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
PRINCE GEORGE – Prime Minister Mark Carney met with President Donald Trump to discuss the connection between energy cooperation and support for Canada’s steel and aluminum industries. However, this meeting raised some eyebrows among forestry industry leaders, who wondered why softwood was left out of the conversation. Brink Forest Products owner John Brink believes that the omission of softwood tariffs in discussions with the president is yet another setback for an already struggling sector. MLA Kiel Giddens also voiced his disappointment that softwood lumber was left off the agenda, especially since forestry ranks among Canada’s leading employers. Brink notes that wood manufacturing plants are still shutting down across the province, and he believes the West must unite to send a strong message to Ottawa. 
Plans to institute an “extended maintenance shutdown” of the Interfor lumber mill in Grand Forks is not a permanent shutdown, according to the company. On Sept. 4 Interfor Corporation announced plans to reduce its lumber production by approximately 145 million board feet at all operations between September and December of 2025, representing approximately 12 per cent of its normal output. The temporary curtailments will be through a combination of reduced operating hours, prolonged holiday breaks, reconfigured shifting schedules and extended maintenance shut-downs. The curtailments are expected to impact all of Interfor’s operating regions, with both the Canadian and U.S. operations expected to reduce their production levels by approximately 12 per cent each. “The curtailments are in response to persistently weak market conditions and ongoing economic uncertainty,” read a statement from the company.
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) 
Construction plastics are a major source of plastic waste in the province, and they urgently need to be measured, tracked and upcycled, says a B.C. organization that promotes sustainable built environments. Canada’s Federal Plastics Registry is expanding in 2026 to include construction plastics, but industry efforts are already underway to gather data and pilot new ways of reducing and reusing them, said Vancouver-based 
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.
The Saskatchewan NDP’s critic for forestry is calling on the province to provide support to help forests in the north recover from this summer’s destructive wildfire season. Cumberland MLA Jordan McPhail said more than 2.9 million hectares of forest was destroyed by fire over the summer, and this is having an impact on the forestry sector. “They’re literally seeing future profits go up in smoke,” he said. The northern Saskatchewan MLA said the provincial government can play a positive role by investing in reforestation work. McPhail said provincial regulations dictate that forestry companies replant two trees for every single tree they take. These dictates do not apply in instances where trees are destroyed by fires. …The Government of Saskatchewan said the province is committed to doubling growth in the forestry sector and is prepared to support the industry to do this.
BANFF – A large swath of land will be logged at the base of Sulphur Mountain this winter to help further protect the Banff townsite from a future runaway wildfire similar to one that destroyed part of Jasper last year. As part of Parks Canada’s ongoing work to reduce the threat of wildfire to the townsite, the plan calls for 125 hectares to be logged and thinned in the Spray and Middle Springs area over the next two winters, including about 79 ha this winter. The entire project – which aims to slow the spread of an approaching wildfire and aid in suppression efforts to protect the Banff townsite – is slated to begin by the end of November and wrap up by spring 2027. …The Town of Banff has directed almost $1.5 million to be spent in 2025 wildfire mitigation work in 2025 within the four-km2 townsite.
Maple Ridge’s greenery is being recognized and awarded on a national scale. Malcolm Knapp Research Forest is one of two forests operated by the University of B.C. (UBC) that was recently acknowledged with a Canadian Institute of Forestry – Canadian Forest Management Group Achievement Award. …The award recognizes outstanding achievements by teams of managers in the field of natural resource management in Canada, and the local forest was praised for its “pivotal role” in advancing forest education, research, and management across B.C. and beyond, explained Helene Marcoux, local research forest director who was on hand for the recent awards presentation. …Through the coordination of more than 1,400 research projects and the delivery of experiential learning programs to thousands of students and professionals, the research forests have significantly shaped forest policy, sustainable management practices, and public understanding of forestry, said presenters of the national awards.
