Region Archives: Canada West

Special Feature

Forests and nature-based solutions are a big part of the sustainability of our planet

By Rob Kozak, Professor and Dean
UBC Faculty of Forestry
December 5, 2022
Category: Special Feature
Region: Canada, Canada West

Rob Kozak

UNIVERSITY OF BC FORESTRY — With nearly 8,000 Forestry alumni around the world affecting change and making impacts in ways that are incalculable, we are most certainly one of the most successful Forestry schools globally. As well, our leading-edge, innovative research continues to make waves in positive and meaningful ways. …That as the backdrop to this issue on Future Forests, the reality is that the future of forests – and, by association, forestry – is in all of our hands. Looming large are the challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, the decline of forest-dependent communities and an expanding – and increasingly voracious – human population. …Forests, as we all know, play a vital role in contributing solutions to address some of these pressing issues. Technological innovations are part of the answer, certainly, but what we need now – more than ever – is to put forward bold, courageous, conservation-based strategies, even if it sometimes means bucking the status quo.

 …We have attempted to do this in the current issue of Branchlines by summarizing viewpoints shared in our recent webinars on the contentious issue of old growth forests and by providing some potential paths forward for all. In the end, we find ourselves in a maelstrom of wicked problems related to the sustainability of our planet, and we owe it to future generations to do whatever we possibly can to tackle this dizzying array of issues head-on. We also recognize that forests and the nature-based solutions that they provide are a big part of the solution, but that this may require disruptive, transformative change. The Faculty of Forestry is responding to this clarion call by providing intellectual space for informed dialogue and by imparting knowledge to the next generation of natural resources managers and change-makers. Together, we can make a difference in creating a healthier, more resilient and sustainable future.

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Business & Politics

Premier David Eby’s new cabinet: Here’s who he picked to run B.C.

By Katie DeRosa
Vancouver Sun
December 7, 2022
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Premier David Eby unveiled a new cabinet Wednesday that places women and people of colour in high-profile roles and promotes rising stars to two new ministries for housing and emergency preparedness. Katrine Conroy will hold the province’s purse strings as finance minister, bumping Selina Robinson. …Eby’s 27 cabinet picks … prioritizes housing and climate change with a new ministry for emergency management and climate readiness headed by rising star Bowinn Ma. …Ravi Kahlon will head the new housing ministry, created by Eby to ensure housing development is a key plank of his government. …Eby called Conroy … “rural tough” saying she brings considerable experience and a “rural lens” to the role. Conroy said she had asked to stay in the forestry portfolio, despite the vitriol and online hate she received over the province’s old growth policy… Nathan Cullen replaces Josie Osborne as minister for water, land and resource stewardship. …Bruce Ralston has moved from the Energy Ministry to Forestry.

Additional coverage: BC Government press release – New cabinet ready to take action on cost of living, health care, housing, climate

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Removal of trees on San Group property in Port Alberni causes public concern

By Susie Quinn
Alberni Valley News
December 7, 2022
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

The removal of what a forestry company in Port Alberni determined were hazardous trees has stirred up much public discussion. San Group built a dirt berm lining their property when they began building their remanufacturing plant, as a sound barrier to construction work on the site, said company spokesperson Amit Chandra Shekar. The berm was built at the base of the trees… San Group planted trees and shrubs along the berm and were plagued with thefts of the plants. “We knew the trees would die at some point. We planted four trees for every one,” he said. …while the trees planted within the past two years mature, San Group is looking at using it as a site to display public art. Port Alberni artist Michael Wright has already installed two metal sculptures. Chandra Shekar said he has some other ideas for the area for down the road.

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Registration is now open for the 2023 Council of Forest Industries Convention!

Council of Forest Industries
December 8, 2022
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

We are excited for the return of COFI’s annual convention which is being held from April 12-14, 2023 at the Prince George Civic Centre. Please join us for the largest gathering of the forest sector in Western Canada, as industry, Indigenous, government, community and labour leaders convene in Prince George, B.C., to hear from compelling speakers and thought leaders, and discuss the key issues and opportunities facing B.C.’s forest industry. Register now and take advantage of $100 off with early bird pricing!

