Wildfires push tropical forest destruction to 20-year high in 2024, just as EU delays anti-deforestation rules. In related news: the long shadow of of last summer’s Jasper wildfire; the downside of merging the US wildland firefighting agencies; and the wildfire evacuation order in Northwest Ontario is lifted. Meanwhile: BC Timber Sales pauses logging in caribou habitat; and Indigenous groups send eviction notice to Quebec forest companies.
In Business news: Domtar nears decision on converting Quebec mill to containerboard; the US budget bill may cut funds for private forest owners; US single-family home size trends higher; the outlook for US housing and duties keep lumber prices volatile; and the Canadian Institute of Forestry’s Executive Director Mark Pearson is retiring.
Finally, both Swinerton and Mercer celebrate mass timber building completion milestones.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor
One of Canada’s lumber producers, Groupe Rémabec, will temporarily lay off most of its workers as the industry faces rising US duties and weakening demand. The manufacturing division, Arbec Forest Products, is shutting down indefinitely, leading to more than 1,000 immediate job cuts. The number may reach 1,400 in the coming weeks, according to a company statement that blamed “persistent imbalances in both access to the resource and international markets.” Groupe Rémabec employs about 2,000 people and is headquartered in La Tuque, Quebec, about 300 kilometers north of Montreal. President Trump’s administration is poised to more than double the duties on Canadian softwood lumber. …Rémabec said, with Arbec’s deposits representing an “astronomical amount.” …Rémabec also said a “feeling of exasperation is widespread” in the Quebec forestry industry over regulations that have created “an increasingly unstable ecosystem, without predictability or coherence.” The Quebec government has been trying to modernize its forestry legislation.
Domtar appears close to making a final decision about whether to convert its newsprint mill in Gatineau, Quebec, to a containerboard mill. …Last week, Unifor concluded labor negotiations with Domtar regarding the Gatineau site, and the final contract will likely be published by month’s end, said Daniel Cloutier, Unifor Quebec director. As part of the labor arrangement, agreed not to bargain, lock out or strike for eight years — on the condition that Domtar would move forward with the mill conversion, Cloutier said. Domtar agreed to proceed with the mill conversion investment, Cloutier said, although the company has not issued a final decision. Unifor anticipates that should come by autumn, if not earlier. …”one thing that could help them to make that decision was the guarantee that they will have no conflicts at [the] Gatineau plant while they proceed with the construction of the new facility,” he said.
A final tally of which Ontario municipalities hit their housing targets and how many fell short last year has been finished since mid-February, according to government documents obtained, despite the province refusing to release the data for months. For the past two years, the Ford government has set targets for new homes in towns and cities, promising them extra cash if they meet those goals. The numbers Ontario uses to assess whether or not cities have hit their goals are made up of new homes, long-term care beds and additional units like basements or garden suites. The government set up a website to show which cities had hit their goals. Around October 2024, however, with housing starts across the province stuttering, the government stopped updating the tracker. …While the tracker has appeared abandoned for close to half a year, the government has had “finalized” data for months.
To state the obvious, in Ontario homebuilding is not keeping pace with population growth. This imbalance is driving sky-high home prices and rents, not only in the GTA but many other Ontario cities. What’s to be done? In the Ford government’s recent budget, “housing” appears not as a central theme but as one of several areas to receive “support” in light of Trump’s tariffs, mainly in the form of more money for local infrastructure. …And as part of this “housing” spending spree, the Ford government will continue to spend millions on the Community Infrastructure Fund—which targets smaller communities—and programs to encourage skilled trades, which could support housing development. … The Ontario government has already spent billions on its housing strategy, yet has not moved the needle on housing supply. Even Ford’s new budget with its massive housing “support” includes an abysmal forecast for new home construction. 
The new La Pêche Town Hall, built on a promontory facing Route Principale, is a mass timber, highly energy-efficient building that will soon become the first Passive House-certified institutional building in Quebec. Rectangular in shape and located on an east-west axis, the building, by BGLA architecture + urban design, features a long façade which faces directly south onto the main road. This façade offers views of the hills of Gatineau Park from the inside, while also using natural solar gain to serve as the building’s primary heating source. The presence of wood is felt inside and outside the project. Eastern cedar cladding envelops all the façades, while the glulam and cross-laminated timber structure is exposed and highlighted in each of the interior spaces.
