North Bay, ON – Nipissing University will present five distinguished leaders with honorary degrees, the University’s highest distinction, during its upcoming Convocation ceremonies, June 8-10, 2026. Recipients are selected for their noteworthy contributions to Nipissing University, their respective fields, and broader impact on society. …Marianne Berube has over 40 years of diverse business and transformative leadership experience in the finance, construction and wood industries. She graduated from Nipissing University with degrees in Environmental Science and Business, and later received the Fellow, Canadian Institute of Bankers (FICB) and Certified Investment Management designations. Berube began her career in banking and became the first female bank manager in Northern Ontario. Berube was the Executive Director of the Canadian Wood Council’s “Ontario Wood WORKS!” program for 22 years, building the program from its pilot launch in North Bay to the Provincial initiative it is today.
SAULT STE. MARIE — The Ontario government is investing more than $14 million to build a modern, digital system to inventory the province’s forest resources, giving industry access to better information to invest, grow and create jobs. …this investment will modernize the Forest Resources Inventory (FRI) Information Management System, the essential database of Ontario’s managed forests, by replacing outdated systems with cutting-edge technology to make critical forest data more accurate, accessible and easier to use. …Through a strategic partnership with Microsoft, powered by Databricks technology, the province is developing customized digital tools to modernize how Ontario collects, stores and shares forest inventory information, strengthening the sector’s long-term competitiveness and resilience in the global economy. This work is a key commitment in the 
The global trade landscape is shifting rapidly, which has created uncertainty and challenges for workers, industries and communities across Canada. …Workers whose jobs have been directly or indirectly impacted by global tariffs will receive support to help them adapt, retrain and succeed, as a result of a partnership agreement announced today by Wayne Long, Secretary of State, alongside Jean-Claude D’Amours, New Brunswick’s Minister of Training and Labour. …Specifically, $13.8 million over three years will be invested through the new Canada–New Brunswick Workforce Tariff Response to support workers in the softwood lumber, mining, construction and transportation sectors, as well as other directly and indirectly tariff-affected industries. This new funding will help over 1,500 workers in New Brunswick build new skills and seize emerging opportunities.
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.
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.
In 2025’s budget, Ontario allotted $135 million for its Emergency Forest Firefighting fund, which Firefighter Noah Freedman describes as money that “keeps the lights on.” The province ended up spending double that: $271 million, according to this year’s budget. But that same document penciled in just $150 million again for this year. The province did not respond to requests from Canada’s National Observer asking why the budget hasn’t been increased. Not allotting adequate funds translates to real impacts on the frontlines, said Freedman, who is also vice president of Ontario Public Service Employees Union Local 703. He said last season was “riddled with logistical problems” due to a lack of available funding: not having crews and helicopters where they were needed, and scrambling to request more… “None of that is because of our leadership in our agency. It’s a result of not getting anywhere near the funding that we need to truly be decision-makers,” Freedman said.
Three years ago, Barb Round heard heavy machinery chewing through the urban forest behind her home in Campbell River, a small city on east Vancouver Island that bills itself as the salmon capital of the world. Round waved down a man in a hard hat and asked why the excavator was working in the greenway, which is a haven for birds, dotted with pocket wetlands and adjacent to Simms Creek, home to four salmon species. “He explained to me that the property had been sold,” Round, a retired nurse, tells The Tyee. “Everyone in the neighbourhood thought it was protected land.” When residents found out a local developer planned to cut down much of the forest and fill in the wetlands to build a large housing development near the creek, “they were gobsmacked,” Round says.
NEW BRUNSWICK — The Fredericton Fire Department is gearing up for what could be a busy wildfire season, training its firefighters in how best to respond when burning trees begin to threaten homes. Firefighters participated last week in a national training program aimed at offering crews techniques for defending homes against wildfires. These fires are an increasing threat to the city, both from climate change and from the growth of neighbourhoods beyond the city and suburbs. …”Working in the wildland interface, we’ve got to triage properties,” Sullivan said. “Oftentimes there’s not water sources nearby.” The training program is provided by the International Association of Firefighters, with 350 Canadian firefighters receiving it in 2023 and 2024. The training was funded by the federal government, which provided more funding in 2024 to train additional firefighters. …”As the line separating urban, suburban, and rural communities has blurred, wildfires are a threat spanning coast to coast.”
The amalgamation of Ontario’s 36 conservation authorities into nine regional bodies is expected to take effect in early 2027. A new directive from Environment Minister Todd McCarthy orders conservation authorities to halt any major decision-making processes, such as changing staffing structures or purchasing property, in the meantime. After a meeting between Environment Ministry officials and conservation authority staff on May 6, 2026, one public servant told The Narwhal, “The province has essentially handcuffed conservation authorities.” …A leaked document and a recording of an internal conversation between Ministry of Environment officials and conservation authority officials for this story. …In the recording, ministry officials are heard assuring attendees that they were happy to keep working with conservation authority staff, and that the government remains committed to preserving drinking water protections. But the officials repeatedly said things are still being figured out. They acknowledged the lack of answers was “not terribly reassuring” and “anxiety producing, probably” for conservation authorities. 
