ENGLEHART, Ontario — The Ontario government is investing $10 million in Georgia-Pacific North Woods to advance a major $191 million upgrade to its OSB plant. The project will support the increased production of Ontario-made wood products and protect more than 220 jobs and hundreds of indirect jobs in the region. …The province is making strategic investments to help forest sector businesses adapt, compete and grow to stay resilient in the face of US tariffs. …The government’s investment under the Forest Biomass Program will support Georgia-Pacific’s $191 million project, helping modernize and expand operations at its Englehart facility. The project includes upgrades to log processing operations, construction of new facilities, expansion of on-site storage and modern equipment. Once completed, these improvements will increase production by 14%, strengthening a key anchor facility in the northeast. Georgia-Pacific will also acquire a thermal energy system to use wood by-products for heat and power, supporting sustainable forest management by maximizing fibre value.
Additional coverage in Northern Ontario Business: Province chips in with biomass funding for Englehart OSB mill
A union representing lumber workers in Canada warned that the federal government needs to help “stabilize” the forestry sector as the trade war with the United States drags on and impacts productivity, leading to sawmill closures. The sentiment emerged at a Tuesday meeting of the House natural resources committee as it continued its study into Canadian energy exports, where Unifor national president Lana Payne told MPs that the industry continues to struggle. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly had unveiled a $1.5-billion aid package for the steel, aluminum and copper sectors on Monday, with the bulk of this amount offered through three-year loans under a program that will be created by the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC). At the time, Joly stressed that Ottawa is still working to offer “similar terms” through BDC to the softwood lumber and forestry industries.
The clock began ticking April 7 on one of the most important Supreme Court of Canada cases in New Brunswick’s history. That’s the date the country’s top court told law firms involved in the Wolastoqey Nation’s landmark title claim it would determine if it would allow “leave for appeal.” …On one side are logging firms and other private property owners who say they’re caught in the middle of a three centuries-old fight that had nothing to do with them. The Indigenous nation wants the Supreme Court to overturn a Court of Appeal decision last December. That ruling found the nation would have no chance of success in its lawsuit proving that it has Aboriginal title over privately held lands. …By that measure, the Wolastoqey Nation could sue governments but would have no means to take back control of most of their old territory. …If the appeal goes ahead, the Supreme Court could hear the case as early as this fall.
Northern Pulp’s closure plan for its mill site in Abercrombie Point, N.S., is still not complete, but a B.C. court heard Tuesday that the plan could soon begin coming into focus as the company’s creditor protection process continues to play out. …Because the plan is not final, the monitor notes in its report that it’s subject to change. The report says the company will explore options for the mill site and remaining property, which could include trying to market it to sell. Failing that, however, demolition is expected to begin in November. The court also heard Tuesday that the sale of the company’s timberlands to a company owned by billionaire blueberry mogul John Bragg is expected to be complete in the coming days. That sale, worth $235 million, will generate money for the closure plan, the mill’s creditors and to wind up the company pension.
TORONTO— The Ontario government has launched the 
MONTREAL — Stella-Jones announced financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2026. Sales for the first quarter reached $791 million, versus sales of $773 million in the corresponding period last year. Excluding the impact of 2025 acquisitions of $42 million and the unfavourable currency conversion effect of $30 million, pressure-treated wood sales increased by $10 million, or 1%, largely driven by an increase in wood utility poles volumes. …Eric Vachon, President and CEO said “Our performance continues to be supported by disciplined operations. As part of our commitment to continuous improvement, we are advancing targeted initiatives across the business, with a current focus on optimizing our Railway Ties production network, enhancing efficiency and supporting future growth. We are also progressing our strategic growth priorities, notably with the finalization of the site selection for our new U.S. steel lattice manufacturing facility.”
NEW BRUNSWICK — Postmedia plans to stop printing most New Brunswick newspapers in Moncton. Postmedia publishes the Times & Transcript, Telegraph-Journal, Daily Gleaner and other local newspapers. They are printed and distributed from a building along Main Street in downtown Moncton. Dave Arsenault, president of the New Brunswick Media Guild, confirmed that print and distribution will cease in Moncton and be moved elsewhere. …”Following an assessment of printing and insert packaging operations, it was determined that outsourcing these operations from Postmedia’s Moncton facility would allow us to continue serving print subscribers and advertisers while supporting long-term financial sustainability,” the company said Wednesday. The printing will be outsourced out of province starting Aug. 2. Postmedia bought most of New Brunswick’s English-language newspapers from Irving-owned Brunswick News in 2022.
Saint John’s fire department wants the city to adopt a long-term plan to reduce the risk of wildfires and strengthen the ability to fight them. A proposed plan, which includes raising public awareness and improving wildfire training for firefighters, earned the support of the city’s public safety committee at a meeting Wednesday. Recommendations came after a detailed evaluation of wildfire risks based on terrain, weather and climate influences, locations of homes and other factors. Saint John has not experienced large-scale wildfires in recent history, as other areas of New Brunswick have, but the evaluation identified a moderate overall wildfire risk in some areas of the city. Steep hillsides, and extensive forestry, park space and other green areas — particularly near dense neighbourhoods — create risky conditions for the city uncommon in other parts of the province, Deputy Chief Ed Moyer of the Saint John Fire Department told the committee.
THUNDER BAY — The Ontario government is investing $15 million in ongoing annual funding through the Northern Ontario Resource Development Support (NORDS) Fund to help northern municipalities continue to improve local infrastructure and support responsible economic growth in the North. …Resource development operations, such as mining, forestry and agriculture, are an important part of the provincial economy, yet they can also disproportionately impact northern municipal infrastructure. … In 2025-26, 144 municipalities received NORDS funding, including:
Premier Tim Houston says he would institute a ban on entering the woods again, if the circumstances called for it, in spite of a judge saying last year’s province-wide decree was unreasonable. Houston was reacting to a Nova Scotia Supreme Court ruling that says the province failed to consider individual mobility rights — enshrined under Section 6 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms — when it told people to stay out of the woods on Aug. 5, 2025. The ban was imposed during an extended period of drought when wildfire risks were high to extreme. It remained in place across the province for several weeks. The court decision, released last week, suggested that Charter rights should be considered in a more meaningful way before the next emergency. Houston said he respects the decision but he stood by last year’s ban. He disputed the judge’s conclusion that the province did not consider Charter rights. 
New Brunswick’s wildfire season has begun with more forests burned than at this time last year, according to the government’s wildfire dashboard. As of Wednesday afternoon, the dashboard reported there has been 178 fires so far this season, which have burned 343 hectares of forest. At the same date in 2025, there had been 100 fires burning 87.7 hectares of forest. The 10-year average for the period up to May 6 is 84 fires burning 105 hectares. As of 9 a.m. Wednesday, there were no out-of-control fires in the province, compared with six Tuesday night. …New Brunswick’s wildfire season begins in early April and continues through the summer. Last year, several fires resulted in restrictions on forest trail use. In Moncton, municipal fire departments joined with provincial firefighters. …“Record-low precipitation, minimal snowpack, and prolonged drought have pushed fire risks higher than normal,” the Department of Natural Resources said.