Region Archives: Canada

Business & Politics

Sask. government paid $100M too much for new firefighting planes, B.C.-based manufacturer says

By Geoff Leo
CBC News
September 11, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

Coulson Aircrane says the Saskatchewan government has agreed to pay more than twice what it should have for four firefighting aircraft — a decision the B.C.-based company says will cost Saskatchewan taxpayers an extra $100 million. Coulson, one of the leading companies in the world for retrofitting planes for firefighting, made the claim last month in an application to the Court of King’s Bench. “We are concerned the government of Saskatchewan has awarded a very large (over $187,000,000) contract for forest fire airplanes, without affording any reasonable opportunity to Coulson or any other competitor to bid on the contract,” says an affidavit filed by company president Britt Coulson. Coulson is asking the court to quash the sale and order a fair, transparent competition. …He says the government failed to hold a proper, competitive tendering process, resulting in Conair making “an immense profit.” …Conair has declined to comment, as the matter is before the courts.

 

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Province extends agreement between Newfoundland Hydro and Corner Brook Pulp and Paper

By Abby Cole
CBC News
September 10, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

The provincial government, through Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro, is extending its agreement with Corner Brook Pulp and Paper to buy electricity. The initial agreement was made in March, 2024 for Hydro to buy electricity from Deer Lake Power, which energizes the paper-making machines at the Corner Brook mill for 27.5 cents per kilowatt hour. The deal has now been extended until March 31, 2026. Hydro will continue to purchase excess green energy from Deer Lake Power, while the mill continues work to identify new revenue sources through viable wood-based projects “to unlock Newfoundland and Labrador’s high forest potential while further stabilizing the mill’s sustainability and future,” wrote the province’s Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture in a news release on Wednesday. The department said the agreement will not impact rate payers. The announcement comes after the mill was forced to pause operations due to a number of wildfires.

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Nova Scotia government weighing whether to bid on Northern Pulp assets

By Michael Gorman
CBC News
September 10, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

Tory Rushton

Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton says government officials are “actively monitoring” the process for the sell-off of Northern Pulp’s assets, but no decisions have been made about whether the province will get in on the bidding. Regardless, Rushton said he thinks the timberlands on the auction block have been “active forestry lands for the sector for many years and they should continue to be” used as such. …The primary assets are timberlands owned by the company, as well as a nursery. There is precedent for the province buying such land. In 2012, the NDP government bought land in western Nova Scotia from Bowater before the Queens County-based mill eventually shut down. …One of the reasons Rushton is taking a way-and-see approach to how any future leases look is because he expects there will continue to be demand for the wood.

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Firefighters contain large industrial fire at Englehart, Ontario Mill

By Dan Bertrand
CTV News
September 9, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

ONTARIO — A significant fire at the Georgia Pacific mill in Englehart, Ontario, required a multi-department response early Sunday morning, with crews working for more than ten hours to contain the blaze and protect surrounding assets. …The fire involved a large pile of waste Oriented Strand Board in the mill’s yard. …The department responded with 18 firefighters, two pumper trucks and a tanker. Due to the fire’s remote location within the yard and the long distance to the nearest fire hydrants, local fire officials called for assistance. …As the threat diminished, mutual aid units were suspended around 11:45 a.m. The Ministry of Natural Resources was also called in by mill managers and arrived early Sunday afternoon to assist with further exposure protection for the surrounding wooded area. …“We do not anticipate any impact on operations since the fire was contained outside,” said Rick Kimble, for Georgia Pacific.

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Finance & Economics

Lumber tariffs spark split between builders and producers

Door and Window Market Magazine
September 10, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

Earlier this year, when the US announced tariffs against Canada and Mexico the homebuilding industry collectively retrenched. The leading fear was that supply costs would skyrocket, making homes cost-prohibitive, tanking the industry as a whole. The NAHB lobbied to exclude lumber from immediate tariffs, while the US Lumber Coalition took an opposing view. …The Producer Price Index for softwood lumber over the last five months has been on a bit of a roller coaster ride, reflecting uncertainty. …With the ups and downs, the concern for US Lumber Coalition officials was less about tariffs and more about the amount of lumber coming in from our northern neighbors. The Coalition has since applauded what officials see as “critically important progress,” crediting an “America-First focus on trade law enforcement.” 