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Roadblocks in BC to moving up forestry’s value chain

By Nelson Bennett
Business in Vancouver
December 8, 2022
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

As BC’s forestry sector faces the next half century with a much smaller timber basket, the BC NDP government has been telling the forest industry that they will need to learn to do more with less: Less timber, more higher value-added wood-based products. …The question for Canada, and B.C. in particular, is whether it can compete with the U.S., which could end up dominating the market share of a growing, but niche, market. The use of and demand for engineered wood products is growing. …“Right now, we have more [mass timber] buildings in B.C. built or underway per capita than the entire US,” said Ravi Kahlon. …However, engineered wood producers in BC face the same challenge sawmills do: A dwindling supply of timber and declining primary sawmilling sector. …Meanwhile, over that same period, B.C.’s forestry majors have invested in the US. The reason is simple: Apart from being the biggest market for lumber, the U.S. offers a more secure supply of timber and a lower cost of doing business.

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Mosaic Forest Management’s Annual Holiday Season of Giving Campaign Supports Local Communities

Campbell River Mirror
December 7, 2022
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Mosaic Forest Management’s annual Season of Giving campaign is an opportunity to give back to charitable organizations in British Columbia. This year Mosaic is proud to announce it will donate $40,000 to local community and school food programs. The $40,000 will be split between different 30 Island organizations, including the Cortes Island School, the Klahoose First Nation, the Knights of Columbus’ hamper program, the Quadra Island Foodbank, the Campbell River School District and the We Wai Kai Before and After School Program. “The extra funding will help facilitate hiring a coordinator and cook for our hot lunch program and will help ensure students are receiving a warm meal at school weekly,” said Brent Wilken, principal at Cortes Island School. This is the third year of the program, which is geared towards providing access to nutritious food for those in need.

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B.C. court rules forestry company must pay $343,000 cost of fighting 2016 wildfire

The Canadian Press in the Vancouver Sun
December 6, 2022
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

A B.C. Supreme Court judge has upheld more than $343,000 in cost-recovery fines that were handed to a forestry company for starting a wildfire in 2016.   A decision posted Monday says the wildfire near Nazko, in central B.C., burned about four square kilometres after escaping from a debris pile that a contractor set on fire at a Tolko Industries cut block.  The court heard that four so-called holdover fires were reported by Tolko to the BC Wildfire Service for starting active fires in the spring of 2016.  … Tolko initially won an appeal through the Forest Appeals Commission, which overturned the pay order saying the company was exempt under the Wildfire Regulation because it didn’t intend to start the fire and it found the blaze was a result of forestry activity.

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Sinclar Group president Stewart named chair of BC Council of Forest Industries

By Ted Clarke
Prince George Citizen
December 6, 2022
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Greg Stewart

The longtime president of Sinclar Group Forest Products, Greg Stewart, will succeed Canfor president and CEO Don Kayne, who held the position on the COFI board since 2019.  “I am excited to take on this role and continue the work with fellow COFI members, government, Indigenous Peoples, labour, communities, supply chain partners and others to help shape the future of the forest sector in B.C.,” said Stewart in  prepared release.  “The COFI membership is made up of companies big and small from all over the province, who are working to ensure we maximize the power of sustainable forestry and forest products to help fight climate change, advance reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples and keep supporting good jobs and strong communities across B.C.” …“We are pleased to have Greg step into this role as Board Chair at an important time for the forest sector in B.C.” said COFI president/CEO Linda Coady.

See the Council of Forest Industries Press Release: BC Council of Forest Industries Announce Appointment of new Board Chair

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Canfor reducing Canadian lumber production for now as ‘markets have dropped off a cliff’

Canadian Press in Vancouver Sun
December 6, 2022
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

British Columbia’s forestry sector is hitting pause as some companies are suspending operations to cut production — just in time for Christmas. Production curtailments, the latest announced by Canfor Corp. Monday, are a turnaround from a year ago when the industry was riding a high from a pandemic-recovery surge in home construction. “It looks like one wave of temporary curtailments after another,” said Jeff Bromley, United Steelworkers Union wood council chairperson. “I just got wind that Tolko (Industries) is taking some down time as well, throughout its B.C. plants.” The latest production cuts, however, come at the end of a year in which inflation and higher interest rates have threatened to spark a recession and “markets have dropped off a cliff,” said Bromley. …Madison’s Lumber Reporter reveals falling lumber prices, so it isn’t surprising to see some of the mills taking some down time now, said Keta Kosman, publisher of Madison’s Lumber Reporter.

