Bringing in external counsel is a big decision for in-house lawyers when their firm is embroiled in a legal dispute. It’s critical that lawyers brought in from outside work seamlessly with the in-house legal and non-legal teams. Typically, outside advice is sought when there is a case that is unique, or has high value and high risk potential, especially in cases where the in-house team might not have the specialized experience needed. The other reason for bringing in external lawyers to deal with litigation matters is when the firm’s internal capacity cannot keep pace. …This year’s list, as in past years, highlights litigation firms that are recognized as leaders among their peers, with stellar reputations. Congratulations to all our winners, including Hunter Litigation Chambers. The full list of winners can be found here.
While many businesses’ profits have been eroded by extraordinary economic shocks … certain resource sector companies have prospered over the past two and a half years. And some have netted record-breaking profits. B.C. lumber producers that posted losses in 2019 recorded healthy profits in 2020 and, in some cases, unprecedented profits in 2021 thanks to high demand and record-high lumber prices. …Companies that used windfall profits to reward shareholders with share buybacks caught the attention of both the Joe Biden and Justin Trudeau governments, and both implemented new taxes on share buybacks. Ottawa’s new tax is intended to encourage companies to reinvest, rather than bolstering their stock ownership and rewarding shareholders. …Canadian forestry majors have increasingly sent capital outside the country, as producing regions like B.C. become increasingly more costly. …“Forestry firms have been buying back shares, investing for growth either organically or purchasing sawmills and paying down debt,” said Paul Quinn, forest sector analyst for RBC Dominion Securities.
Vancouver, British Columbia – Western Forest Products Inc. today announced plans to temporarily reduce its lumber production output for the remainder of 2022 by approximately 20 million board feet to manage inventory levels to current market conditions. This temporary reduction in lumber production will be spread across the Company’s British Columbia manufacturing platform throughout December. Remanufacturing and shipping operations will continue uninterrupted, with lumber production at impacted sites expected to resume in January 2023. The Company continues to evaluate market conditions on an ongoing basis to maintain a balance between production and demand.
…Morningstar went so far as to name Canfor Corp. one of the 10 cheapest stocks in Canada in October. As of Tuesday, it was still trading at $23.98, or 35 percent below the investment intelligence agency’s fair value estimate of $37. Rising interest rates have been a blight on lumber producers, whose revenues are closely tied to new home construction. Canfor’s sales of $1.67 billion in the third quarter were down both from Q2 and the same quarter last year, reflecting “steep declines in global lumber pricing,” president and CEO Don Kayne said in a release. The Vancouver-based company has been curtailing operations, especially in B.C., where log costs are highest. Still, it managed to eke out net income of $87.4 million or 71 cents a share in the quarter, demonstrating why the Bentley family’s firm, today 30-percent owned by The Jim Pattison Group, has been around in one form or another for 84 years.
The Williams Lake First Nation Government Administration Building is a dynamic two-storey hybrid mass timber facility located in the central interior of British Columbia designed by Thinkspace Architecture Planning Interior Design. The building is the new administrative home for the T’exelcemc, or Williams Lake First Nation (WLFN). For its sustainable design, has recently been awarded a 2022 International Architecture Awards Honorable Mention by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies. …The design challenge was to represent past values and placemaking, while simultaneously creating a warm and modern feel that embodies contemporary WLFN values and identity. Selecting an exposed mass timber structure and choosing to use wood extensively throughout the space makes that vision come to life. The wood landscape inside and outside the building acts as an armature, providing ready-made framing for artwork and cultural objects. 
A Historic Moment for the Shuswap Band, Town of Golden and Area A, Columbia Shuswap Regional District was celebrated on November 21, 2022 at the Shuswap Band office near Invermere. These three local governments through the signing of a memorandum of understanding, reaffirmed their desire to come together and better understand one another while working towards the acquisition of the ‘Kenpesq’t Community Forest’ within the Golden Timber Supply Area. The ceremony hosted by the Shuswap Band was opened with a prayer followed by the Shuswap Band Drumming Ceremony, then moved to the the signing of the MOU. (left to right in photo) Shuswap Band Councilor Mark Thomas, Golden Mayor Ron Oszust, Area A Director Karen Cathcart, and Shuswap Band Chief Barb Cote. Everyone left the ceremony, feeling positive and very thankful for the opportunity to share with one another. [END]
North Cowichan has released a Discussion Guide designed to better inform citizens participating in round two of the public engagement on future management of the 5,000-hectare Municipal Forest Reserve. While the document, prepared by Lees & Associates, provides some useful information on potential management scenarios, it is also noteworthy for what it does not contain. …there is only one reference to clearcutting, based on the results of the first round of public consultation: “Many community members expressed concern about harvesting practices, particularly the impact of clearcutting. Some respondents feel that cut blocks negatively impact views on the mountains, recreational experiences, and the ecological health of the forest.” …There’s also no mention of a report — deep-sixed by the municipality — that estimates 141 species at risk. Habitat loss including from logging and development are largely to blame. Perhaps most incredible of all is the absence of any reference to our coastal Douglas-fir forest…
We are recruiting a new Chair for our Board and hope to have someone in place early in 2023. In the meantime, we continue to carry out our work auditing and investigating forest and range practices, and identifying opportunities for improvement to legislation and practices. …the Board embarked on a new strategic planning process this fall. We are proceeding with background preparation work and will involve the new Chair in plan development in early 2023. …So far this year we received five complaints and there are currently seven ongoing complaint investigations. …The Board has approved a new special project that will examine forestry activities in the wildland urban interface to determine if this work is helping or hindering ongoing efforts to reduce the risk of wildfire around communities. In this issue: 
Cliff Manning of Guyishton Woodlot Ltd. is being recognized by the Province of B.C. with a Minister’s Award for Innovation and Excellence in Woodlot Management for the North Area. “Woodlot licensees make an important contribution to advancing forest management practices around our province,” said Katrine Conroy, Minister of Forests. “Congratulations to the Guyishton Woodlot for its achievement as we celebrate the importance of innovation in promoting the full value of our forests.” …Manning, the operator of Guyishton Woodlot Licence, has exceeded wildfire-prevention obligations in the management of his woodlot. To mitigate wildfire risk, Manning took on several projects, including using an excavator to rake up debris for removal, working toward a modified stocking standard to reduce spacing between new trees, and increasing the number of deciduous trees in the woodlot.