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Lumber prices haven’t bottomed yet. Here’s when they will

By Brian Donovan
The Globe and Mail
September 9, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

A “normal” annual softwood lumber price cycle sees prices dropping from Labour Day until early in the new year when buying starts again for the spring construction season. We are also expecting three interest rate cuts this year from the US Federal Reserve. With lower mortgage rates expected, will we see increasing demand for lumber? …The short term outlook for lumber prices continues to see weakness with price projections as low as US$450 per thousand board feet until the spring construction season. Looking into 2026 and 2027, prices are expected to recover to the mid-US$500 to low-US$600 per thousand board feet range. Ongoing duties, the upcoming court rulings on tariffs and the protracted housing shortage will all impact the price of lumber over the next two years. [to access the full story, a Globe & Mail subscription is required]

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‘Absolutely crazy’ lumber price drop makes now the perfect time to build

By Matt Sexton
Mortgage Professional America
September 9, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

Russ Taylor

With new duties being levied against Canadian lumber, most industry experts thought the price of lumber would continue to rise. Strangely, the opposite has happened, and it might be the right time to consider new construction loans. A report in The Wall Street Journal reported a 25% drop in wood futures markets since hitting a three-year high in August. And if not for some mills cutting back production, the drop may have been larger. “It’s been, quite honestly, very, very strange,” Russ Taylor, a wood market expert and analyst said. “Prices have absolutely tumbled. With western SPF from British Columbia, if you look at August before the new 20% duty kicked in, going from 14.4 to 35.2%, prices were creeping up a little bit. …Because everyone is overstocked, and because demand for lumber has been so low due to high interest rates, Taylor thinks it may take a while for the market to balance back out.

Related coverage in Newsweek, by Giulia Carbonaro: US Housing Market Warning Signal From Lumber Prices

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Canadian housing starts flat in first half of 2025 amid declines in condo projects

The Canadian Press
September 9, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) released its fall housing supply report stating growth in overall housing starts was flat during the first half of the year compared with 2024. …CMHC says growth in overall housing starts was flat during the first half of the year compared with 2024, though there were significant regional differences. The agency says cities like Calgary, Edmonton, Montréal, Ottawa and Halifax built homes at paces that were either at or near records or in line with historical averages in the first half of the year. However, slowdowns in Canada’s two most expensive real estate markets weighed on the overall number of housing starts. Tania Bourassa-Ochoa, deputy chief economist for CMHC, says the ongoing construction slowdown in the housing market presents risks to future housing supply.

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

Canadian Wood Council’s WoodWorks Program Welcomes BarrierTEK as National Partner

Canadian Wood Council
September 9, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada

Ottawa, Ontario — The Canadian Wood Council (CWC) is pleased to welcome BarrierTEK as a new national partner of its WoodWorks program. This collaboration aligns two organizations committed to supporting safe, innovative, and low-carbon construction practices across Canada through education, technical excellence, and strategic market development. As the construction sector responds to climate imperatives, shifting societal expectations, and progressive building codes, the role of wood in the built environment continues to expand. By combining traditional wood systems with value-added solutions like fire-retardant treatments, project teams can expand the application of wood in diverse building types without compromising performance or design flexibility. This partnership will help raise awareness of the full range of tools and technologies available to support safe, code-compliant wood construction while reinforcing wood’s reputation as a versatile, safe, high-performance building material.

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Vancouver multi-unit Indigenous housing development checks all the boxes

By John Bleasby
The Daily Commercial News
September 10, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

VANCOUVER — It’s made from mass timber. It meets Passivhaus standards. Construction componentry is modular and prefabricated largely using robotic technology. The project addresses Indigenous social housing needs. No wonder the Chief George Leonard Building was unanimously approved when it came before Vancouver City Council in the spring of 2021. …Designed by Vancouver firm GBL Architects and developed by the non-profit M’akola Development Services… The nine-storey, 85,500-square-foot affordable housing complex replaces a smaller unit owned by the Vancouver Native Housing Society destroyed by fire back in 2017. GBL describes the building as, “Canada’s first mixed-use tall mass timber Passive House building.” …The combination of Passivhaus standards and utilization of mass timber has reduced operational and embodied carbon by 75 per cent, GBL says. …The supply and installation of the mass timber envelope system leveraged the product and technology platform from Vancouver-based Intelligent City called Platforms-for-Life™.