Additional coverage by Rod Link in the Omineca Express: Canfor shuts down Plateau mill for four weeks

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Canfor Temporarily Curtailing Canadian Production Capacity

Canfor Corporation
December 5, 2022
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

VANCOUVER, BC – Canfor Corporation announced a temporary reduction in Canadian production due to very weak market conditions. The production will be reduced through curtailments at all solid wood facilities in B.C. and Alberta. This will remove approximately 150 million board feet in December and January. The curtailments will start to be implemented on December 19, 2022 and will range from one to four weeks across its Canadian operations. The Company will continue to adjust operating rates to align with market conditions and anticipates that the majority of its BC facilities will operate below full capacity in the New Year. “Due to the significant decrease in demand for solid wood products and challenging economic conditions, we are temporarily curtailing production in Canada. We will be working to mitigate the impacts on our employees by providing support and identifying meaningful work during the downtime,” said CEO Don Kayne.

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National Professional Services Firm, MNP, Expands Presence In British Columbia

MNP
December 5, 2022
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

MNP, one of Canada’s largest national professional services firms, is pleased to announce that it will join forces with Kerr & Company, effective January 16, 2023. Based in Kelowna, British Columbia, Kerr & Company is led by partners Chris Kerr, who will join MNP as a partner, as part of the merger. The firm includes a further eleven team members and provides a range of professional services (including accounting and tax services) to organizations throughout the Okanagan, with specialisms in working with Real Estate, Construction and Trades and Professionals. Trina Warren, MNP’s Regional Managing Partner for Okanagan, said that the merger reflects MNP’s continued commitment to investing in the region. “The Okanagan is a prosperous and diverse economy,” said Warren. “We are delighted to add Kerr & Company – a firm that shares our values and client-centric approach – into the fast-growing MNP fold.

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

Mass Timber Opportunities: When Innovation and Nature Merge

By Steve Borritt and Adnan Siddiqui
RBC Capital Markets
December 1, 2022
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

From timber long houses in Europe to temples in Asia, wood has been a primary construction material in buildings since the Stone Age, with some still standing more than a thousand years later. Today, modern technology and engineering is turning wood into a “new” building material, mass timber, which is set to transform the North American lumber industry. …For decades, Europe has been at the forefront of this revolution, but growing momentum in the still-nascent North American market is fostering an environment ripe for commercial opportunities. …The number of North American mass timber plants has grown to 22 from just 4 in 2016, and that number could more than double by 2027… and there are many opportunities to participate in different parts of the business. These include fabrication of and design services for the various components and connections, all the way to working with architects and engineers on fully integrated design and supply solutions.

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University of British Columbia embraces mass timber with $180 million Gateway Building

By Evan Saunders
Journal of Commerce
December 7, 2022
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

Gerry McGeough sees mass timber as an ideal building material to represent the values of the University of British Columbia. That’s why more than $180 million has been invested in the university’s new Gateway Building, a six-storey, 267,000-square-foot mass timber building designed to be an iconic welcoming place for students, faculty and visitors. Excavation for the building has been finished and work on the foundation has just begun. “Mass timber was sort of a triple word score for us,” said McGeough, director of planning and design with the university. He said it allowed the team to meet three key goals. “We’re lowering embodied carbon, we’re focusing on student well-being with this warm space for the users of the building and wood is also a very important material for the Musqueam people,” he said. …“This was the first capital project where we did what we call ‘deep engagement’ with the Musqueam,” he said…

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Deadwood Innovations secures funding through Indigenous Forest Bioeconomy Program

By Brendan Pawliw
My Prince George Now
December 7, 2022
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

An Indigenous-led forestry company out of Fort St. James has received $90,000 from the provincial government. Deadwood Innovations, which is a joint venture between the Nak’azdli Whut’en First Nation will use the funding to upgrade its pilot-scale manufacturing plant in the community to help enable commercial production. “The Indigenous Forest Bioeconomy Program and its new accelerator stream have positioned our startup to perform commercialization due diligence and engineering with experienced industry professionals. Our technology solves real problems and with support from the Indigenous Forest Bioeconomy program, our mission to transform low-quality fibre into high-value products is relentlessly progressing,” – Owen Miller, president, of Deadwood Innovations Ltd. The new facility is expected to create jobs and reduce the need for slash pile burning, reducing carbon emissions.

See the Government of British Columbia press release: B.C. accelerates support for Indigenous-led forest innovation

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Turning wood into biodegradable packing foam

BNN Bloomberg
November 23, 2022
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

Feng Jiang, assistant professor at the UBC faculty of forestry, and the Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Functional Biomaterials, joins us to discuss a clean technology project that turns wood waste into biodegradable packing foam.

