The TLA welcomes delegates back to the 80th Annual Convention + Trade Show. This year’s event offers TLA members and non-members an all-inclusive registration pass, granting access to all sessions and events throughout the convention. Tickets to Suppliers Night and Lunch on the Trade Show Floor can be purchased on an individual basis. Featuring sessions moderated by Vaughn Palmer, the program on day 1 includes an investment update from Russ Taylor and Don Wright, a look forward with Jeff Bromley, Shannon Janzen and Ken Kalesnikoff, a chat with mainstream media Rob Shaw and Richard Zussman and finally, wildfire strategies with John Davies, Jason Fisher, David Greer and Jamie Stephen. Check out the convention website for more on these speakers and the lineup for day two.
Business groups say the work stoppage at BC ports is the latest in a run of supply chain disruptions affecting Canadian companies and the country’s economy. Employers at most of the province’s ports locked out their workers November 4 in a dispute involving roughly 700 unionized foremen. The workers represented by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 have been without a contract since March 2023. “It’s been absolutely brutal. I mean, the timing of this is just really challenging,” said Pascal Chan, senior director of transportation, infrastructure and construction at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. …Greater Vancouver Board of Trade president Bridgitte Anderson said the shutdown will disrupt $800 million in goods every day, warning it could put upward pressure on inflation. …Despite the importance of Canada’s ports, Fraser Johnson, a professor at the Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario said the rail disruption posed a more imminent threat.
A second-term David Eby BC NDP government is “marginally better” than the alternative that appeared to be in the cards on election night, business leaders said last week. …In an open letter to the new government, seven business associations… urged the new government to take B.C.’s flagging economic health seriously, and get its fiscal house in order. …At last week’s Global Wood Summit, Rob Schuetz, president of Industrial Forestry Services, said 16 sawmills, three pulp mills and four paper mills have been shut down in B.C. since 2020. He gave a laundry list of NDP government policies that have reduced access to timber and increased costs and bureaucracy. …Don McGregor, VP for Western Forest Products, summed up a sentiment that may be shared by the wider resource business community. “If it sticks, the NDP have a majority and they don’t need the Green Party,” he said. “I would take that as a positive.”
On October 30, at the Sutton Place Hotel in Vancouver, BC, four lumberman — Mitchell Preger, Gregg Riley, Charles Delatorre and Ashley Boeckholt — talked about the complexities of lumber supply and demand. As the lunch keynote for the final day of the Global Wood Summit, “The Lumber Word” podcast team engaged with conference delegates, taking questions via Pigeon Hole while sharing their real-time trading experience in lumber and futures. Hosted by seasoned industry trading veterans this podcast delves deep into the complexities of the lumber supply and demand balance in the physical lumber market. “The Lumber Word” isn’t just for professionals in the industry; it’s for homebuilders and multi-family builders seeking guidance when making budgeting and project purchase decisions. Investors and venture capitalists with an eye on the lumber industry also benefit from the podcast’s grassroots conversations. Listen to the Global Wood Summit edition of the podcast on Spotify and Apple.
B.C.’s economy is unlikely to be hit too badly by the increasingly sour relationship Canada has with the Indian government. The deterioration of relations is, however, an emotional gut-punch for many in the province’s Indo-Canadian community. Some B.C. business owners rely on trade with India, with their companies exporting products such as lumber and other products to resell. …B.C.-origin exports to India totalled $1.406 billion in 2023, down 10.6% from the year before. The Canadian and Indian governments for more than a decade had been negotiating a free-trade agreement to help both economies. …“We were getting nowhere on the free-trade agreement,” Sundher Group CEO Tom Sundher said. …Sundher’s Surrey-based company sells softwood lumber to Indian customers for furniture and frames for windows and doors and also acts as an agent in helping Weyerhaeuser. None of Sundher’s clients have changed their orders because of diplomatic tensions, he stressed.
VANCOUVER – Western Forest Products reported a net loss of $19.6 million in the third quarter of 2024, as compared to a net loss of $17.4 million in the third quarter of 2023, and a net loss of $5.7 million in the second quarter of 2024. Other highlights include: Lumber production of 127 million board feet (versus 126 million board feet in Q3 2023); Lumber shipments of 138 million board feet (versus 130 million board feet in Q3 2023); Average lumber selling price of $1,378 per mfbm (versus $1,388 per mfbm in Q3 2023), primarily due to a slightly weaker sales mix of specialty lumber products; and Average BC log sales price of $113 per m3 (versus $118 per m3 in Q3 2023). …As previously announced, we plan to reduce lumber production in our BC sawmills by approximately 30 million board feet in Q4 2024, following reductions of approximately 30 million board feet in Q3 2024.
The BC Building Code (BCBC) was changed recently to allow single egress stair (SES) designs in low- and mid-rise buildings. The B.C. government says it means “families and people will soon have more multi-bedroom apartment options available to them.” But the province’s firefighters are worried about safety and say the move needs to be paused. …The province says in the interest of safety, new single-exit buildings will require automatic sprinklers (including on balconies), smoke detectors and wider stairwells. The changes put a limit on the travel distance to the exit. They also limit the occupancy load to 24 people per floor. …The Fire Chiefs Association of BC (FCABC) second vice-president Jason Cairney says there is no evidence the BCBC changes are safe. …“The proposed changes should be paused or reversed and instead put through the rigorous National Building Code process, which is based on research, evidence and data.”
The City of Nelson is piloting a new remote-controlled technology to reduce wildfire fuels west of Gyro Park. The area, which has been identified as a high-risk location for fuel mitigation, has a steep slope and is challenging to access. The pilot project is necessary because it would be unfeasible and inefficient to use larger conventional chipping equipment on the complex terrain at Gyro Park. Conventional pile-and-burn techniques were also deemed inappropriate in the majority of the area due to the potential for smoke generation in close proximity to Kootenay Lake Hospital. The small-scale forestry machine the city is piloting is capable of accessing steep terrain, chipping woody materials in place and transporting the chips out of the treatment area for disposal off site.
The Okanagan is increasingly threatened by wildfires due to rising temperatures and drier conditions caused by climate change. To address this growing crisis, the B.C. government has outlined a climate action strategy with several measures that, if tailored to the Okanagan, could effectively mitigate wildfire risks and enhance regional resilience. …The government’s pledge to conserve 30% of B.C.’s lands by 2030 can support wildfire management in regions like the Okanagan, which hosts diverse ecosystems that can serve as natural firebreaks. …Sustainable forestry practices along transportation routes and near communities could help create additional fire barriers. Expanded firefighting resources, such as water reservoirs and aerial capabilities, would improve the region’s response capacity. Protecting watersheds and old-growth forests in the Okanagan is essential, as these ecosystems can act as natural barriers that slow wildfire spread. …Facing heightened wildfire threats due to climate change, the Okanagan has an opportunity to lead with a coordinated, community-driven approach to resilience.