The adage that one person’s waste is another’s treasure was proved true on Wednesday, May 21, when the province announced millions in investments in forestry biomass. Forestry biomass refers to forestry by-products that are not used in traditional wood-processing industries like sawing, veneering and pulp and paper. Examples include: crowns, branches, bark, sawdust, wood shavings, and wood chips. It is used in everything from food additives to building materials. It also has many emerging uses, including renewable natural gas, bioplastics and hydrogen, considered to be responsible alternatives to carbon-intensive products. The government says their aim is to protect workers and jobs in the forestry sector… The program has invested up to $20 million each year in projects to increase wood harvest, create forest sector opportunity and find new uses for wood in collaboration with stakeholders, industry and Indigenous communities. Find the press release 
They slither in silence, drape trees in silk and chew through lively leaves. This year, the forests of Ontario are full of a very distinctive, creepy crawler – the tent caterpillar. Eastern tent caterpillars are appearing in large numbers across the province marking what experts describe as an ‘outbreak year’ for the species. While noticeable, the current outbreak is not as severe as previous ones, according to Dan Rowlinson, forest health field coordinator with Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources. According to the Government of Ontario, periodic outbreaks occur roughly every 10 to 12 years and typically last three to six years in a particular areas. The tent caterpillar, often mistaken for their close relatives; the spongy moth, is known for having a similar looking larvae.
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) is calling on the province to increase wages for water bomber pilots, as a shortage of pilots has led to the grounding of some aircraft. OPSEU said in a news release that pilots it represents have “resoundingly rejected an offer that would have made Ontario second to last in terms of wages for these dangerous and critical jobs.” OPSEU president JP Hornick told CBC that Ontario water bomber pilots are leaving for other provinces because they can earn better wages. “We have a government that is touting the fact that they’re purchasing six new water bomber planes, but they can’t even actually address the staffing needs that they have on the existing planes,” Hornick said. “This isn’t somebody taking off of a regular tarmac, right? They’re flying planes into the worst possible conditions, active wildfires, dipping down into lakes, filling it with water.”
Quebec’s sweeping reform of how forests are managed is causing concerns among Indigenous leaders, conservation groups and unions, who warn the changes prioritize logging over long-term health of the ecosystem. Bill 97, tabled this spring by Minister of Natural Resources and Forests Maïté Blanchette Vézina, proposes to divide the forest into three zones: one that prioritizes conservation, one focused on timber production and a third zone for multiple uses. At least 30 per cent of Quebec’s forests will fall into that second category, Blanchette Vézina said. Speaking at the legislative hearing on Bill 97, Lac-Simon Anishnabe Nation Chief Lucien Wabanonik says he wants to see it scrapped and rewritten from scratch in collaboration with First Nations people. “They call it triade in French, meaning 30 per cent of the territory will be specifically used by the industry in exclusion of other users,” he said. “It’s very negative on our rights as First Nations.”
A love of the outdoors and a deep desire to make a meaningful impact on communities affected by climate change keeps Greg Verkaik going back to Western Canada. The PhD student studies peatlands and their role in wildfires. Climate change isn’t an abstract concept in his research, it’s something he’s been seeing and experiencing in the landscapes he’s visited since 2018 as part of this work. The 2025 wildfire season is already shaping up to be another intense year for Canada. Early signs point to another active and dangerous season, particularly in Western Canada. As peatlands dry and fire seasons lengthen, the risk of deep-burning, smouldering fires – the kind that can persist underground and reignite months later, continues to grow. This only strengthens Verkaik’s commitment to his research, which aims to better understand how peatlands influence wildfire behaviour and how they might be managed to reduce risk.
