Peter Lister
On May 19, six First Nations and the federal and provincial governments signed a historic agreement to protect a large portion of BC’s Central Coast. …Meanwhile, the Ministry of Forests is moving forward with its Forest Land Planning (FLP) process with seemingly little to no coordination with the [conservation] work being done by the ministry of Water, Land and Natural Resource Stewardship (WLRS). …BC is currently harvesting less than half of its 60 million cubic metre allowable annual cut. The reasons are many and complex but essentially come down to poor prices and tariffs in the key US market, high industry operational costs resulting from a large web of new regulations, and a critical shortage of economically accessible fibre. These factors have resulted in mill closures, job losses, and dramatically reduced government tax revenue, all at a time when the province is facing large budget deficits and record debt.
We need government to take the forest sector crises seriously, and take urgent and decisive action to streamline regulation, reduce crippling industry costs, and provide the fibre supply certainty required to reattract investment in our province. Instead, we have a situation where the forests minister is mandated to increase harvest levels to 45 million cubic meters (with little progress), while our WRLS minister has a mandate to protect an additional 10% of our public land base, even though we already exceed 30×30 targets. This makes no sense and shows a lack of leadership from the premier, who is prioritizing the interests of environmental activists and urban voters over the real economic needs of working British Columbians. Our government’s lack of focus on the economy is driving away business investment, hurting British Columbian’s pocketbooks, and creating a welfare state saddled with debt. This is not a legacy our premier should be proud of.
China will be front and centre at the renegotiations of the USMCA on trade despite not having a seat at the bargaining table. …With the USMCA now subject to annual reviews, the US is using the continuing trade talks to put pressure on Canada and Mexico to collaborate with its efforts to undercut China. Washington is alleging that China is exploiting loopholes in the USMCA to avoid US tariffs on its exports by using Mexico and Canada to gain back-door entry to the US market. But there is a difference between blatant customs fraud and legal shipments facilitated by third countries as part of global trade. The US, however, appears intent on blurring that distinction… providing Washington with a convenient pretext to fiddle with the USMCA’s rules of origin and compel more US content to the detriment of the two other signatories to the pact. [to access the full story a Globe and Mail subscription is required]
Canada’s Forest Products sector is one of our country’s economic anchors, an industry that supports close to 200,000 jobs in communities across the country and accounted for $19.9B in real GDP in 2025. At a time when Canada is facing massive shared challenges — from intensifying wildfires to the need for affordable housing — we cannot afford to let this industry decline. The federal government has already recognized the challenge — a 45% tariff in the US and supply chain bottlenecks and regulatory duplication here at home. And with the recent Forest Sector Transformation Task Force Report, they’ve acknowledged the solution. Now we need them to act. We are not asking for new promises or new frameworks. We’re simply asking government to implement the commitments that are already on the table. And we’re asking you to help us get there. Email the Minister For Natural Resources and your Member of Parliament today! Let them know that by implementing the recommendations from the Task Force Report, they’re protecting one of the key sectors that underpin our entire economy.
WASHINGTON — The Canadian government told the Trump administration new legislation combating forced labour in supply chains should shield Canada from new tariffs. In a written submission the Government of Canada said it “remains committed to working closely with the US to eradicate forced labour from global supply chains.” …Ottawa’s case was among more than 1,500 written submissions ahead of a hearing in Washington this week on the use of Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to rebuild his global tariff wall. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer launched a trade investigations into 60 countries, including Canada. Greer said Canada, Mexico, the UK and some other countries should be hit with 10% duties because they are not doing enough to enforce bans on forced labour. …Canada already had legislation intended to curb forced labour in supply chains. But the federal government tabled a bill last month to boost enforcement.