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Forestry

Sustainable Forestry Initiative Announces Funded Support for Indigenous-Led Climate Smart Forestry in Canada

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative
September 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

Ottawa, ON—The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) is proud to announce funding for eight Indigenous organizations and their projects to advance Climate Smart Forestry (CSF) in Canada. SFI is supporting Indigenous-led projects to implement strategies that improve forest resiliency to a changing climate, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and support Indigenous values. “The SFI Climate Smart Forestry Initiative is fostering new models of learning and collaboration, and we are committed to elevating Indigenous-led projects that can help us scale forest-based climate solutions across broader landscapes,” said Kathy Abusow, CEO and President of SFI. In 2024, SFI received a grant from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) which includes support for implementation of nature-based climate solutions. …In March of 2025, SFI issued a call for Expressions of Interest to support Indigenous-led CSF projects, awarding funds to eight Indigenous communities and Indigenous-owned entities. …The project is part of the SFI Climate Smart Forestry Initiative…

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Eye on BC’s Forests

BC Forest Practices Board
September 12, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

As summer winds down, I’m pleased to welcome you to this special edition of the Forest Practices Board’s newsletter. This season marks a significant milestone for us—our 30th anniversary. For three decades, the Board has worked diligently to provide independent oversight of forest and range practices in British Columbia, helping to ensure that our natural resources are managed sustainably and in the public interest. …This issue highlights some of the conversations, initiatives, audits, investigations and special reports the Board is involved in as we embark on this anniversary year.

Issue #29 – Summer 2025

  • The Board
  • Audit Program Update
  • Complaint Investigation Program Update
  • Special Projects Update
  • Appeals Program Update
  • Out in the Community
  • People
  • Farewells

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Protesters demand better forestry practices outside of Prince George office

By Tommy Osborne
CKPG Today
September 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

James Steidle

PRINCE GEORGE – A protest was held outside of the Prince George Ministry of Forests Office, demanding the province stops sparing forests with glyphosate, which is a herbicide. “We are utterly destroying our forests. And the issue is that people think about forests, and all they’re thinking about is the two by fours that the forest produces. They don’t think about any of the other things, so then they’re managed in terms of making more two by fours, literally at the expense of every other value,” said Gerd Erasmus, one of several who attended the protest. Organized by the “Stop the Spray BC,” group, this group has been protesting against glyphosate in forests for years. And according to the group’s founder James Steidle, one of the biggest concerns is that this practice actually creates more fire risks.

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Workshop in Williams Lake meets forestry approaches in the middle

By Andie Mollins
The Williams Lake Tribune
September 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

The Cariboo Wood Innovation Training Hub (CWITH) is inviting people to bring their ideas and opinions to an upcoming workshop on contemplative forestry. The workshop will be facilitated by Jason Brown, an affiliate forest professional with Forest Professionals British Columbia, on Saturday, Sept. 20. Participants will explore the concept of contemplative forestry, an approach which meets two extreme views on forestry in the middle. …Stephanie Huska, project lead with CWITH, said the workshop is a way to open the door to conversations which historically have not been included in natural resource management discussions based on western worldviews. …A contemplative approach to forest management values manual work as a form of spiritual practice, allows forests to ‘speak’ for themselves, admits there are some aspects of life we don’t have the language for and sees forestry as a mutually beneficial, place-based vocation.

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Branchlines: The Critical Role of Environmental Social Science in Forestry – Q&A with Prof. Shannon Hagerman

Branchlines UBC Faculty of Forestry
September 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Shannon Hagerman

In July 2024, Shannon Hagerman, UBC Forestry Professor and Dean and Vice-Provost pro tem in the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, received the prestigious International Union of Forest Research Organizations Scientific Achievement Award for her work on human dimensions of forestry. Shannon is an environmental social scientist and an internationally recognized scholar in the interdisciplinary field of social-ecological systems. Her research focuses on policy and governance dimensions of novel approaches for conservation and resource management in response to climate change. … Most people working in forestry today would agree that addressing complex environmental challenges requires thoughtful engagement with people and communities. But the field of human dimensions goes further than engagement. It encompasses a diverse body of scholarship that examines how people interact with forests and the environment, and how these interactions are shaped by deeper social, political and cultural factors.

