution. Parmar floated ideas like subsidies or tax credits, but noted that BC’s geography presents unique challenges. “Anyone who compares us to Alberta—Alberta is flat. BC is not.”
Joining Parmar on the panel were Greg Stewart of Sinclair Group and COFI, Chief Councillor John Jack of the Huu-ay-aht First Nations, Mercer International CEO Juan Carlos Bueno, and Vancouver City Councillor Lisa Dominato. Together, they tackled questions about long-term sustainability, reconciliation, urban-rural partnerships, and innovation.
Chief Jack said forestry helped fund treaty negotiations and still drives his community’s economy. “Forestry remains our number one economic driver,” he said, calling for incentives that allow First Nations to participate fully in the sector. “It’s not a zero-sum game,” he added. “We’re not competing with each other. We’re competing with Finland and Germany.”
Councillor Dominato argued that Vancouver’s economy is deeply connected to the forest sector. She spoke of policies to incentivize mass timber construction, such as extra density allowances in rezoning applications, and said municipalities can be allies in addressing housing and climate change. “Our economies are interconnected and interdependent,” she said. “We’re not a mill town, but we benefit from the forest sector every day.”
Bueno urged BC to pursue competitiveness at every level of the supply chain. He cited Germany’s forest sector, which produces more with less land and employs far more people. He stressed the importance of fibre security and criticized high transportation costs, supply chain disruptions, and a lack of modern technology adoption. “Mass timber is nothing without sawmills,” he said. “We need predictability and fibre access if we want that investment to come here and not go to the US.”
In a final round of takeaways, panelists called for trust, collaboration, and urgency. Parmar closed by saying that 2025 must be the year the sector comes together to develop a shared roadmap. “No pressure,” he said. “It’s not just my work—it’s our work. That’s the opportunity we have before us.
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