Western Forest Products says a curtailment at its Cowichan Bay sawmill is expected to last until this fall. The curtailment began on May 11, affecting 54 employees. On Wednesday, WFP told CHEK News it currently expects the curtailment to remain in effect through September. The forestry company says the curtailment is due to “persistently weak market conditions” and that it is trying to mitigate impacts on employees by “providing work opportunities at our other operations where possible.” “Conditions are being monitored closely, and we will keep employees informed should the expected duration change,” said Western Forest Products. The curtailment in Cowichan Bay comes as an indefinite curtailment continues at the WFP sawmill in Chemainus. The Chemainus sawmill was curtailed in July 2025, affecting approximately 120 workers, and in January it was announced that the curtailment was expected to last for all of 2026. [END]
Researchers at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) have received a grant to conduct studies on earthquake-resilient buildings, food packaging, forest diversity and more. The $866,000 granted to five faculty members is being supported through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery grant program. …Erin Crockett, ecosystem science and management assistant professor, is receiving $202,000 over the five years to examine “how tree species diversity and structural complexity influence forest growth and resilience in British Columbia.” …Fei Tong, assistant engineering professor, is receiving $190,000 over five years to develop “a new structural system for tall buildings in seismically active regions like Vancouver… The approach, which will be adapted for both conventional construction and tall mass timber buildings, aims to keep buildings safe, functional, and repairable after major earthquakes.”
BC Supreme Court Justice Barbara Young sent a chilling message to BC landowners when she refused to reopen the case where she designated Aboriginal title over private land in Richmond. Montrose Properties argued it had never received any formal notification that its fee-simple title could be affected by the outcome. This being the first case where Aboriginal title was applied to private as well as Crown land in BC, the federal, provincial and Richmond city governments all supported reopening the application. …Young didn’t rule out that the Cowichan Nation might someday seek to take over all the private land included in the designation of Aboriginal title. …It will be months and maybe years before her findings and those of the New Brunswick court are reconciled. …In the interim, Young has put provincial landowners on notice that they… are at risk from a claim of Aboriginal title.
HUNTSVILLE, Ontario — The Ontario government is investing an additional $425,000 through the Forest Biomass Program to help Daiken North America accelerate production of its new laminated board. This investment will help get a first-of-its-kind wood panel product to market faster, boosting productivity and protecting good-paying local jobs. As part of its plan to protect Ontario, the government is making strategic investments to help forest sector businesses adapt, compete and grow to stay resilient in the face of U.S. tariffs. Today’s announcement builds on the government’s recent investment of 
BELLEVILLE, Ontario — The government is investing more than $3.3 million in 
The US has formally declined to renew the USMCA trade agreement for a further 16 years. While existing tariff-free trade terms will continue, the decision triggers annual reviews until the agreement expires in 10 years. President Trump openly views the agreement as detrimental to US manufacturing, placing the burden of concessions firmly on Mexico and Canada. But as today’s chart shows, Canada has a much lower reliance on the US than Mexico, and the Carney administration is taking active steps to diversify its export base further. Exports from industrial sectors subject to tariffs – metals and auto – have fallen sharply, but the hit to activity is limited, as these account for just 2.5% of GDP. …Adjusted for a shrinking working-age population, production in these sectors has picked up. …Goods exports to the US make up close to one-third of Mexico’s GDP. Canada’s share is also high at 15%, but has fallen over time.
BC has seen lower timber harvests and lumber and lumber exports. …BC exported 2.5 million m3 of softwood logs in 2025, a trend that has been in place since 2022. …BC lumber exports have always focused on the US market, with 64% of production and 76% of total exports directed at the US in 2025. But with US duties and tariffs totalling over 45%. the volumes started to drop in 2025 Q4. Total BC lumber exports in 2025 were 5.1 billion bf, a drop of 12% from 2024. Lumber exports to the US were 3.83 billion bf in 2025, a drop of 14.3% from 2024. …In the first quarter of 2026, total BC lumber exports were lower by 20.1% compared to 2025 Q1, with exports to the US down by a whopping 24.7% (the bite of US duties and tariffs is evident), lower to Japan by 17.7% but higher to China by 10%. It will be challenging for BC mills in export markets for much of 2026 unless demand improves or prices move higher—both unlikely until 2027.