Work is underway to enhance forest resilience to protect against the effects of wildfire and climate change in the Cariboo, Northeastern BC, South Coast, Thompson Okanagan and Kootenay-Boundary region. The Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC) is investing in 12 new wildfire risk reduction projects, including 
Eight eligible British Columbians will receive skills training to prepare them for employment as professional logging truck drivers in the North Okanagan and Shuswap area. The Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction’s Community and Employer Partnerships project focuses on providing occupational training and work experience for Indigenous people and youth. “This project is empowering Indigenous people and youth by giving them new job opportunities in the professional logging sector,” said Nicholas Simons, Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction. “Participants who graduate from the program will receive the skills they need to find rewarding careers as professional logging truck drivers in the North Okanagan and Shuswap area.” The Province is providing more than $350,000 to Okanagan College in Vernon to deliver its professional industry driver training program.
The laundry list of ways the B.C. government has stepped in to protect the imperilled Columbia North caribou herd reads like something from a James Bond script: helicopters, tranquilizers, high-powered rifles and high-stakes captures. …But even with these costly and elaborate recovery efforts underway, the B.C. Ministry of Forests continues to consider and approve industrial logging proposals in the Columbia North herd’s critical habitat — habitat the federal government deems necessary for the endangered herd’s recovery and survival. …The conservation group Wildsight is once again sounding the alarm about potential clear-cutting and road-building in critical habitat for the Columbia North herd. …Fernando Cocciolo, a forest manager for Pacific Woodtech Canada, said the company has deferred logging of “planned old forest blocks in our portion of Upper Seymour until [the] government’s old-growth review process is completed.” 
The BC Community Forest Association has released their fall newsletter is out. Here are some of the headlines:
Since the launch of the Fall Membership Drive, over 15% of our membership base has either joined or renewed during that time. We are truly thankful for a growing number of new members and donors who are joining our annual supporters. It is inspiring how this grassroots organization rallies together to advocate for and support the restoration of whitebark pine and other high-five pine ecosystems. Our community also contributes so much in time to raise awareness of these conservation issues by giving talks, leading hikes and sharing the latest news. Highlights of our newsletter include:
British Columbians’ feedback about the watershed security strategy and fund being developed in partnership between the Province and Indigenous Peoples is now available. In January 2022, British Columbians were asked to comment on a discussion paper about the strategy and that feedback is online in a “what we heard” report. This report is the latest step in the ongoing development of the strategy, which will help guide enhanced management and protection of B.C.’s water resources and watersheds through collaboration with First Nations, local communities and individual British Columbians. Maintaining healthy watersheds is vital to ensure that good-quality water is available to support ecosystems, economies, cultures and communities throughout British Columbia. Healthy watersheds are also important for reducing the risks and effects of floods, droughts and wildfires, and for increasing protection against such events in a changing climate. …The next steps include the release of an intentions paper, informed by the public…
(Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Territories/Vancouver, B.C.) – Today, the First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC), First Nations Climate Initiative (FNCI) and the Business Council of British Columbia (BCBC) announce a growing Coalition that supports action to urgently address climate change and achieve a just and prosperous economy for British Columbia. The Coalition is a committed and growing group of Indigenous and business leaders, Nations, companies, organizations, and communities that possess the expertise and capacity to invest and build necessary infrastructure and export B.C.’s bounty of low carbon natural resources, food, and energy products. These are products the world needs and wants to buy from our province. “On the heels of COP 27, …the Coalition is calling for increased urgency in making substantive progress on the transition to a lower carbon economy,” said Chief Sharleen Gale, Chair of the First Nations Major Projects Coalition. 
British Columbia has led the way in the uptake of zero-emission vehicles in North America, increased the number of public charging stations in the province by 50% in one year, and eliminated the largest fossil fuel subsidy in the province – just three key areas where progress has been made on climate action, demonstrated in the 2022 Climate Change Accountability Report. …The report provides progress updates on a wide range of CleanBC programs to reduce emissions, build a cleaner economy and prepare for the impacts of climate change over the 2021-22 fiscal period. It confirms that, despite some technical changes from the federal government’s national emissions inventory and modelling updates, B.C. is largely projected to meet its 2030 target. The accountability report provides new data on progress made across sectors like transportation, industry, buildings and communities, and the public service.
Welcome to the Winter edition of Forest Safety News, covering news about safety topics in forestry. This is YOUR safety newsletter. Read about Rebuilding in the Aftermath of an Atmospheric River and the harrowing story of how SkinnyChicken Enterprises Ltd. — the Prime Contractor appointed by Teal Jones to construct resource roads and bridges in the East Anderson area — experienced the storm first hand. Explore changes to the employment standards in BC that better protect young people. 