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Forestry

Conserving forest, grassland and wetland ecosystems in B.C. has global impact

By Nancy Newhouse, Nature Conservancy, BC
BC Local News in Parksville Qualicum Beach News
December 8, 2022
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

This week and next governments, scientists and conservation experts… will set a course to end nature loss around the world and to create a nature-positive future. But what does that really mean for us, here in British Columbia? …When I look around my local landscape in the East Kootenay, I can see the growing impact of our activities on the forests, waterways and open spaces that surround our towns and cities. I believe most of us know we need to find a better balance in how we coexist with these places. Consider our wetlands, for example. …The loss has been substantial in places like the South Okanagan and Vancouver Island, where over 85 per cent of historical wetland habitat has been drained, filled or otherwise damaged. And still these places are under increasing pressure from development, overuse and climate change. …But we can reverse these trends. In fact, we’re well underway.

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B.C. vows to reverse ‘short-term thinking’ with pledge to protect 30% of province by 2030

By Sara Cox
The Narwhal
December 8, 2022
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

David Eby

The B.C. government has committed to protecting 30 per cent of the province’s land by 2030, joining global efforts to protect nature and reverse potentially disastrous biodiversity loss. The commitment to double B.C.’s current land protections was made in Premier David Eby’s mandate letter to Nathan Cullen, B.C.’s new Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship. Eby instructed Cullen to ensure land operations in the province guarantee sustainability for future generations and to work closely with Indigenous communities to achieve that goal. “We have seen the impacts of short-term thinking on the BC’s land base — exhausted forests, poisoned water and contaminated sites,” Eby’s states. “These impacts… threaten the ability of entire communities to thrive and succeed.” The letter instructs Cullen to partner with the federal government, industry and communities, and to work with Indigenous communities.

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Carbon credits can earn more money than logging

By Larry Pynn
Victoria Times Colonist
December 8, 2022
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Larry Pynn

Not every day does a community ask a university forestry faculty for advice on managing a 5,000-hectare forest reserve, and get back a response along the lines of “Hey, you might consider not logging at all — and earn more cash, to boot.” But that’s exactly the scenario playing out in North Cowichan, home to the most threatened forest type in B.C. — the coastal Douglas-fir forest — and a popular recreation destination less than an hour’s drive north of Victoria. More than three years ago, North Cowichan declared a moratorium on new logging in the Municipal Forest Reserve — better known as the Six Mountains — pending a public consultation on the future of the reserve. A separate parallel but closed consultation is underway with local First Nations. …The fate of a rare forest landscape in North Cowichan hangs in the balance.

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‘High profile’ endangered species to receive new protections in B.C. nature agreement

By Sarah Cox
The Narwhal
December 7, 2022
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The B.C. government appears poised to announce new protections for “high profile” species at risk of extinction, including boreal caribou and spotted owls, as part of a long-awaited nature agreement with the federal government, according to documents obtained by The Narwhal through a Freedom of Information request. One document suggests the B.C. government’s decision to sign a nature agreement with Ottawa is motivated by a desire to sidestep potential federal interventions to protect at-risk species and their habitat. Details of the nature agreement have not yet been announced but speculation is it will be released any day to coincide with COP15, the United Nations biodiversity conference that opened Nov. 6 in Montreal. …The briefing note also says… Old-growth management areas, ungulate winter range designations and wildlife habitat areas “are likely to be used for species at risk and for old-growth management.” 

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Fire detection tool being tested in Vernon measures gases before flames are visible

By Tracey Prediger
Castanet
December 7, 2022
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Gas sensing technology is being used as a first defence against forest fires in Vernon. The two-year pilot project involves researchers from UBC Vancouver and SenseNet, a Vancouver-based tech company. SenseNet is installing devices on trees around Vernon Airport and Ellison Provincial Park in hopes of being able to detect wildfires before they have a chance to spread. “Even before flames are observable, fires give off gasses,” explains Shahab Bahrami, chief technical officer with SenseNet. While there may be no visible changes in carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide or nitrogen levels in the area, those changes can be detected within minutes by the sensors’ algorithms. Once detected, alert notifications are sent to the Vernon Fire Department. …Smaller scale projects have already been installed near UBC Vancouver and in Williams Lake.

