The US Court of International Trade threw out a legal challenge from Canadian softwood lumber producers J.D. Irving Ltd. granting a motion-to-dismiss from the Commerce Department. Timothy Reif said in the opinion that J.D. Irving, which had challenged Commerce’s 2022 antidumping administrate review on grounds that the agency erred by assigning a higher cash deposit rate in the order, has its proper venue under a binational panel though the USMCA now reviewing the Commerce order. While the Canadian firm said it was challenging not the Commerce fine order but the instruction for the cash deposit rate. Reif said the challenge entered on the commerce final result and thus should rest before the USMCA panel. [to access the full story, a MLex.com subscription is required]
HAMILTON — The Ontario government is delivering on its plan to protect Ontario workers by investing $70 million in expanded training and employment services for those affected by U.S. tariffs and policies. This funding includes support for the province’s 
A proposed sale of Northern Pulp’s vast timberlands appears to leave nothing for the cleanup of its former kraft pulp mill in Pictou County or for the money owed to taxpayers. But the companies that provided interim financing to Northern Pulp through its five-year insolvency, and potentially a significant portion of its underfunded pension obligation to former mill employees, would get paid. On Monday, Northern Pulp filed a proposed “stalking horse” (a minimum bid) of $104 million for Northern Timber with the BC Supreme Court as part of its insolvency proceedings. It is also seeking the extension of creditor protection, leaving the potential that a higher bid could come in for its valuable forest lands. …No estimated cost has been released publicly for cleaning up the Abercrombie site that housed Northern Pulp for 50 years. …On Monday, Northern Pulp said it had provided a cleanup plan to the Department of Environment.
OTTAWA — Canada’s housing crisis may get worse before it starts to show much relief, as new projections say that the number of housing starts will actually decrease this year and next. These new estimates, from both public and private sector housing forecasts, contradict political promises from all levels of government to boost supply of homes across the country. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) forecasts that the total number of housing starts in Canada this year will be about 237,800, down from 245,367 in 2024. CMHC, a Crown corporation that acts as Canada’s national housing agency, also forecasts a drop to no more than 227,734 next year and 220,016 in 2027. Those forecasts are all below the 267,000 annual output for housing starts from 2021-22 and less than half the 480,000 that the CMHC says Canada needs to add each year over the next decade.
Activists are pushing for more information about where aerial spraying of glyphosate is happening after the Nova Scotia government has stopped releasing the locations for spraying of the herbicide by forestry companies. However the forestry sector says the use of the herbicide gets unfair attention, and identifying the locations draws protesters who block access to woodlots. Glyphosate is used by some woodlot owners to …reduce competition for more profitable softwood species… Previously, the provincial government provided premises identification (PID) numbers for where aerial sprays were approved. That didn’t happen when four approvals for spraying were issued in August. “We don’t have to tell everyone where these PIDs are, because it attracts people who don’t know the full story about forest management to show up roadblock your private woodlot, and prevent you from managing it as you see fit,” said Todd Burgess, executive director of Forest Nova Scotia. 
A monster firestorm roared through the pine and spruce forests of New Brunswick. It burned one-fifth of the province’s forests and raged through villages, reducing buildings to ash and killing at least 160 people — although historians believe that is likely a severe undercount. This was the Miramichi Fire, which 200 years ago this fall announced an era of megafires in North America. Commemorated in folk songs, documented in archives and seared into memory for those who lived through it, the Miramichi Fire to this day ranks among the largest and most devastating fires the continent has ever seen. The Miramichi Fire was the continent’s first megafire rooted in extracting resources from the land, but that century was packed with other examples that collectively destroyed thousands of buildings and caused millions in damages, all while claiming lives. Among the major fires were Quebec City in 1845, 1866, 1876 and 1881; St. John’s in 1846 and 1892; Toronto in 1849, 1885 and 1895; Montreal in 1850, 1852 and 1898 and both Calgary and Vancouver in 1886.
Trees are valuable components of the Canadian ecosystem and natural instruments of carbon storage and sequestration. A tree’s growth is controlled by regional climate, including growing season length and air temperature. It is also impacted by local hydroclimate; water and temperature variations that occur on a smaller scale. Black spruce trees are common within the boreal landscape of North America, including within fen wetlands. There is limited research on black spruce growth in fens, and how the unique hydroclimate of fens may impact tree growth in a changing climate. Tree core and ring samples were collected from both sites and placed within a microscope slide scanner. This allowed key tree growth characteristics to be identified on a cellular level. Correlation analysis was conducted between these growth characteristics and long-term climate data to determine the relationship between the two variables.