While Ontario has seen a much slower start to the wildfire season compared to last year, officials are warning people heading into the May long weekend that conditions can quickly change. There have been 22 wildfires confirmed in the province since the season began April 1, compared to 68 fires this time last year, said Alison Bezubiak, a fire information officer with Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services in the northwest region. “The 10-year average for this date is 56, so we are below last year and the 10-year average in terms of total number of fires confirmed,” she told CBC News Thursday morning. One small fire, measuring 0.1 hectares, is being held in the Kenora district near Grassy Narrows First Nation as of Thursday. However, forest fire danger ratings range throughout the region, with the Fort Frances area seeing extreme hazard levels, according to the province’s interactive forest fire map.
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.
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. 
The Nova Scotia government has issued a tender to convert five public buildings to wood heat systems — a move one member of the forestry sector says will have widespread benefits. The tender targets heating infrastructure at the Nova Scotia Community College’s Kingstec campus, Roseway Hospital in Shelburne, Digby General Hospital, Soldiers Memorial Hospital in Middleton, and St. Martha’s Regional Hospital in Antigonish. …Successful bidders will also be responsible for procuring the wood fuel. The province stated in the tender documents that it “expects the focus of wood procurement to be from small private woodlots,” stipulating that 100 per cent of the lower-grade primary wood fuel must be harvested within Nova Scotia. …Marcus Zwicker, Forest Nova Scotia, added that requiring boilers to be fed with Nova Scotia product opens up new markets for local forestry contractors and woodlot owners while ensuring cheaper wood cannot be brought in from outside jurisdictions.
NEW BRUNSWICK — NB Power says it has green lit a plan to buy 300,000 tonnes of wood pellets this year in efforts to convert its largest power plant in northern New Brunswick from coal to biomass. The Crown utility says it’s now in procurement talks with five potential suppliers, all within Eastern Canada, to supply the Belledune Generating Station. That’s as the Holt government has quietly issued a Crown timber sub-licence to one of those five, a partnership between Eel River Bar First Nation, Pabineau First Nation, and Arbec Forest Products. The trio, together behind what’s being called the Belledune Biocoal Joint Venture Group, has also recently filed an environmental impact assessment with the Department of Environment and Local Government to build a torrefied wood pellet production facility at the Port of Belledune in support of NB Power’s transition away from coal burning power generation.
NOVA SCOTIA — The Province continues to support the forestry sector by making wood heat and building materials a priority in public buildings. A request for proposals issued Thursday, May 14, will see five buildings converted to heating systems that use local wood products. “We are seizing an opportunity to prioritize a local product from our forestry sector that also makes our province more self-reliant and energy secure,” said Public Works Minister Fred Tilley. “By using more local wood products, we are creating jobs, growing our economy and creating a brighter future for Nova Scotia.” …This is the first major project under the government’s wood initiative announced in July 2025. The deadline for submissions is June 24. Using wood products aligns with the Nova Scotia Loyal program, reduces reliance on imports and enhances export markets. It also supports the forestry sector, reduces greenhouse gas emissions and helps the province move to a low-carbon economy.
MONTRÉAL – With global warming, rainfall is increasingly falling in short, intense, concentrated bursts separated by longer dry periods, and these changes could have a potentially devastating effect on the planet. These are the conclusions of a new study co‑authored by Corey Lesk, at the Université du Québec à Montréal, and Justin S. Mankin, at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. … They observed that regardless of the total amount of water received annually, this new rainfall regime alters how precipitation is absorbed by the soil and promotes greater aridity across the Earth’s surface. “Drought is often measured by what is lacking–the total amount of rainfall–but how precipitation falls is just as important,” explains Professor Corey Lesk. “This new type of rainfall regime leads to increased evaporation at the land surface, limiting the soil’s ability to retain moisture, and thus reducing the amount of water available on land for human populations and ecosystems.”
A massive fire near Gogama has doubled in size again overnight. This morning (June 4), the Ministry of Natural Resources mapping has the fire at 2,945 hectares. That’s more than double what it was last night, when it was reported as 1,100 hectares. Here’s what you need to know about the situation today:
As cooler, rainier weather has eased wildfire risks in northwestern Ontario, a number of travel restrictions have been lifted in the region. An implementation order was first issued Saturday near a wildfire known as Fort Frances 5 in the Dryden, Fort Frances and Atikokan district, limiting travel and certain activities. On Sunday, a second implementation order was put in place due to a fire called Fort Frances 4 in the same district “to ensure public safety and/or to ensure effective fire suppression.” Both orders were lifted Tuesday evening. “All travel and the use of roads and lakes in the areas previously identified are available and residents may return to their properties. Wildland fire suppression activities are ongoing on Fort Frances 4 and Fort Frances 5, but public safety relating to these fires is no longer a concern,” according to the province’s 
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.