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Fairy Creek controversy exposes racism (but not where you might think)

By Josiah Haynes
Resource Works
December 8, 2022
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The ‘cannon fodder’ arrested at Fairy Creek in 2021 have seemingly had enough, failing to show up this year in large numbers – perhaps after realizing they were being spun a false narrative. Instead, we see angry comments on social media about how donated funds have disappeared, allegations of sexual impropriety, and disillusionment about claims that have been proven false. There’s a sense of betrayal online. One thing that did continue was the violence – even without large numbers of protestors, someone was in the woods spiking trees, vandalizing helicopter pads and plugging culverts in an effort to cause roads to wash out. What also continues is the movement’s eco-colonial approach with local First Nations. Earlier this week the Sierra Club issued a media release announcing a record number of ‘land defenders’ arrested at Fairy Creek were in court.

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House arrest for Save Old Growth protester William Winder

By Bob Mackin
Burnaby Now
December 7, 2022
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

William Winder

A Save Old Growth (SOG) protester, whose portrait was exhibited in Premier David Eby’s office window, was sentenced to 30 days house arrest and 18 months probation on Tuesday in Vancouver Provincial Court. William Glen Winder, a 71-year-old, retired University of B.C. French professor, had pleaded guilty to charges of mischief and breaching an undertaking to not block highways and bridges. Judge James Sutherland said in court that Winder was sentenced by a B.C. Supreme Court judge to 21 days in jail last February for disobeying the Trans Mountain Pipeline injunction. Two months later, he illegally blocked traffic on the Trans-Canada Highway in Burnaby, gained release on a promise to not block another road and then, two months after that, illegally blocked the Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Bridge. “These were not spontaneous, impulsive events,” Sutherland said. “They were planned and coordinated. Furthermore, Mr. Winder had a clear intention to be arrested.

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Keepers of Cheewaht: Restoring a Vancouver Island ecosystem for generations to come

By Alexandra Mehl
Parksville Qualicum Beach News
December 7, 2022
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

On Vancouver Island, inland from the West Coast Trail, is a quiet and remote lake brimming with vibrant ecosystems. The Cheewaht Lake watershed provides a home for dense and rare biodiversity. Tucked between Nitinat Lake and Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park, Cheewaht Lake watershed is on the traditional territory of Ditidaht First Nation, who, for thousands of years, managed the area from villages along the coast at the mouth of the Cheewaht River. …When Mike Wright, a registered professional biologist…, began research at Cheewaht Lake watershed in 1984, he said the streams were in “pristine form” prior to industrial logging. That same year the industry logged northeast of Cheewaht Lake up to the park boundary, though it didn’t impact Sockeye tributaries, said Wright. In 1986 logging in the upper reaches of a stream leading to Cheewaht Lake started, he continued. This forestry activity affected S-2, one of the three streams that feed the lake.

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Alberta makes headway in battle against mountain pine beetles

By Ryan White
CTV News
December 6, 2022
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The extreme cold weather that’s gripped Alberta in recent years has done wonders to protect trees in the province by killing destructive bugs.  The government of Alberta says mountain pine beetle numbers have sharply declined for the fourth consecutive year and the current population estimate is 94 per cent less than the peak recorded in 2019.  “I have personally seen the effect of mountain pine beetles, and understand the risk that outbreaks pose for the livelihoods of thousands of Albertans and the resilience of our forests,” said Minister of Forestry, Parks and Tourism Todd Loewen in a statement released Tuesday. “I am pleased to see that our approach to controlling the spread of mountain pine beetles and favourable weather trends are having such a positive impact in many areas around the province, and we will continue to protect our forests for future generations.”

Additional coverage in the Calgary Herald, by Dylan Short: Invasive mountain pine beetle population dropping significantly: Alberta Forestry

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Yves Saint Laurent Beauty Launches REWILD OUR EARTH in Canada

By Yves Saint Laurent Beauty
Cision Newswire
December 7, 2022
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

MONTREAL – Today, YSL Beauty launched REWILD OUR EARTH. This global program, developed in partnership with Re:wild, a world-class NGO that works … in 84 countries to advance ecological restoration globally, aims to protect and restore 100,000 hectares of land by 2030 and to safeguard biodiversity in priority areas affected by climate change. In Canada, the focus of this program will be on South Okanagan Grasslands––a key area for biodiversity conservation––in collaboration with a local operating NGO partner, The Nature Trust of British Columbia. …It is a critical habitat for five federally listed species (including Western Tiger Salamander, Lewis’s Woodpecker, Pallid Bat, Western Rattlesnake and Showy Phlox), and 95% of the area contains sensitive ecosystems (open sagebrush steppe, grasslands, riparian, and broadleaf woodlands). Notably, the land is located within the traditional territories of First Nations communities, including the Penticton Indian Band (SnPink’tn) and Lower Similkameen Indian Band (Smelqmix), both members of the Okanagan Nation (Syilx People). 