The forest fire west of Wabaseemoong is no longer the largest in Northwestern Ontario now that a blaze farther north has grown to more than 65,000 hectares. The Red Lake 12 fire that caused the evacuation of Deer Lake First Nation last week was blanketing 65,186 hectares as of Wednesday afternoon, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources. That’s more than 3.5 times the size estimated on Monday. Smoke from fires to the west hurt the ministry’s ability “to monitor the growth of Red Lake 12 consistently throughout the operational window,” MNR fire information officer Allison Lake told Newswatch in an email. “After several days of reduced visibility, conditions improved, allowing for high-level infrared scanning of wildland fire Red Lake 12. “As a result of the scanning, the fire has now been remapped at 65,186 hectares, which accounts for growth that has occurred over the past few days.”
A number of special air quality statements are in effect across northwestern Ontario, as wildfire activity remains rampant throughout the region. Statements were issued early Monday morning for well over a dozen communities, including several First Nations… “Wildfire smoke is expected to move into the area early this morning and may remain in place for the next several days for some areas,” the statements say. “As smoke levels increase, health risks increase. Limit time outdoors.” Evacuations are continuing in Deer Lake First Nation and Webequie First Nation. Meanwhile, members of Wabaseemoong Independent Nations have been under an evacuation order since mid-May. Webequie First Nation first declared a state of emergency on Thursday. Chief Cornelius Wabasse said high demands for aircraft in other communities affected by wildfires delayed his community’s evacuation. “There is a shortage of planes and also other resources,” Wabasse said on Monday morning.
Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) continues to monitor wildfires across the province, with varying conditions in the northeast and northwest regions. While some fires have been brought under control, others remain active, prompting ongoing suppression efforts and precautionary measures. The northeast region reports two active wildfires, with one recently contained. Sudbury 13, a 0.5-hectare fire near Wikwemikong that was identified on Saturday, was declared out Sunday morning. Cochrane 2, an 8-hectare fire northwest of Attawapiskat, is now under control. Cochrane 3, burning 48 kilometres west of Attawapiskat, remains not under control at 150 hectares. Though the MNR confirms no immediate threats to communities or infrastructure at this time. The northwest region remains a focal point, with 15 active fires and persistent high-risk conditions.
The wildfire season in Nova Scotia has been off to a “slow” start, according to the manager of forest protection with the province’s natural resources department. Scott Tingely told CBC News that so far, the number of fires and the amount of hectares burned are both below average at this point. “We had a pretty cool, wet spring so far, so that has certainly helped kind of mitigate the conditions and the risk,” Tingley said. As of Thursday, 39 fires have burned about 35 hectares across the province so far. …The wildfire situation in Nova Scotia has changed rapidly over the last week, according to data from Natural Resources Canada. On Tuesday, the department listed the fire danger across most of the province as low. And as of Thursday, that classification was raised to high for the bulk of the mainland and Cape Breton.
Emergency crews are dealing with a fire in the woods east of Churchill Falls — an area of central Labrador currently under an extreme fire risk warning. The provincial government confirmed the fire is moving east, away from the town. It said crews and two water bombers were deployed. The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary closed part of the Trans-Labrador Highway between the company town and Happy Valley-Goose Bay, 300 kilometres east along the isolated road, for a stint Wednesday night. It has since reopened. N.L. Hydro said helicopters fought the fire from the air. The fire knocked out the power in Labrador City and Wabush for nearly three hours. N.L. Hydro restored electricity to all customers shortly after 9 p.m.
A drop in temperatures and some precipitation has reduced the fire hazard in the region, prompting an evacuation alert in the Northwest to be lifted. On Sunday, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) lifted an evacuation alert issued last week for the Fort Frances District. The alert was implemented due to a 3,500-hectare fire burning south of Atikokan. There has been no growth observed in that fire for several days and precipitation and cooler weather has reduced fire behaviour. An evacuation order remains in effect for an area northwest of Kenora near the Ontario and Manitoba border due to the wildfire designated Kenora 20. It is a 400-square-kilometre fire burning south of Wabaseemoong First Nation that is not considered under control. The community of Wabaseemoong First Nation was evacuated late last week and structural protection efforts remain ongoing.