BURNABY — British Columbia’s public service workers’ union is expanding its job action even as it takes part in mediated talks with the government to end its dispute. The B.C. General Employees’ Union says in a statement that its members from the BC Wildfire Service and the Ministry of Forests are joining the picket lines. The wildfire service says there are 94 active wildfires still burning in the province, with 90 per cent of them considered under control, and the union says essential services remain in place to ensure public safety. The latest escalation means that more than 25,000 of the union’s 34,000 members are taking strike action, with over 550 worksites across the province behind picket lines.
British Columbia’s forest sector is at a crossroads — facing tough challenges, but also leading the way in solutions that matter most to our province: housing, wildfire resilience, reconciliation, and sustainable economic growth. At the 2026 COFI Convention, leaders from across industry, government, and Indigenous and community partners will come together to rebuild competitiveness and chart the future of a strong, sustainable forest sector. Join us in Vancouver for the largest forest sector gathering in Western Canada. April 8 – 10, 2026 at the JW Marriot Parq Vancouver
Canada’s merchandise exports fell by three per cent in August to a seasonally adjusted $60.5 billion. This was the second lowest month of the year after April as sales to the U.S. retreated. Imports rose by 0.9 per cent to a seasonally adjusted $66.9 billion during the month. Consequently, the trade deficit grew to $6.3 billion, down from a revised $3.8 billion in July. …The decline was led by a 21.2 per cent drop in forestry products and a 12.5 per cent decline in energy products. The steep decline in forestry products in August 2025 followed the increase of anti-dumping and countervailing duty rates on Canadian softwood lumber that took effect in the U.S. in late July and early August. Section 232 tariffs on lumber in effect in October will be a further headwind. …Year-to-date exports are down slightly (-0.1 per cent) with lower forestry products and building and packaging materials exports (-6.1 per cent)
At the recent 2025 Vancouver Regional Construction Association (VRCA) 
VANCOUVER, BC – NorthX Climate Tech (NorthX), a BC-based innovation catalyst backing the builders of Canadian climate hard tech, today launched a funding opportunity for Canadian wildfire technologies. Through the 2025 Wildfire Tech Call for Innovation, NorthX will provide up to $3 million in non-dilutive investments to Canadian companies developing advanced technologies that prevent mega wildfires, enhance firefighting response, and support faster recovery. “With each passing year, wildfires are posing an ever-growing threat to communities across Canada,” said Sarah Goodman, President & CEO of NorthX. “In response, NorthX led the way with Canada’s first wildfire innovation call in 2024. This new round builds on that success, backing Canadian innovators developing the tools to fight fires, cut emissions, and protect lives.” …Founded in 2021 with an initial investment from the Government of Canada, the BC Government, and Shell Canada, NorthX Climate Tech (NorthX) is a catalyst for climate action…
CAMPBELL RIVER – The Forest Practices Board will conduct an audit of Aat’uu Forestry Limited Partnership’s Forest Licence A19236 in the Campbell River Natural Resource District of the North Island Timber Supply Area, starting Monday, Oct. 20, 2025. The audit will examine whether forestry activities carried out between Oct. 1, 2023, and Oct. 24, 2025, comply with the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act. …Forest Licence A19236 is held by Aat’uu Forestry Limited Partnership, a company owned by the Ehattesaht First Nation, and is managed by Strategic Natural Resource Group from its Campbell River office. The licence covers an operating area of about 60,000 hectares, of which Aat’uu currently manages an allowable annual cut of approximately 50,000 cubic metres. The audit area is on the west coast of Vancouver Island, about 70 kilometres south of Port McNeill, near the community of Zeballos, within Ehattesaht territory and neighbouring territories of the Nuchatlaht and Ka:’yu:’k’t’h’/Che:k:tles7et’h’ Nations.
Two new reports on the July 2024 devastating wildfire in Jasper, Alta., confirm the blaze was caused by lightning and accelerated by “tornado-force fire-generated” winds and dry conditions. The fire — three separate blazes that merged into one — destroyed a third of the community’s structures. It forced 25,000 residents and displaced an estimated 2,000 people. The reports, commissioned by Parks Canada, say efforts to reduce fuel for wildfires, including prescribed burns, helped mitigate the blaze. But one of the reports, which looks at how the fire formed and developed, says more burns and other attempts to reduce fuel would have been beneficial, since the fire began in an area south of town that had not burned or been treated in over a century. …The reports come after the town published its own fire report earlier this year, leading to controversy with the province as it said Premier Danielle Smith’s government caused command challenges in the fire response.
The Northwest Territories could see more difficult wildfire seasons ahead – all the way into the next century, according to recent research. One 
The Forest Practices Board, an independent watchdog, is set to conduct an audit on a forestry operation near Port McNeill. The Aat’uu Forestry Limited Partnership’s Forest Licence A19236 in the Campbell River Natural Resource District of the North Island Timber Supply Area is the subject of the audit, starting on Oct. 20. “The audit will examine whether forestry activities carried out between Oct. 1, 2023, and Oct. 24, 2025, comply with the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act,” reads a press release from the Forest Practices Board. “Activities subject to audit include timber harvesting; road and bridge construction, maintenance, and deactivation; silviculture; wildfire protection; and related operational planning.” The Aat’uu Forestery Limited Partnership is a company owned by the Ehattesaht First Nation. It is managed by Strategic Natural Resource Group from an office in Campbell River.