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Public invited to comment on North Island Timber Supply Area

By Ministry of Forests
Government of British Columbia
December 6, 2022
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The public is invited to get involved in the timber supply review for the North Island Timber Supply Area (TSA) by submitting comments before Feb. 20, 2023. Under the Forest Act, to ensure that B.C.’s forests are managed sustainably, the chief forester must determine the allowable annual cut (AAC) in each of the province’s 37 TSAs and 33 tree farm licences at least once every 10 years. The public is invited to provide comment on this update to the management of B.C.’s forests. As part of this public review, a discussion paper has been released that provides the results of the timber supply analysis. It also describes the geography, natural resources and current forest-management practices in the North Island TSA, all of which will be used by the chief forester in a future AAC determination.

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Leaked letter puts focus on Canada’s forestry trade priorities ahead of COP15

By Natasha Bulowski
National Observer
December 7, 2022
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Canada supports the goals of the European Union’s forestry trade rules, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says, after a leaked letter recently revealed the country’s efforts to water down proposed EU regulations right before the United Nations’ global biodiversity conference kicks off in Montreal. …The leaked letter … was penned by Canada’s ambassador to the EU, Ailish Campbell. It called for a “phased” approach that would slow down the push to halt deforestation and asked the European Commission to reconsider “burdensome traceability requirements” meant to ensure unsustainably sourced wood products have no place in the market. The federal government is working with provinces and territories to “define pathways” to protect areas with large, intact old-growth forests, said Guilbeault. Ottawa is prepared to give B.C. a “down payment” of $50 million to help protect old-growth forest, he said, but as the Narwhal recently reported, B.C. has yet to accept the funds.

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Whistler, Pemberton forests receive funding for wildfire mitigation

By Robert Wisla
Pique News Magazine
December 5, 2022
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Pemberton, Mount Currie and Whistler will be better prepared for wildfires thanks to new funding from the provincial government for fire mitigation work in the Cheakamus and Spel’kúmtn Community Forests. The province announced through its Crown corporation, the Forest Enhancement Society of BC, that it is investing $25 million into projects throughout the province. …The Sea to Sky region received $818,551 for wildfire mitigation work—$635,095 went to the Cheakamus Community Forest for manual and mechanical treatments on land adjacent to the WedgeWoods subdivision north of Whistler, and $183,456 went to the Spel’kúmtn Community Forest for understory hand-thinning treatments in and around One Mile Lake Park. …The Spel’kúmtn Community Forest is a partnership between the Lil’wat Nation and the Village of Pemberton, and encompasses 17,727 hectares of land surrounding Pemberton and Mount Currie. 

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Canada’s largest sustainable forestry program accused of greenwashing

By Stefan Labbé
Vancouver is Awesome
December 2, 2022
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Representatives from eight Canadian environmental groups have filed a complaint with Canada’s Competition Bureau alleging the country’s most popular forestry certification standard has made “false and misleading” claims in an effort to greenwash the country’s lumber and wood products. The environmental law firm Ecojustice filed the 39-page complaint against the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) on behalf of the eight organizations, including Greenpeace Canada and the David Suzuki Foundation. By not prescribing that logging meet any definition of “sustainable,” the complaint claims the SFI’s certification process acts as an industry shield making it appear that a huge share of Canada’s forestry operations are doing what they can to protect the environment. …SFI did not respond to requests to comment and the Competition Bureau has yet to make any determination on the group’s claims. …The SFI complaint represents the latest salvo from environmental groups looking to target industries they see as driving climate change and biodiversity loss in Canada. 