At the Kelsey Bay log sort near the town of Sayward, B.C., pulverized cedar bark [is] evidence of the millions of trees that departed from here, never to return. “We’ve seen our territories decimated,” Wei Wai Kum Chief Christopher Roberts explains. Behind him, five freshly cut, old-growth cedars line the warming pavement. These trees, Roberts says, help explain why the nation is here today. …nations are claiming sizable stakes in an industry that has long excluded them. Wei Wai Kum is one of four First Nations to purchase a $36-million stake in La-kwa sa mukw Forestry Partnership, a joint operation with logging company Western Forest Products Ltd. Their partnership came after companies agreed to leave canoe-carving trees in their communities. A sign, for Roberts, that the industry was willing to change. …Now … First Nations’ tenure opportunities have exploded as B.C.’s biggest forest companies sell off major parts of their long-held licences. 
KAMLOOPS, BC — The impacts of climate change on wildland fires, cultural burning practices and inter-government cooperation are areas of research and interest among experts gathered by the newly-formed Wildfire Resilience Consortium of Canada. The national consortium was announced in July and received $11.7 million in funding over four years from Natural Resources Canada through the Wildfire Resilient Futures Initiative. Delegates from across Canada met for the first time on Thompson Rivers University’s campus last week for a three-day conference, which aimed to facilitate discussion, networking, and to pool knowledge. Rapid-fire presentations saw recipients of NRCan’s Building and Mobilize Foundational Wildland Fire Knowledge program speak about their projects and research studies. …Many of the presenters spoke of the increasing severity of wildfires, highlighting recent record-breaking fire seasons. University of Northern B.C. professor Che Elkin said climate change is having an impact on forest ecosystems, affecting individual tree growth and mortality.
Wildfire is part of the natural lifecycle of a forest; but as Manitoba continues to battle the embers of its most devastating fire season in more than 30 years, its leaders are starting to consider a more active role in managing this critical resource to stave off the flames. In early October, as more than 70 wildland fires still smouldered across the province, Premier Wab Kinew and a handful of cabinet ministers released Manitoba’s first all-encompassing plan to slash carbon emissions in the next 25 years. Among the promised initiatives was a 
Last week, the Wildwood Ecoforest, located in Yellow Point just north of Ladysmith, got considerably closer to its original size. A successful campaign to raise $850,000 has allowed the 
NANAIMO, B.C. – Mosaic Forest Management addressed community concerns about alternative road access following an incident on October 5th that halted safety work at the Bamfield Main Road worksite. The Ministry of Transportation and Transit has assumed control of the Bamfield Main Road repairs under Section 8 of the Transportation Act, with Mosaic providing technical support. The project is targeted for completion by month’s end. The Brenner Main/Museum Main corridor … remains restricted to limited Mosaic crews and one industrial user with pre-existing access. …“We understand people are frustrated seeing what appears to be a drivable road,” said D’Arcy Henderson, Senior Vice President, Timberlands and Chief Operating Officer. “But we’ve identified dangerous trees and boulders that could fall at any time. Making the Brenner corridor safe for public use would require the same weeks of intensive work currently underway on Bamfield Main. We cannot split our resources and double the timeline.”
CASTLEGAR, BC — A BC Timber Sales manager for the Kootenay-Boundary admits they may have a hard time selling wood in the coming months as local mills cope with additional U.S. tariffs. George Edney told Castlegar city council this week that his organization, which manages and auctions 20% of the timber on Crown land, will have sales opening next week in the Boundary. …Interfor has curtailed its Grand Forks operations indefinitely due to “persistently weak market conditions.” …Edney said if the wood they offer in the Boundary doesn’t sell at the upset price, they can drop the price and try again, or they can withdraw it altogether, although typically they want the wood in the market. …Edney said they sold 581,000 cubic meters that BC Timber Sales in the Kootenays in 2024-25. Their target volume for 2025-26 is 715,000 cubic metres.
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:
Since Aug. 11, the Bamfield Main Road has been closed. …When the Mount Underwood wildfire broke out, that road had to be closed because of a blaze raging nearby. …Bamfield-area residents have to travel more than four hours to get to Port Alberni. …Another point of frustration for the people on the other side of the closure is the existence of a logging road owned by Mosaic Forest Management, a section of that road goes around the Bamfield Main Road closure. Harrison said she and a small group of other people drove the road to check it out. …”The Youbou Road is 100 times worse than that little 20-minute bypass road,” claimed resident Sherry Harrison. …The ministry said the road owned by Mosaic is private and public use is up to the discretion of the company, but added those logging roads were not built and are not maintained for public use.