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B.C. First Nations and logging firm want Walbran Valley old-growth blockade to end

By Darryl Greer
The Canadian Press in the Victoria Times Colonist
September 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

VANCOUVER — The B.C. Supreme Court is set to rule on an injunction to halt a blockade against old-growth logging in the Walbran Valley on Vancouver Island, but a lawyer for one of the blockaders says the law is evolving and in need of a “course correction.” The Pacheedaht First Nation has decried the blockade on its traditional territory near Port Renfrew, B.C., claiming it is undermining its authority and should disband. The First Nation said in a statement that forestry is a “cornerstone” of its economy, and is calling for the blockaders to “stand down and leave.” The statement came after Tsawak-qin Forestry Inc., a firm co-owned by the Huu-ay-aht First Nations and Western Forest Products Inc., filed a lawsuit last week in B.C. Supreme Court alleging that “a group of largely unknown individuals” began the blockade of a road on Aug. 25.

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Pacheedaht First Nation Asserts Sovereignty, Calls for Blockaders to Leave Walbran Valley

Cision Newswire
September 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

PORT RENFREW, BC – As the rightful stewards of its lands, waters, and resources, the Pacheedaht First Nation is asserting its Inherent Rights and authority over all activities within its Traditional Territory. The Nation is formally asking all blockaders currently obstructing lawful forestry activities in the Walbran Valley area to stand down and leave. “The protestors’ blockade undermines our Nation’s authority to govern our Traditional Territory and disrupts the important work we are doing to protect and manage our lands responsibly,” said Chief Councillor Arliss Daniels, Pacheedaht First Nation. “Blockaders showed complete disrespect for our Territory in the past, including environmental damage. Our lands are not to be misused or disrespected under any circumstances. We call for all external parties to cease their disruptive activities, and for blockaders to leave our Territory, immediately.” Pacheedaht has developed a draft conservation network of areas reserved from harvesting in its Traditional Territory, including within the Walbran Valley. 

Related coverage in Ricochet, by Brandi Morin: In B.C., an elder is taking his own Nation to court to save the ancient forestsFour years ago, Bill Jones was at the forefront of the largest act of civil disobedience in Canadian history. Now he’s once again fighting for the old growth trees.

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Empowering on-the-ground action for local groups through the Invasive Species Action Fund

Wawa-news
September 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

©InvasiveSpeciesCentre

Ontario — Thanks to an investment from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, the Invasive Species Centre is supporting 116 new projects across Ontario led by community groups, Indigenous organizations, municipalities, and conservation authorities on critical invasive species issues through the Invasive Species Action Fund. Invasive species are plants, animals, insects, and pathogens that are introduced to an ecosystem outside of their native range and cause harm to the environment, economy, or society. These species damage lakes, land, forests, and communities, and are the second greatest threat to biodiversity worldwide. Ontario has the highest number of invasive species in Canada, which are responsible for an estimated $3.6 billion dollars of impact each year to forestry, fisheries, agriculture, infrastructure, tourism, and recreation in the province.

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Category 1 campfire prohibition to be extended

By Pat Matthews
My Cariboo Now
September 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

The existing Category 1 campfire prohibition for the Cariboo Fire Centre and Tsilhqot’in (Xeni Gwet’in) Declared Title area will be extended. It will go in effect at noon tomorrow (September 11) and will remain in effect until September 30 or until the order is rescinded. A Category 1 campfire is defined as any fire smaller than 0.5 metres high by 0.5 metres wide. The Cariboo Fire Centre said this prohibition applies to all areas in the Fire Centre that are outside of municipal boundaries. In addition, it also applies to these land types within municipal boundaries: Parks, conservancies and recreation areas; Recreation sites, recreation trails, interpretive forest sites and trail-based recreation areas; Ecological reserves; and Wildlife management areas and private managed forest land.

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How the Walbran Blockade Echoes Another Famous Stand in the Forest

By Ben Parfitt
The Tyee
September 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

…Paul George, co-founder of the Western Canada Wilderness Committee …hit on popularizing the fight to protect old growth with a poster depicting a young woman gazing up the towering trunk of a massive, moss-covered Sitka spruce tree [in the] Carmanah Valley. The poster’s tag line — “Big Trees Not Big Stumps” — was a model of economy. …like five wasp stings to the hide of MacMillan Bloedel, the company that wanted to cut that tree and every other one like it down. Today we’d say it went viral. But not in the sense of a social media post that explodes with millions of views today only to be forgotten tomorrow … it would prove to have the lasting power of long COVID. …The poster came to mind [when a] small group of protesters planted themselves on a logging road leading into… the upper Walbran Valley, which borders the Carmanah on Vancouver Island’s southwest coast.