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Lower Mainland anti-logging protester tells court he’s choosing marriage over civil disobedience

By Cornelia Naylor
Castanet
December 3, 2022
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Ben Holt

A protester involved in four anti-logging demonstrations that disrupted traffic in Burnaby, Vancouver and the North Shore should be sentenced to 35 days in jail and 18 months of probation, according to a Crown prosecutor. Benjamin Holt, a 52-year-old computer programmer, was in Vancouver provincial court Friday morning and pleaded guilty to three counts of mischief and one count of breaching bail conditions. …Crown prosecutor Ellen Leno said …nothing short of a jail sentence would be appropriate. …He said his five days in jail in October had scared his teenaged children and strained his relationship with his wife.  “I’ve been given a choice,” he said. “I can either continue in civil disobedience or I can continue in my marriage. I enthusiastically choose my marriage.” Holt’s sentence will be delivered some time in January or February.

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The keepers of Cheewaht: Restoring an ecosystem for generations to come

By Alexandra Mehl
Coast Reporter
December 4, 2022
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Off the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, inland from the West Coast Trail, is a quiet and remote lake brimming with vibrant ecosystems. From trumpeter swans to black bears, the Cheewaht Lake watershed provides a home for dense and rare biodiversity.  The Cheewaht Lake watershed is on the traditional territory of Ditidaht First Nation, who, for thousands of years, managed the area from villages along the coast at the mouth of the Cheewaht River.  … …In 2017, the Cheewaht Restoration Working Group was re-established to collaborate on ways to restore salmon spawning streams in the Cheewaht Lake that had been impacted by logging.  …In 2020, the restoration team, which consisted of Ditidaht, Parks Canada, M.C. Wright, Roc-Star Enterprises Ltd., and Nitinaht River Fish Hatchery, hit the ground running beginning phase one of the onsite restoration of S-1, S-2, and S-3.

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Briggs fire will affect Kaslo Community Forest for years to come

By John Boivin
Nelson Star
December 5, 2022
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The manager of Kaslo and District’s community forest says a fire that burned in their tenure area last summer could cost it millions of dollars – and even threaten its long-term viability. Representatives from the Kaslo and District Community Forest Society (KDCFS), Village, and emergency officials are planning to meet soon to assess the long-term damage caused by the Briggs Creek wildfire. The fire could be devastating to the community forest, says KDCFS manager Jeff Reyden. “It’s fairly concerning,” he told the Valley Voice. “If the timber was totally wiped out and unsalvageable, it would have a larger impact, but if the markets – they’ve been really strong the last couple of years – if they tank next year, and we can’t sell the timber, it could have a huge impact on our licence.” The Briggs Creek fire began Aug. 1 in the high country about 11 kilometres west of Kaslo.

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Old growth B.C. flash mob: ‘Stop in the name of love, before you cut those trees’

By Hollie Ferguson
BC Local News
December 1, 2022
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

VICTORIA, BC — Holiday shoppers were taken by surprise by flash-mob performances advocating for the protection of old-growth trees. Elders for Ancient Trees staged flash mobs on Dec. 1, starting at the Bay Centre before hitting the Mayfair and Hillside shopping centres. At the Bay Centre, participants moved to a rendition of Stop! In The Name of Love, that included the new lyrics “stop, in the name of love, before you cut the trees.” Following the dance, a chorus of O Christmas Tree rang through the centre, with lyrics of “oh mother tree, oh mother tree, we honour you this season.” …The performances were led by Amalia Schelhorn, who danced for the National Ballet of Canada, as well as Garry Relyea and Ann Relyea, performers with the Canadian Opera Company.

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

B.C. accelerates support for Indigenous-led forest innovation

By the Ministry of Forests
Government of British Columbia
December 6, 2022
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West

The Province is supporting the growth of an Indigenous-led forest bioeconomy with new funding for First Nations to develop innovative forest-based products that will reduce the use of petrochemicals and store carbon for the long term.  With $3.9 million in CleanBC funding over three years to expand the Indigenous Forest Bioeconomy Program, the Province has launched a new accelerator stream that provides additional funding for First Nation projects at the pilot, commercialization or scale-up phases. The Indigenous Forest Bioeconomy Program focuses on using waste that is left over from logging, wildfire debris and damaged wood to make new, low-carbon forest-based products, while increasing the participation of First Nations in the forestry sector.   “We are taking action to build a sustainable, innovative forestry sector and create new opportunities for workers, communities and First Nations,” said Katrine Conroy, Minister of Forests.

