As part of ongoing work to diversify trade, Premier David Eby is leading a trade mission to China to strengthen commercial ties with the province’s second-largest trading partner and explore new opportunities to support good-paying jobs for people in British Columbia’s forestry, energy, tourism and agriculture sectors. … “China is the world’s second-largest economy and is our second-largest export market for B.C. goods and services. Encouraging tourism while selling more B.C. wood, agricultural products and energy will mean more money for families and more money to pay for the services British Columbians deserve,” said Premier Eby. …British Columbia and China share a longstanding partnership with collaboration across a range of areas from sustainable forest management to wood construction innovation and clean energy.
CN Rail has been fined $435,000, having been found responsible for causing a wildfire near Spences Bridge a year after the nearby town of Lytton was devastated by a catastrophic wildfire. According to a June 17 BC Forest Appeals Commission decision, CN Rail was found to have caused a wildfire that burned outside of Spencers Bridge in September 2022. Last year, the BC government issued a $435,371 fine to the company. Broken down, the fine covered $60,000 for damaged or destroyed mature Crown timber, $27,000 for damaging or destroying forest and grassland resources, and a further $348,000 to cover the cost of controlling wildfire K72249. “During their investigations, Natural Resource Officer Service staff collected field information and photographs and obtained recorded statements from several eyewitnesses. As a result of their investigation, the Natural Resource Officer Service alleged that CN Rail had contravened… BC Wildfire Regulation(s),” the decision reads.
Forestry Innovation Investment’s 2025/26 Year in Review is now available. It is a compilation of market development activities completed by FII and our many industry, association, government, academic and research partners over the past year. We are committed to a collaborative delivery approach, building on the strengths and shared resources that other organizations bring to this important work. The forest sector continues to face challenging market conditions and ongoing trade uncertainty. As we adapt to these pressures, diversification remains central to strengthening the sector. By expanding markets and making the most of B.C.’s forest resources, FII and its partners are supporting long-term resilience. This includes advancing wood use in B.C., supporting growth in mass timber and prefabricated construction, and pursuing opportunities across international markets. The report includes the range of work underway, and the milestones achieved over the past year. 
Wood Connections Summary: BC Wood is gearing up for a busy fall season, with registration now open for the 2026 Global Buyers Mission in Whistler and a slate of market development opportunities stretching from Vancouver to Mexico. The annual GBM returns September 10–12, bringing together international buyers, architects, designers, manufacturers, distributors, and wood industry professionals for business matchmaking, networking, educational sessions, and WoodTALKS™ programming. The association has also announced the first round of GBM sponsorship winners and is encouraging companies to act quickly as exhibit space and hotel accommodations are filling fast. Beyond Whistler, BC Wood is recruiting participants for the Interior Design Show in Vancouver, Tecno Mueble in Guadalajara, and is exploring a coordinated presence at California’s Pacific Coast Builders Conference. Meanwhile, TWIG’s Wood-First-Wednesday program continues to expand its reach, with a new partnership extending networking and knowledge-sharing opportunities into the Robson and North Thompson region.
Local forest advocates gathered in Nelson on Monday to call on Premier David Eby’s government to increase protections for old-growth forests. Eby was in the region this week, visiting and touring local facilities. More than 140 people attended a demonstration outside Kootenay Central MLA Brittny Anderson’s office… Organizer Rita Corcoran said protesters relocated to Taghum Hall after learning Eby was expected to attend an event there. …“We were hoping to talk to him directly and give him that same message directly in person about what we want and that we feel disappointed in the leadership,” said Corcoran. “But he didn’t arrive.” …“I’ve seen the premier meet with protesters across the province, and I know he would have been happy to meet with them here in Nelson as well,” Anderson said. “The RCMP made a security assessment, and we have to respect the decision that they made.”
In his 2025 book, The Genius Bat, Yossi Yovel, an Israeli ecologist, describes experiments he conducted with six Egyptian fruit bats, including an exercise in which he trained them to land on a target and wait for him to approach with a reward — a slice of banana. …Many readers will find the image of bats as trainable, friendly and possessing intelligence, distinct personalities and perhaps even a sense of humour to be quite jarring. But this effect is exactly what Yovel is striving to achieve. His goal with the book is to dispel the many myths surrounding bats and to convey what remarkable and endlessly fascinating creatures they actually are. …Due to misinformation many people are unaware of the benefits bats provide by eating massive amounts of harmful insects, producing guano, which is an important natural fertilizer, and pollinating plants and spreading seeds. Without bats, humans would be in deep trouble.