The average Metro Vancouver tree has a lifespan of less than eight years. That makes it even more important to preserve as many trees as possible. The startling statistic, from Brian Minter, a prominent B.C. horticulturist, serves as a deadly warning: Metro Vancouver’s unusually early and severe watering restrictions are a threat to the region’s trees. Given that so many young trees in Metro Vancouver do not reach their tween years — mostly for lack of watering — Minter has come to think of the metropolis’s relatively few older trees as rare and precious “gold.” …Because of lack of time, knowledge or concern, Bill Manning, retired director of horticulture for Vancouver parks said, many homeowners, tenants and strata councils don’t recognize that, though they’re not allowed to use sprinklers on trees, they are permitted to water trees by hand using a hose with a spring-loaded shut-off nozzle, a watering can, or drip irrigation.
KAMLOOPS – Effective at 12 p.m. (noon) on Friday, July 10, 2026 Category 1 campfires will be prohibited throughout the Kamloops Fire Centre to help prevent human-caused wildfires and protect public safety. This campfire prohibition will remain in effect until October 9, 2026 at 12 p.m. (noon), or until the orders are rescinded. As of Friday, July 10, category 1, 2 and 3 fires are prohibited in the Kamloops Fire Centre: A campfire is defined as: Any fire no larger than 0.5 metres high by 0.5 metres wide (a fire larger than this is considered a Category 2 fire), Used by any person for recreational purposes or by a First Nation for a ceremonial purpose.
Starting July 9, the municipality of North Cowichan will be closing forestry gates and restricting vehicle access to Mount Prevost, Mount Sicker and Grace Road, to help reduce wildfire risks in the area. The municipality notes that access roads to Mount Prevost will remain open for firefighting efforts, as a 
…The 2021 floods in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley cost an estimated 
The Province is working with First Nations and other partners on conservation-planning projects in Qat’muk (west of Invermere), Skagit Headwaters (in the Manning Park area) and Raush Valley (in the Robson Valley south of McBride). This work will address watersheds, ecosystems and wildlife over a combined 127,000 hectares. Feedback collected from the public during fall 2026 engagement opportunities will shape conservation recommendations. The proposed conservation measures would support the B.C. government’s goal of protecting 30% of land and inland waters in B.C. by 2030 (the “30×30” goal).
VANCOUVER — Technological limitations, high costs and infrastructure challenges raise questions about relying on carbon capture, utilization and storage as a cornerstone of federal and Alberta climate policy, according to a new 
Demand for biofuels has been growing in many parts of the world. …Disruption to oil exports via the Strait of Hormuz this year created a further incentive to switch to biofuels to ensure energy security. While biofuels can’t fully replace petroleum, they can be blended into gasoline and diesel, allowing countries to stretch existing fuel supplies. Many environmentalists contest the idea that biofuels are a sustainable alternative source of energy. And as more farmland is used to produce them, there’s less available to make food, increasing the risk of global food shortages and hunger in the poorest nations. …The priciest biofuel is sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, which uses advanced refining processes to convert waste oils into jet fuel that can be blended for use in aircraft. There’s also so-called advanced or second-generation biodiesel, made from non-food sources such as crop waste, wood chips and even algae, which avoids competing with food crops.
:quality(65))
Ontario Forest Fires said there were five new wildland fires confirmed in the northeast region in its latest update issued Sunday evening. The organization also said that efforts to contain one of the fires — Cochrane 32 — were hampered by a drone flying illegally in the area. “A drone flying over Cochrane 32 tonight has grounded all firefighting aircraft in the area and delayed suppression operations,” Ontario Forest Fires said in its update. Regulations prohibit “aircraft, including drones, from the airspace over an active forest fire within 5 nautical miles and up to an altitude of 3,000 feet.” …The five new fires include Cochrane 32, which measures 2.8 hectares and is located two kilometres northwest of Harty.