David Eby

The final day of the 2026 BC Council of Forest Industries (COFI) Convention in Vancouver served as a candid reckoning for a sector facing unprecedented structural change. If the first day was defined by the sobering reality of 15,000 lost jobs and 21 mill closures, Day 2 was about the specific, shared prescription for recovery. From the JW Marriott Parq floor, delegates heard from opposition leaders, global analysts, and the premier himself, all converging on a single necessity: restoring predictability to British Columbia’s forests. …A brink of collapse warning from the Official Opposition: Trevor Halford, interim leader of the Official Opposition, set a sharp tone for the morning session, framing the sector’s struggle as a direct consequence of domestic policy failures. …The Alberta contrast and competitive disadvantage: A data-heavy panel on the forest economy provided a stark comparison between BC and its neighbours.