British Columbians are subsidizing the province’s forest companies to the tune of tens of millions of dollars each year under a government program that defrays the cost of shipping logs from remote forests to distant mills. In 2023, logging companies received nearly $33 million in public funds to underwrite the costs of hauling “low-value” logs to wood pulp and pellet mills. …The subsidies are posted online by the Forest Enhancement Society of BC, or FESBC, an organization created and funded by the provincial government and that reports to Forests Minister Ravi Parmar. The society’s mandate includes “preventing and mitigating the impact of wildfires” and “improving habitat for wildlife.” But many FESBC funds simply underwrite the increasing costs of hauling logs. Those expenses have been marching upward as logging activities push farther into the hinterland. That has some questioning whether the funding is accelerating the logging of forests, rather than enhancing them.
Did you know that BC has nearly 600 native bee species? This is among the highest diversity in Canada. The Southern Interior alone has around 400 species. The forest provides both forage opportunities and nesting habitat for bees. Many bee species live in trees, specifically cracks, bark sloughs and small crevices. So snags! We knew they were good for something. Over the decomposition of a standing tree it provides different types of standing habitat. As the tree rots, the bark begins to slough. Sloughing Bark on a snag is an important old forest attribute. While we can’t maintain everything in a block, keeping snags provides habitat for a variety of bees and other insects.
Kim Haakstad is stepping into a familiar debate with renewed urgency. As president and CEO of the Council of Forest Industries (COFI), she is helping lead a province-wide campaign to rebuild public support for forestry. COFI represents British Columbia’s forest industry, advocating for policy, sustainability and economic growth across the sector. Haakstad says their new campaign is about reframing forestry’s role in a changing province. “
The Government of Saskatchewan announced immediate actions to strengthen the province’s wildfire strategy in response to MNP’s independent review of the 2025 wildfire season. In October 2025, the Government of Saskatchewan commissioned MNP to conduct an independent review of the 2025 wildfire season. MNP was responsible for evaluating the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency’s (SPSA) wildfire and emergency prevention, preparedness, response, evacuation, and recovery strategy. Participants in the review included members of affected communities, emergency responders, Indigenous organizations, representatives from the SPSA, provincial ministries, municipal and regional partners. …The Government of Saskatchewan’s response to the recommendations includes 11 actions the SPSA has been directed to implement immediately. The Future Preparedness and Implementation Unit has been established within the SPSA to advance and monitor the implementation of the 11 actions directed by the Government of Saskatchewan.
LAKE COWICHAN, BC — Pumps will likely be required to sustain the river if dry conditions continue through the summer, according to Brian Houle, environment manager for Domtar Crofton Mill. Though the mill has shut down, Domtar remains the licenced operator. As of a June 4 report issued by Houle, Cowichan Lake has dropped to 80% capacity and the below-average snowpack has already fully melted. Updated modelling for the remainder of the year was analysed at a meeting of regulators and Cowichan Tribes on June 3. Domtar was guided to begin to reduce the flow to below 7.08 cubic meters per second (cms). …With no relief in sight, there’s been a push for a larger replacement weir to store more water in the lake to reduce the need for emergency pumping. …Domtar has been authorized to have qualified professional biologists monitor the river conditions. 
As summer temperatures rise across British Columbia, WorkSafeBC is urging employers to take proactive steps to protect workers from heat stress. Simple measures such as providing shade, cool-down areas, drinking water, and adjusting work schedules can significantly reduce the risk of heat-related illness. WorkSafeBC has also updated its Preventing Heat Stress at Work guide and released a new incident investigation video examining an explosion caused by a key fob left in a service vehicle. WorkSafeBC is drawing attention to another serious hazard: contact with power lines. New data shows that 74% of power-line-related injuries involve non-electrical workers, particularly those in construction, painting, and heavy equipment operations. Additional updates include consultations on proposed safety rule changes for shotcrete work, upcoming 2027 assessment rate information sessions, and a free June 24 webinar on road safety for small businesses. New incident investigation report summaries are available to help employers and workers understand the factors that contribute to workplace incidents so similar incidents can be prevented from happening in the future. 
Hundreds of people were allowed to return to their homes in West Kelowna, B.C., on Tuesday evening after a fast-moving wildfire forced several neighbourhoods to evacuate earlier in the day. The local fire chief said the human-caused fire started in Kalamoir Regional Park in the late morning and quickly threatened hundreds of homes, some of which he said crews have saved by inches. …The fire started in Kalamoir Regional Park late Tuesday morning and quickly spread toward the Casa Loma and Lakeview Heights neighbourhoods, on a hillside above Okanagan Lake. …West Kelowna Fire Rescue said more than 100 firefighters worked to contain the flames against strong, gusting winds and dry conditions…. The fire, which officials say burned at least eight hectares of land, is listed as human-caused.