Related coverage in the National Observer, by Maia Wikler: From Fairy Creek to the Walbran Valley, the fight for ancient forests persists [this story requires a subscription for access]

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Reflections from British Columbia’s 14th Chief Forester

BC Forest History Association
September 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Zoom Presentation, September 16th, 7:00 pm. The BC Forest History Association is honoured to host Larry Pedersen as the first speaker for the 2025 Speaker Series. Larry Pedersen was BC Provincial Chief Forester from 1994 to 2004. A graduate from UBC with a Bachelor of Science in Forestry in 1975, he became a registered Professional Forester in 1977. During his career, he advanced through a number of positions in the Forest Service and he also worked in the private sector. In his presentation titled Reflections from British Columbia’s 14th Chief Forester, Larry will discuss some important historical events that helped shape forestry in the province, explain how he ended up in the job, discuss some of the challenges that he faced, and will tell some stories about things that were said and done during his tenure. The presentation is intended to highlight just a few of the many important events that have shaped forestry in the province. To register for this Zoom presentation use this Zoom Registration Link

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Cariboo, Okanagan, Shuswap targeted by new forest restoration project

By Andie Mollins
Williams Lake Tribune
September 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Amber Brant & Andrew Steeves

Cariboo Carbon Solutions has partnered with Forests Canada to help restore forests devastated by wildfire for private land owners and First Nation communities across B.C. The organizations are expecting to plant 2.2 million trees over the next five years in communities across B.C., including Williams Lake, Princeton, West Kelowna, Kamloops and 100 Mile House. “While fires are a natural part of our forested landscapes, the intensity and severity of them are starting to impact how quickly a forest can naturally recover,” said Elizabeth Jarrett, chief operating officer with Forests Canada, in a press release. “This new partnership will enable us to support restoration efforts where nature needs a helping hand.” The organizations planted 100,000 trees in the North Shuswap and Criss Creek this spring through their previous partnership in response to the 2023 Bush Creek East wildfire. 

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BC Truck Loggers Association Statement on Protests in Upper Walbran Valley

BC Truck Loggers Association
September 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

The BC Truck Loggers Association (TLA) has a long history of working collaboratively with First Nations and licensees in support of sustainable timber harvesting in British Columbia. The protestors who are blocking access to the Upper Walbran Valley area are obstructing forestry workers from accessing operations that have been approved by both government and the Pacheedaht First Nation. While the TLA respects the right to peaceful protest, it is unacceptable for these actions to continue to interfere with lawfully approved forestry operations. TLA members must be able to continue to work, provide employment, and contribute to the economic well-being of their communities. A timely resolution is needed so that front line forestry workers can return to their jobs to support their families, and communities can continue to thrive.

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Forestry Officials Tied CN Rail to Lytton Fire, Then Backed Off

By Amanda Follett Hosgood
The Tyee
September 9, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

As recently as last year, B.C.’s Ministry of Forests believed that Canada’s largest railway company played a role in the deadly wildfire that destroyed Lytton. In a February 2024 letter to the Canadian National Railway, provincial officials told the company that it intended to seek restitution for costs for the fire. But just six weeks later, the province reversed course and closed the file, according to documents released in response to a freedom of information request. …Last September, the RCMP wrapped up its three-year investigation without laying charges, saying it could not determine what caused the fire. …The letters provide another glimpse at investigations that have largely remained hidden from the public since Lytton burned four years ago. …A lack of information about the cause of the wildfire in Lytton hasn’t stopped a flurry of lawsuits against railway companies CN and Canadian Pacific, as well as federal and provincial agencies, in recent years.

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From Fairy Creek to the Walbran Valley, the fight for ancient forests persists

By Maia Wikler
The National Observer
September 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West
 

For over 30 years, people have been fighting to save the Walbran. Blockades and direct actions in the early 1990s led to the creation of the Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park. Missing, however, from the park protections were the central and upper Walbran Valley. Will O’Connel says, “As soon as we knew this was falling, there was no question but to mobilize. We will be here until they haul us out.” …“A lot of our hope was crushed by Fairy Creek,” O’Connel admits. “Yet, we’re still here fighting. The government relies on the fact that most people aren’t in the forest to see what’s really happening. …“Blockading is not a marathon; it’s a relay. We just hope people will be here to pick up the baton,” says O’Connel.