The BC Forest History Association is pleased to welcome Dr. Barry Cooke, Research Scientist with the Canadian Forest Service, as our second speaker of 2025. Dr. Cooke is one of Canada’s leading experts on modeling insect outbreak processes and patterns, with more than 30 years of experience studying spruce budworm population dynamics and forest insect ecology. He has authored over 90 scientific publications, advancing our understanding of budworms, beetles, and other major forest pests through spatial simulation modeling. Join us for this free online presentation, “A History of Debate on Budworms: A BC Perspective.” Tuesday, October 21st 2025 – 7:00 to 8:00 PST 
Canada’s vast forests are the envy of much of the world, but they’ve seen brighter days. Our changing climate has beckoned wilder wildfires, disease and drought. And after decades of cutting big and fast to maximize profits, the country’s logging industry is in freefall. But there’s opportunity in crisis — or that’s the bet some First Nations in British Columbia are making. …“Now we’re dealing with a lot of scrub in that corner that we didn’t get to before,” Garry Merkel, a professional forester and a member of the Tahltan Nation. …In Manitoba, the forestry industry watched this summer as profits went up in smoke. Devastating fires burned more forest in logging areas than any year in recorded wildfire history, according to an analysis by Manitoba reporter Julia-Simone Rutgers. And forestry companies are “scared to death,” said.
BC’s forest communities are on life support. Families are losing jobs, mills are shuttering, and entire towns are being hollowed out. And now, with another punishing softwood lumber tariff slapped on by the U.S., the bleeding has gone from slow to catastrophic. Premier David Eby calls it an “existential crisis” and wants the prime minister to declare a national emergency. Here’s a better idea: How about the premier stops being the emergency? For eight years, the B.C. NDP has dismantled the foundation of our forest industry. They have made it harder to cut, harder to haul, harder to process, and harder to survive. Now Eby is running to Ottawa and blaming the Americans while ignoring the damage his government has already done. Let’s be clear. The forest industry is not collapsing because of one more tariff. It is collapsing because this government has gutted it from the inside. 
Local residents are invited to share their input on the development of the West Central Vancouver Island (WCVI) Forest Landscape Plan (FLP), which will guide long-term forest management in the area. …People can share their thoughts through a short survey, open from Wednesday, Oct. 15 until Dec. 15, 2025, or attend an open house in a nearby community. Four in-person open-house engagement sessions are planned so people can learn more about forest landscape planning and comment on the development of the plan in Zeballos, Gold River, Tahsis and Campbell River. FLPs are co-developed with First Nations, with input from communities, subject-matter experts and forest licensees. The WCVI FLP is being developed with the Mowachaht/Muchatlaht First Nation, Ka:yu:’k’t’h’/Che:k’tles7et’h’ First Nations and Ehattesaht Chinehkint First Nation.
Environmental advocates and industry officials are divided over whether new logging plans in the Upper Highwood River watershed will provide sufficient protection for the threatened Bull Trout population. West Fraser Cochrane recently obtained Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) authorization under the Fisheries Act and sections 73 and 74 of the Species at Risk Act (SARA) to install 14 temporary crossings for timber harvesting. The company says it is balancing responsible resource use with habitat conservation. “We understand how important it is to protect bull trout and Westslope cutthroat trout habitat in the Highwood– and share that priority,” said West Fraser Cochrane. “…we will monitor conditions before and after harvest to help inform responsible stewardship.” …Both environmental advocates and West Fraser agree on one point: safeguarding the Bull Trout and its habitat is a critical challenge. The question is whether the mitigation steps currently underway will prove sufficient to ensure the species’ long-term survival.
There’s been a cool edge to the air the last week or so. You may have noticed something else in the air, too — smoke. Unfortunately for those with health conditions like respiratory problems and heart disease, and for those who don’t want to develop them, two jurisdictions in the Cowichan Valley still allow at least some backyard burning, and wood burning appliances are still common everywhere in the Cowichan Valley Regional District. The Town of Ladysmith, City of Duncan and Town of Lake Cowichan have completely banned backyard burning. The Municipality of North Cowichan has cut back on what it allows, but there are still large swaths of territory within its boundaries where lighting up a burn pile is still allowed. … Cowichan’s transfer stations accept yard waste free of charge, so people can take their debris there instead of lighting it up. So consider your alternatives, and the people around you before you burn. Smoke travels.
Does your workplace safety program include steps to reduce the risks your drivers face when driving on the job in winter? It needs to. Your safety responsibilities don’t change with the seasons. But you do need to address the additional driving hazards created by winter road and weather conditions. Some of the biggest hazards for log haulers include: