Tony Kryzanowski
Canadians faced with escalating fuel costs, crushing grocery bills and higher rent are understandably less concerned about the environment these days, according to the latest public opinion polls. And predictably, politicians eager for re-election are following the polls in terms of their own priorities. But the numbers don’t lie. The world is becoming warmer and climate change is real. The consequences go far beyond the recent ferocity of repeated massive forest fires right across Canada. Given what appears to be a more muted voice in environmental advocacy these days, this is the forestry sector’s moment to present itself as Canada’s strongest champion for the environment because we undeniably have a great story to tell. …A good starting point for industry to develop its environmental advocacy strategy is to take stock.
We should revisit past important research and development initiatives as it relates to wood fibre as the feedstock. This includes further commercialization of bio-based nanotechnology from cellulose, expanding the market for mass timber products, exploring afforestation potentially with fast-growing wood species to grow the wood basket while also expanding the forest footprint to achieve greater carbon sequestration, substituting wood pellets for diesel to provide power to northern communities, and rehabilitating landscapes marred by industrial activity. …It’s astounding to think of how many billions of dollars of investment are being considered for such unproven practices as carbon dioxide sequestration from Canada’s oil and gas industry, when trees represent the largest, single natural carbon sequestration tool on the planet—and Canada has the second largest landmass in the world. …The field is now so much more wide open and desperately looking for a champion to remind us that climate change is here to stay—unless we take action and that forestry can and should be a much bigger part of the solution.
The White House has ramped up its trade war with Canada by threatening tariffs on a seemingly esoteric list of goods that would deliver a serious blow to companies caught in the crosshairs, even if the broader impact on the country’s economy should be limited. President Trump issued a trio of executive orders imposing 50% tariffs on more than 500 categories of products, ranging from larger sectors such as electronic equipment and furniture to a hodgepodge of products including hockey sticks, Canadian whisky and even some antiques. The tariffs would apply to roughly US$20-billion of imports from Canada, which represents roughly 5% of Canada’s shipments to the US in 2025. …The new tariffs are also set to impact a broad range of Canadian forest products. …Expanding the tariffs is deeply disappointing, Derek Nighbor, president and CEO of Forest Products Association of Canada said. [to access the full story a Globe and Mail subscription is required]
Donald Trump’s most consequential construction project may be his tariff wall. His latest threat to raise tariffs to 50% on some Canadian goods, as drastic as it is, is not nearly as significant as what’s coming next. By the end of this month, the administration is expected to introduce major tariffs on dozens of countries. Unlike most previous rounds of tariffs, the new ones are backed by monthslong investigations into alleged unfair trade practices. No court has ever overturned this kind of tariff. But the biggest obstacle to undoing Mr. Trump’s tariffs after 2028 will be financial. With the national debt clocking in at a staggering $39.6 trillion, the market responsible for selling this debt has quickly grown addicted to the money coming into the government from tariffs. …In less than a year, America’s financial markets needs them to help cope with the country’s deficit. [to access the full story a NY Times subscription is required]
US President Trump has 
It may appear that Trump’s move to hit many Canadian products with new tariffs of 50% came out of the blue, but there are clear signs of what’s driving the tactic. The announcement comes as the US pushes for significant changes to the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement. …The Trump administration wants to wipe out as much of Canada’s leverage in those talks as possible. Some of that leverage comes from eight Canadian provinces banning the import and distribution of US alcohol products. …But retaliation for that boycott is just one of three ostensible reasons US trade representative Jamieson Greer gave. …”Canada has given better market access to dairy products from the EU, and has put a cap on US vehicle exports from companies reshoring to the US,” Greer said. …The US has listed nearly 500 product categories impacted, some of which clearly relate directly to trade irritants. But dozens seem chosen at random.
US Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra says President Trump‘s threat to impose new tariffs over smoke from Canadian wildfires should be taken seriously. Smoke from Canadian wildfires has blanketed several major American cities. “We are holding Canada responsible for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their Forests, and Brush therein,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. He said the wildfire smoke amounts to “Willful Negligence” and is “costing the US Billions of Dollars.” He added that the cost of the pollution “is incalculable” and should be “added to the tariffs Canada currently pays.” …Hoekstra would not say how large any potential tariffs could be or what legal mechanism the administration might use to impose them. But he said Canada could face consequences if the issue is not addressed. …The criticism comes despite the administration’s own moves to scale back US climate action.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford on Saturday blasted the criticism leveled at the Canadian government by the Trump administration and congressional Republicans over its handling of raging wildfires as “totally unacceptable.” “We’re trying to get through this,” Ford said, calling the rhetoric coming from some in the US “shameful.” President Trump threatened on Friday to impose additional tariffs on Canada over what he described as the government’s “willful negligence” and refusal to engage in “basic Forest Management”. The president said he planned to call Prime Minister Mark Carney to “find out what they are going to do” about the hundreds of wildfires raging across Canada. There were 955 active fires as of Saturday. Ford described current conditions as a “terrible scenario”. …Ford suggested those lawmakers have a “short, short memory,” noting how Canadian hydro-linemen and water bombers assisted in battling wildfires in California, Georgia and South Carolina last year.