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Forestry company asks for injunction to remove logging protesters in Walbran

By Roxanne Egan-Elliott
The Times Colonist
September 8, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

A forestry company is expected to be in court on Tuesday to request an injunction against protesters who have blockaded an area in the Upper Walbran Valley. The Tsawak-qin Forestry Limited Partnership said a “sophisticated, targeted, and well-publicized” blockade is affecting the company’s ability to log in the area where it has the rights to log. The company said the group behind the blockade is the same one responsible for a protest against old-growth logging in the Fairy Creek area near Port Renfrew. …The company is asking for a one-year injunction preventing people from obstructing access… and interfering with logging in the area. The company said it is suffering “irreparable harm” due to the blockade, which has trapped a contractor’s fire truck and emergency transport vehicle, causing safety concerns. …Western Forest Products Inc. holds a 65% equity interest in the company. Huu-ay-aht First Nations holds the other 35 %.

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Temporary orders protect chinook salmon in Thompson Okanagan

By Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship
Government of BC
September 8, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

As severe drought conditions continue to affect river levels in the Thompson Okanagan region, fish-population protection orders will protect endangered chinook salmon in the Salmon River and Bessette Creek by temporarily restricting water use for forage crops and identified industrial purposes. The Salmon River and Bessette Creek have seen persistent low streamflows that are threatening the survival of spawning chinook populations. The fish-population protection orders will help restore water-flow levels and protect the salmon run. Effective Monday, Sept. 8, 2025, 490 surface-water and groundwater licences and transitioning groundwater users in the Salmon River and Bessette Creek watersheds within the assessed curtailment area are affected by the orders to stop using water for forage crops, which include grass for hay, alfalfa and forage corn. Irrigation of forage crops is one of the most water-intensive agricultural water uses. 

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Axes will fly at Ladysmith Loggers’ Sports fundraiser

By Morgan Brayton
The Ladysmith Chemainus Chronicle
September 8, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

The tools of BC’s traditional industry will take centre stage in Ladysmith on Sunday, Sept. 14 for Ladysmith Loggers’ Sports. The event supports the Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock, an annual bike tour across Vancouver Island that raises funds for childhood cancer research and support programs. The loggers’ sports exhibition event will take place at the Transfer Beach amphitheatre starting at 2 p.m. …Among the upgrades this year are three massive dummy logs donated by Western Forest Products. This year’s key supporters include Spuzzum Contracting, LCU Insurance Agencies, Mosaic Forest Management and the Town of Ladysmith.

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Documentary ‘B.C. is Burning’ showing in Castlegar

By Betsy Kline
The Rossland News
September 8, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

A documentary addressing British Columbia’s escalating wildfire crisis and the urgent need for solutions is playing in Castlegar on Sept. 11. The film was produced by former Castlegar resident Murray Wilson. Wilson graduated from Selkirk College’s Forest Technology program in 1981 and then worked in Salmo and Nakusp before spending more than three decades in forestry across British Columbia. “My early forestry work in the Kootenays showed me the wildfire risks communities face and the solutions we need, which is at the heart of B.C. is Burning,” said Wilson.

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‘It is a clear-cut operation’: Trees cleared out for lumber at provincial park hit by summer storm

By Jonathan Migneault
CBC News
September 12, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada East

Northeastern Ontario’s Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park has transformed into a temporary logging operation due to a storm that knocked down thousands of trees in June. “It is a clear-cut operation,” said Bill Steer, general manager of the Canadian Ecology Centre, which is located inside the park that is just west of Mattawa. On June 21, powerful winds from a downburst hit the park. It downed thousands of trees, which destroyed some trailers and vehicles in the park. Gary Wheeler, a spokesperson with Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, said the ministry has been working with the Algonquin Forestry Authority on cleanup and salvage operations in the park. The forestry authority has hired local contractors to process the fallen trees. Wheeler said some have been turned into hydro poles and others will be assessed for lumber.

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Province Supports Work to Save Hemlock Trees From Invasive Species

By Environment and Climate Change
The Government of Nova Scotia
September 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

The government is supporting two projects to help save Nova Scotia’s hemlock trees from the hemlock woolly adelgid, an invasive insect that attacks and kills the trees. Timothy Halman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, announced funding for: Acadia University’s hemlock woolly adelgid biocontrol facility; $356,214, including $156,214 from the Sustainable Communities Challenge Fund and $200,000 from the federal Nature Smart Climate Solutions Fund; and the Town of Bridgewater’s hemlock preservation project; $255,500 from the Sustainable Communities Challenge Fund. “The hemlock is one of Nova Scotia’s most special and beautiful trees,” said Minister Halman. “Across the province, Nova Scotians, community groups, the Mi’kmaq and all three levels of government are working together with fierce determination to save hemlock trees and forests. This funding will support that vital work.” Hemlock trees are one of Nova Scotia’s largest and longest-living tree species and are an important part of old-growth forests. 

