Region Archives: Canada West

Special Feature

International Pulp Week Kicks Off in Vancouver BC

Tree Frog Forestry News
June 1, 2025
Category: Special Feature
Region: Canada, Canada West

International Pulp Week kicked off today at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Vancouver, BC. This annual three-day conference organized by the Pulp and Paper Products Council brings together the world’s leading producers of market pulp, suppliers, financial analysts, logistic companies, and their customers for a first-class informational and networking opportunity. The goal of the event is to provide knowledge, data, and in-depth analysis on the latest market developments and trends in the market pulp industry worldwide as well as to serve the market pulp industry by allowing for a multitude of business meetings and networking opportunities that would otherwise require travel to several continents. Stay tuned all week for Tree Frog News coverage of the event. Here are a few of the attendees gathered at the opening reception.

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Seeing the Forest for the Trees

By David Adshead, BCFSC Falling Safety Advisor
BC Forest Safety Council
May 30, 2025
Category: Special Feature
Region: Canada West

British Columbia is world renowned for its incredible wilderness landscape, mountains, rivers, lakes and forests. It’s a great place to live, work and play. Our forests are regionally diverse – from coastal and interior rainforests, dry belt pine and fir forest and higher elevation spruce and balsam, old growth and new growth – they all have one thing in common … trees! Whether working or playing, it is essential to be aware of a forest’s potential hazards and what can put you at risk, specifically as it relates to the trees. …“If a tree falls in the forest, does anyone hear?” … only if someone is near enough to hear. The same applies to the danger it may pose. If no one is near it, then even if it falls, it isn’t a danger to anyone. Spend enough time in a forest and you will witness a tree fall over on its own.

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Stay Informed and Stay Safe

Manufacturing Advisory Group
May 30, 2025
Category: Special Feature
Region: Canada West

Building a strong safety culture begins with consistent, meaningful conversations. The BC Forest Safety Council (BCFSC) and the Manufacturing Advisory group have partnered to provide weekly Manufacturing Safety Crew Talks and Safety Alerts with timely, relevant safety topics to kick start your safety conversations. These weekly resources are simple yet powerful tools to help keep safety conversations alive and evolving in your workplace. BCFSC offers a library of hundreds of Crew Talks each designed to support short, focused safety discussions in five minutes or less. They support effective supervisor-worker engagement, helping spark meaningful conversations about current safety procedures and concerns.

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Extreme Heat and Worker Safety

Woodlots BC
May 30, 2025
Category: Special Feature
Region: Canada West

In recent years we have seen an increase in the unpredictable nature of summer weather conditions. Recently BC broke numerous heat records due to a heat dome which led to an unprecedented number of heat related illnesses and fatalities. People who work outdoors can often be at the highest risk for heat-related illnesses and injuries during hot summer conditions. High temperatures and sunshine can be a wonderful thing when enjoying time at the lake or on the beach but can cause serious health issues. The wide variety of job roles and often rigorous physical activity in forestry can put workers at risk for heat-related illness if not managed properly.

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Psychological Health and Safety in Forestry

By Alexandra Skinner, WorkSafeBC
The Truck LoggerBC Magazine
May 29, 2025
Category: Special Feature
Region: Canada West

Working in forestry can be challenging, not just physically, but psychologically as well. That’s why WorkSafeBC is advising forestry employers and workers about the importance of paying attention to psychological health and safety. Managing psychological health and safety in the workplace is as important as managing physical health and safety. A psychologically healthy and safe workplace prevents harm to workers’ mental health and promotes mental well-being. While many factors outside the workplace can affect mental health, it is an employer’s responsibility to address the factors that are within the control, responsibility, or influence of the workplace. Psychological health and safety involves how people interact with each other daily, how working conditions and management practices are structured, and how decisions are made and communicated. In the forestry sector, workers face unique psychological challenges, including financial stress from an unstable market, job instability, social isolation, and the impact of climate change and severe weather conditions.

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BC Forest Safety Council Training: Train Smart, Be Safe

BC Forest Safety Council
May 29, 2025
Category: Special Feature
Region: Canada West

As work activity increases across British Columbia, ensuring your team is properly trained is more important than ever. Whether you’re onboarding new employees or supporting a seasoned crew, the BC Forest Safety Council (BCFSC) offers a wide range of training resources to help workers understand how to perform their jobs safely and confidently.