PRINCE GEORGE, BC – The closure of Canfor’s Northwood pulp mill is putting renewed pressure on governments to support forestry workers in Prince George, with both union and political voices pointing to retirement bridging as one of the most urgent needs for workers facing job loss. The Northwood closure has left workers trying to understand what comes next, including when their jobs will end and whether there will be comparable work available in the region. Chuck LeBlanc, National President of PPWC, says many workers are still processing the announcement. …But finding similar work in Prince George could be difficult as there are fewer options left following years of mill closures and downsizing. …LeBlanc says one support that has been pushed before is bridging to retirement, a program that could help older workers leave the workforce with financial assistance while opening up jobs for others lower on the seniority list.
RUSS TAYLOR provided the latest quarterly report from the 
It was more than a decade ago that the Ontario government started to worry about its wildland firefighting program. Back in 2016, a 
The long-anticipated El Niño is here. …In its monthly update in June, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), issued an El Niño advisory, confirming that the warmer conditions had developed in the specific part of the Pacific Ocean known as Niño 3.4. In order to be considered an El Niño, temperatures need to be 0.5 C above the average. Ocean temperatures are now close to 2 C above average. …The strongest El Niño in recent years was the one in 2015-2016, where the ocean temperature anomaly was roughly 2.75 C. ….Nat Johnson, a meteorologist at NOAA’s geophysical fluid dynamics laboratory, said the transition from a La Niña to El Niño has been very quick. …Meanwhile, in Canada, the effects will be seen in the winter months, bringing milder temperatures, but also drier conditions, something that is of great concern for wildfire development in the spring in Western Canada.
BC’s wildfire emissions in 2023 exceeded those of seven of the world’s ten largest national emitters. …At the same time, provincial policy has systematically reduced the managed forest harvest and shuttered 21 mills since 2023. …The policy of locking forests away from active management—while presented as environmental protection—is contributing to the very climate outcome it claims to prevent. Decadent, unmanaged stands are the fuel that feeds catastrophic wildfire. A well-managed, productive forest economy would reduce Canada’s climate impact more than any policy of exclusion. …The argument for locking forests away from harvest assumes that standing forests are always a carbon sink—absorbing more CO₂ than they release. This is true for young, actively growing forests. It is not true for old, decadent stands. …The solution is not less forestry. It is more forestry—done well, done sustainably, and done with the explicit goal of reducing Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions: uncontrolled wildfire in unmanaged forests.
The perils of wildfire smoke don’t stop at the lungs or the heart. They can also affect the brain. Recent research shows tiny particles from wildfire smoke — known as PM2.5, fine particulate matter — are so small they can travel deep into the lungs. But they don’t always end their journey there. Some slip into the bloodstream, or get to the brain directly through the nose, says Dr. Bhavini Gohel of the University of Calgary’s O’Brien Institute for Public Health. When toxins reach the brain, they can cause inflammation, resulting in fogginess, lack of focus and headache, she says. Increasing exposure to these harmful particles can also cause long-term damage to brain cells leading to cognitive decline. …The Climate Health System Alliance, says an increasing exposure to this air can lead to dementia. …A study found people living in areas with higher air pollution scored worse on memory tests.
Thick, choking plumes of smoke from Canadian wildfires are pouring into major cities across the Great Lakes, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, bringing dangerous air quality to more than 100 million people. The polluted air will last through at least Saturday in some areas as new waves of smoke waft south. …More than 100 million people in 18 states are under air quality alerts, many of which note that the air pollution is so high, even healthy adults will be affected. “The risk of health effects is increased for everyone,” the DC, air quality council said. …The smoke is being carried south from Canada in the wind. On Friday, the plume pushed farther south, making the DC area the new East Coast-epicenter of air pollution. Relief is coming as the wind pushes the smoke back into the Northeast and rain and storms are in the forecast