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Glyphosate: The hidden fuel in Nova Scotia’s forest fire crisis

By Geoffrey Hurley, retired fisheries and environmental consultant
PNI Atlantic News
September 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada East

As Nova Scotia grapples with one of its most severe wildfire seasons, a controversial decision by the provincial government has flown under the radar: the approval of aerial glyphosate spraying on 3,577 acres of drought-stricken, fire-prone forest. This move not only risks human health and ecosystems but also exacerbates the very wildfires it claims to mitigate. …Glyphosate-based herbicides are used in forestry to kill deciduous plants and shrubs that compete with commercial softwood species. However, this practice replaces diverse, resilient forests with flammable monocultures. By inhibiting plant growth and causing vegetation to wilt and die, glyphosate leaves behind dry, combustible biomass — effectively turning forests into tinderboxes. In a province already parched by drought and under travel bans due to fire risks, adding fuel to the fire is nothing short of reckless.

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Officials insist there’s no evidence timber practices worsen wildfires

By John Chilibeck
The Telegraph-Journal
September 9, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

Michelle Conroy says she appreciates all the work the province’s firefighters have put into protecting Miramichi, as wildfires raged out of control. But the Progressive Conservative MLA for Miramichi East also wonders if their employer, the Department of Natural Resources, might have unintentionally made conditions in the forests worse by encouraging herbicide spraying so that New Brunswick’s powerful timber industry could have softwood plantations. …The idea that the ecosystem could had been thrown “out of balance,” was addressed by Deputy Minister Cade Libby. “Your comment is one we’ve heard quite a few times,” Libby said. “Yes, herbicides target broad-leafed plants. …But a working forest is a great way to mitigate forest fire risk.” The deputy minister said timber cutters use forestry roads that act as fire breaks and that they work on forests of various types and age classes that have less fuel load than virgin, old-growth forests do.

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Mi’kmaq continue blockade of forestry in Cape Breton Highlands

By Aaron Beswick
The Chronicle Herald
September 9, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada East

A Mi’kmaq blockade of harvesting for Port Hawkesbury Paper in the Cape Breton Highlands continued Tuesday. The blockade had been temporarily lifted Sunday, after forestry crews and law enforcement removed a barrier of spruce logs built on Hunters Mountain Road. The logs had been seized from a logging truck by Mi’kmaq led by Ashton Bernard. Trucks were allowed through the line set up by the Mi’kmaq through Monday morning until Madonna Bernard stood in front of two trucks during the afternoon. A significant RCMP presence was on scene but did not interfere in the blockade. “They’re clear-cutting our land and we’re trying to save it,” said Madonna Bernard, who also goes by her Mi’kmaq name, Kuku’wes, as she stood in front of the logging truck.

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Environmentalists raise concerns spraying forests with glyphosate makes them more vulnerable to wildfires

By Jonathan Migneault
CBC News
September 8, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

Amid calls from some First Nations and municipalities in northeastern Ontario to stop glyphosate spraying on Crown land, environmental groups are raising concerns over the herbicide’s effect on biodiversity. …Wildland fire ecologist Bob Gray said leafy deciduous trees, like aspen, are more resilient to wildfires than softwood conifers like pine and spruce. “Softwoods are highly resinous,” he said. “The foliage and bark is highly flammable. When you’ve got large contiguous areas of conifer forest, you can have large continuous forest fires.” If a timber company’s goal is to promote the growth of softwoods for harvest, at the expense of hardwoods, it can make that area more prone to wildfires. …Jocelyne Laflamme is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of British Columbia found that aspen becomes more flammable in the fall, when they lose their leaves. …In August, forest company Interfor cancelled plans to spray herbicides on trees along the north shore of Lake Huron.

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

How much have fossil-fuel giants contributed to heat waves such as B.C.’s heat dome?