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Paper Excellence is a signatory of COP27 Action Declaration

Paper Excellence Canada
December 2, 2022
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West

Paper Excellence is one of the industry leaders that joined the Action Declaration on Climate Policy Engagement in support of governments to address climate change. The initiative was developed by Corporate Knights and Global 100 Council COP27. The Action Declaration outlines how industry in the movement to decarbonize the economy will support ambitious action to close the say-do gap on countries’ emission reduction by: supporting climate change actions aligned with the Paris Agreement when engaging with policymakers; working with their major industry/trade associations to advance alignment with the Paris Agreement; and monitoring and disclosing climate policy alignment for their companies and their major industry/trade associations. On November 8, Corporate Knights hosted an official launch of the Action Declaration at COP27, where they publicly released the names of the signatories as part of the event panel presentation.

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Health & Safety

WorkSafeBC Board of Directors approves amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation

WorkSafeBC
December 9, 2022
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada West

At its October 2022 meeting, WorkSafeBC’s Board of Directors approved amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. These amendments will come into effect on March 1, 2023. Strikethrough versions of the amendments with explanatory notes can be accessed below. Deletions in the regulatory amendments are identified with a strikethrough and additions are in bold text and highlighted in yellow. The approved amendments are as follows: Parts 14 and 19, Inconsistent Crane Misadventure and Zone-Limiting Devices in Tower Cranes and revisions to Item R19.25-1 of the Prevention Manual. These amendments were posted online for feedback during the public hearing process. Stakeholder feedback is available for review.

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Rotor blade failure during emergency landing caused deadly B.C. helicopter crash

CBC News
December 8, 2022
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada West

Ed Wilcock

A deadly helicopter crash that killed one pilot and damaged a building in Campbell River, B.C., was caused by a rotor blade failure during an emergency landing, according to the Transportation Safety Board. A report released Thursday said the main rotors on the Bell 206B helicopter “became deformed” some time during the flight on Sept. 24, 2019, sending the aircraft into a building. “In the last moments of the flight, the main rotor decreased to a point that could not sustain autorotational flight, and the helicopter fell vertically and impacted the ground,” the report read. The pilot was identified after the crash as Ed Wilcock, a prominent figure in the local aviation community who owned the E & B Helicopter company. He was the only person on board. …Wilcock is pictured receiving a lifetime safety award from B.C. Forest Safety in 2017. 

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WorkSafeBC Creates a series of Faller Safety Videos: Supervision in Manual Falling

WorkSafeBC
December 4, 2022
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada West

Manual tree falling is a high-risk activity that has resulted in serious injuries and deaths. In this video, forestry professionals share their personal stories of the long-term impact falling incidents have had on themselves and on their crews. These stories highlight the importance of supervision in identifying and managing risk — no matter the size of the operation — and how supervisors play a key role in making sure fallers return home safe at the end of the day. Visit our Manual falling & bucking and Supervising for health & safety pages for more information and resources.

Other videos in the Supervision in Manual Falling series:

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Four steps to making health and safety core to how you operate – and reaping the rewards

WorkSafeBC in CBC News
November 17, 2022
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada West

Creating a health and safety culture will lead to a safer, more engaged workforce and stronger business results. It’s also much simpler than employers may think. This is among the many lessons to come out of Covid-19 and one that occupational health and safety regulator WorkSafeBC is working hard to share with employers that may be overwhelmed when it comes to knowing how to get started. “The physical and psychological health and safety of employees has risen to the top of priorities for employers and workers. It’s about creating an environment where everybody does the small things every day to keep each other safe,” said WorkSafeBC’s Chris Back.  …A study by the University of British Columbia shows that employers that take part in WorkSafeBC’s voluntary employer certification program have, on average, a 12% decrease in short and long-term disability and fatality rates compared to non-certified firms, and an 11% decrease in the serious injury rate

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BC MP raises questions about busted weather stations in wake of deadly floatplane crash

By Tyson Whitney
Cowichan Valley Citizen
December 2, 2022
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada West

Rachel Blaney

Following the tragic float plane crash off northern Vancouver Island near Port Hardy, North Island-Powell River MP Rachel Blaney is demanding the Minister of Transport and the Minister of Environment and Climate Change to answer questions about the lack of maintenance on weather stations in the region. …Blaney brought up the disrepair of the weather stations and their potential link to the plane crash. … Blaney noted that Joel Eilertsen, owner of Air Cab out of Coal Harbour, the company that operated the float plane, has written numerous letters to Transport Canada, raising the alarm about the disrepair of weather stations. …Eilertsen told [Blaney] on the day of the accident there were six weather reporting stations that were not working… Sartine [included in the list] is the most critical of the weather stations and it has reportedly not been working for more than two years.

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