The historic wildfires that ripped through Quebec in 2023, destroying millions of hectares of forest and impacting thousands of people, is estimated to have cost over $8 billion. That’s according to a new provincially funded study published Wednesday by Nada Conseils — a climate action consultancy firm — highlighting the impacts and collective costs of the fires on citizens, governments, businesses and ecosystems. According to SOPFEU, the agency responsible for wildfire prevention and suppression in Quebec, the 2023 wildfire season was the worst in over 100 years with 713 fires — 99.9 per cent of which were caused by lightening — burning 4.3 million hectares of forest. …For governments, much of the costs incurred stemmed from firefighting operations, emergency services including evacuations and housing evacuees, and financial assistance programs. …The report notes that some of the most significant costs for citizens were linked to property damage, as well as financial impacts related to lost income and increased expenses.
LAKE HURON, Ontario — Jenifer Brousseau often picks berries and traditional medicines in the bush around her community in northeastern Ontario. But in recent years, Brousseau and many others from Serpent River have been concerned about the forestry industry’s use of herbicides that contain the chemical glyphosate. …Environmental groups — including Friends of the Earth Canada, the David Suzuki Foundation, Safe Food Matters and Environmental Defence Canada — have launched a court challenge of Health Canada’s conclusions on glyphosate. …Some small municipalities in northern Ontario have also started to petition the province in their effort to get the ban. …Fred Pinto, an adjunct professor of forestry at the University of Toronto said herbicides are just one tool used by forestry companies to manage vegetation. Pinto said herbicide spraying is often done using aircraft in areas that have little to no road access.
Worsening dry conditions across New Brunswick — which sparked a provincewide burn ban and led this week to an uncontrolled wildfire near Miramichi — have prompted the provincial government to impose restrictions on some industrial activities in forested areas. The Department of Natural Resources said in a news release Friday that some forestry operations would be banned for the next several days given the high risk of another wildfire. …From midnight on Aug. 8 to midnight on Aug. 12, harvesting, forwarding, skidding, scarification, chipping and all pre-commercial thinning and cleaning are all banned. That restriction applies to all forestry on both Crown and private lands. Trucking, road construction and maintenance, vegetation management and tree planting are allowed to continue. …Except for the possibility of a shower Saturday afternoon in northern New Brunswick, the province could see at least six more days of dry, hot weather, according to Environment Canada forecasts.
The Nova Scotia government has confirmed 20 homes were destroyed last weekend in the Annapolis County wildfire, which remains out of control and is estimated at 8,234 hectares — or more than 82 square kilometres. According to a news release on Thursday, the residences were destroyed Sunday on West Dalhousie and Thorne roads. Not all of the residences were primary structures. “Our hearts are broken for residents in the West Dalhousie community who’ve lost their homes,” Premier Tim Houston said in a news release. “It’s overwhelming to get that news, it will be a long road to recovery, and I know residents will find comfort through this strong, tight-knit community. The wildfire in the West Dalhousie area of Nova Scotia is still burning out of control and has destroyed 20 homes. The Long Lake fire, which started on Aug. 13, is estimated to be 8,234 hectares in size (or more than 82 square kilometres), as of 11:30 a.m.
New Brunswickers will be permitted once again to enter the province’s forests, following a bout of cool weather that has reduced the risk of wildfires, officials said Monday. Starting Tuesday at 12:01 a.m., the province will lift its ban on access to Crown land, parts of which have been scorched in recent weeks by wildfires triggered by drought-like conditions and lightning. “I would like to thank New Brunswickers for their co-operation, for changing their plans for protecting our forests and communities,” Premier Susan Holt said Monday. About two weeks ago, there were 39 active wildfires across the province, and temperatures were close to 40 C with the humidex, said Natural Resources Minister John Herron. But over the past couple of days, temperatures have fallen well into the “very low teens” at night, he said, adding that parts of New Brunswick got rain on Monday, which has helped in firefighting.
Officials in Nova Scotia say a wildfire in the western part of the province has grown and could force people out of their homes, while cooler temperatures and low winds have helped firefighters in Newfoundland and Labrador. The Long Lake wildfire is expected to grow, said Scott Tingley, manager of forest protection with Nova Scotia’s Natural Resources Department. On Sunday evening, the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources said the fire had almost doubled in size, growing from 11 square kilometres in the morning to nearly 20 square kilometres. It had spread past Godfrey Lake to the intersection of Fairns and West Dalhousie roads on one side and the south side of Spectacle Lakes on the other, it added. “These are not favourable firefighting conditions,” Tingley told reporters Sunday morning. “It’s very, very dry.” Two contracted helicopters were helping local firefighters along with crews from Prince Edward Island and Ontario, he said.
NOVA SCOTIA –More than one hundred homes have been evacuated as an out of control wildfire near West Dalhousie in Annapolis County continues to burn Friday morning. The fire broke out Wednesday on the north side of Long Lake, about 20 kilometres east of Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. The provincial Department of Natural Resources has said a lightning strike caused the fire. …The national weather forecaster has issued an air quality statement for Annapolis County and parts of Halifax County, saying smoke from the wildfires is reducing air quality in the area, and that people who are more likely to be impacted by smoke — including pregnant people, infants and young children, people with chronic health conditions and people who work outdoors — should avoid strenuous outdoor activities.