By Jordan Omstead
Canadian Press in the Vancouver Sun
September 10, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, International

Planet-warming emissions from a group of the world’s largest fossil fuel producers have significantly ramped up the intensity of heat waves, a new study suggests, one of the first peer-reviewed papers to link dozens of climate-fuelled weather events to specific companies. The study led by a group of Swiss-based climate scientists says about one-quarter of the 213 recent heat waves they studied, including the 2021 B.C. heat dome, would have been virtually impossible without human-caused climate change. It says emissions from some individual companies, including relatively smaller ones and some of Canada’s oil-and-gas producers, would have been enough to make otherwise impossible heat waves statistically possible. …The researchers linked emissions from the group of cement and fossil-fuel producers to about half the increase in heat wave intensity connected to human-caused climate change.

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Carney government noncommittal about Canada meeting 2030 climate goals

By Nick Murray
The Canadian Press in CBC News
September 8, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada

Julie Dabrusin

Prime Minister Mark Carney and his environment minister aren’t saying whether Canada is still committed to meeting its climate goals under the Paris agreement by 2030, as the government faces criticism over his emissions reduction plans. The office of Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin said Canada is committed to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 — but would not commit to the 2030 target when asked directly. “Taking into account the evolving global and economic context, the federal government will provide an update on its emissions reductions plan as we strive towards our 2030 and 2035 targets”. …Canada has a legal requirement to achieve net-zero by 2050. Part of its path to get there is a plan to cut emissions to at least 40% below 2005 levels by 2030 — a commitment set out in the Paris Agreement. The statement from Dabrusin’s office was the third time a member of Carney’s government declined to commit to the Paris target.

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Health & Safety

Study estimates 2023 Canadian wildfire smoke caused 82,000 premature deaths globally

By Brenna Owen
The Canadian Press in CTV News
September 10, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada

Smoke from record-breaking Canadian wildfires in 2023 caused an estimated 5,400 acute deaths and about 82,100 premature deaths worldwide, a new study shows. The study published in journal Nature acknowledges some variation in mortality estimates depending on the methods used, but says its overall conclusion is the smoke led to an “enormous and far-reaching” health burden. Canadian co-author Michael Brauer says the findings serve as a “wake-up call” for areas that haven’t typically seen repeated or prolonged exposure to wildfire smoke. …“While there is room for improved forest management and fire suppression … we’re still going to get a lot of smoke,” says Brauer, a professor at the University of British Columbia. …Brauer says the premature deaths represent the chronic impacts of wildfire smoke, which interacts with pre-existing risk factors and conditions, such as heart or lung disease, to potentially contribute to shortening a person’s life. …The paper concludes that “further studies are urgently needed”.

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September 2025 public hearing on proposed regulatory amendments

WorkSafeBC
September 9, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada West

WorkSafeBC will be holding a virtual public hearing on proposed amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. The virtual public hearing will be streamed live on September 24, 2025, in two sessions. The first will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and the second from 3 to 5 p.m. We welcome your feedback on the proposed amendments. All feedback received will be presented to WorkSafeBC’s Board of Directors for their consideration. You can provide feedback in the following ways:

  1. Submit feedback online or by email
    Written submissions can be made online until 4:30 p.m. on Friday, September 26, 2025, via worksafebc.com or by email to ohsregfeedback@worksafebc.com.
  2. Register to speak at the hearing by phone
    To register, call 604.232.7744 or toll-free in B.C. at 1.866.614.7744. Each organization or individual will be permitted to make one presentation.

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Forest Fires

Wildfire near Lynn Lake started at mining site after burn piles weren’t properly extinguished: court docs

By Kristin Annable
CBC News
September 11, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada West

Provincial investigators looking into the cause of this spring’s wildfire near Lynn Lake, Man., allege it started at the nearby Alamos Gold Inc. mining site and that the company was negligent because it didn’t use water to extinguish its burn piles, according to search warrant documents obtained by CBC News. Manitoba Conservation investigators allege the fire, which eventually grew to over 85,000 hectares, started on May 7 after a burn pile reignited at the Toronto-based gold producer’s MacLellan mine site, about 7.5 kilometres northeast of Lynn Lake. By late May, the fire had come within five kilometres of Lynn Lake and forced the evacuation of the nearly 600 residents of the town… Dozens of properties in the area were destroyed. …The investigators asked Alamos Gold staff how they ensured the burn piles were extinguished. The workers said they stirred the piles and installed a fire guard around them, according to the documents. 

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