Explore Our Training Options

  1. Online Learning Centre: Over 40 free, self-paced courses are designed for workers and companies in BC’s harvesting and wood fibre manufacturing sectors. New courses are added regularly—check the Course Catalogue for the latest offerings.
  1. In-Person Training: Join our instructor-led sessions this Fall and Winter 2025. These courses offer subject matter expert instruction, peer-to-peer interaction and printed materials.
  1. Worker Assessments: Ensure your team is job-ready with our industry-developed assessment tools. Supervisors can use these to verify workers have the knowledge, skills and attributes to do their job safely and productively.
  2. Webinars

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Emergency Preparedness and Response

BC Forest Safety Council
May 28, 2025
Category: Special Feature
Region: Canada West

Emergencies can happen anytime, anywhere—but in BC’s forestry industry, where remote locations and difficult terrain are becoming more commonplace, being prepared isn’t optional. It’s essential. Having a well-thought-out and thoroughly tested Emergency Response Plan (ERP) can make all the difference… WorkSafeBC mandates that employers should be prepared for an emergency as part of their regulatory and legal compliance. Companies are required to create site-specific ERPs related to their operations and need to consider and prepare for various emergency situations. They are also required to conduct regular emergency and first aid drills as part of their annual drill requirements to ensure workers understand their roles and responsibilities. As forestry operations in BC move into more remote and rugged areas, getting help to an injured worker quickly can be a serious challenge. …To help companies build stronger ERPs—especially when it comes to worker extraction—the BC Forest Safety Council and the Trucking and Harvesting Advisory Group created a video series.

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Business & Politics

B.C. port foremen’s union and employers ratify 4-year deal

By Chuck Chiang
The Canadian Press in CBC News
June 4, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada West

Maritime employers in British Columbia and the union representing port foremen say they have ratified a new four-year collective agreement, after a dispute that saw workers locked out of container terminals last year. The British Columbia Maritime Employers Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Ship and Dock Foremen Local 514 said in a joint statement that the new collective agreement extends from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2027. …It is the second major labour deal for Canada’s West Coast ports that will be in place until March 2027, after an earlier agreement with thousands of port workers that was signed in August 2023 following a strike. The details of the new deal with supervisors have not been released, and neither the employers association nor the union representing roughly 700 supervisors immediately responded to requests for comment. They had been without a deal since the last accord expired in March 2023.

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Province, First Nations take next step to grow economy through partnerships, planning, conservation in northwestern B.C.

By Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship
Government of British Columbia
June 3, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada West

In partnership with the Province, the Tahltan, Taku River Tlingit, Kaska Dena, Gitanyow and Nisga’a Nations are kicking off land-use planning in the northwestern corner of B.C., engaging with industry, community and other partners to implement world-leading land-use plans that will provide greater certainty for investors, First Nations and communities alike. Last week, Premier David Eby outlined government’s vision for building prosperity centred on the pillars of economic growth, reconciliation and conservation in northwestern B.C. The vision includes partnering with First Nations to achieve large-scale conservation and strengthen reconciliation envisioned by the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA). …To that end, over the next year, the Province, Tahltan, Taku River Tlingit, Kaska Dena, Gitanyow and Nisga’a Nations will undertake expedited, inclusive land-use planning and essential stakeholder and public engagement. 

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KPMG buys assets of insolvent Victoria tech firm Llamazoo for $1.45M

By Michael John Lo
Sunshine Coast Reporter
June 3, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada West

KPMG in Canada has acquired the assets and remaining workers of a Victoria tech firm that went bankrupt and laid off most of its staff last year following a downturn in the tech market. B.C. Supreme Court approved the accounting firm’s $1.45-million purchase of LlamaZOO on May 20. Founded by Charles Lavigne and Kevin Oke in 2014, LlamaZOO provided real-time 3D visualizations for the forestry, mining, and oil and gas industry to map out their projects, cutting down on the amount of travel needed to maintain remote work sites. One of their flagship products, Timberops, was used to plan forest cut blocks and road-survey operations through topographic visualizations. The software, based on a century’s worth of logging operation data, allows users to see what a mountain might look like if the trees on its slopes were logged or kept growing.

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Local MLAs, Teegee weigh in on premier’s trade mission

By Colin Slark
Prince George Citizen
June 3, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada West

As Premier David Eby and a British Columbia delegation tours Japan, South Korea and Malaysia, Prince George’s opposition MLAs say the trip is “damage control” for his government’s previous policies as well as the reception to the recently passed bills 14 and 15. Eby and a delegation left for a 10-day trip to Japan, South Korea and Malaysia on Saturday, May 31. One notable absence from the trip is British Columbia Assembly of First Nations Regional Chief Terry Teegee, who said in a Friday, May 30 media release that he could not participate in a mission launched by a government that passed legislation trampling First Nations’ rights. Reached by phone on Monday, June 2, Prince George-North Cariboo, Prince George-Valemount and Prince George-Mackenzie Conservative MLAs Sheldon Clare, Rosalyn Bird and Kiel Giddens said the NDP are trying to make up for having closed British Columbia’s independent trade offices in Asia over the last eight years.

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Finance & Economics

Multi-family starts boost Canada, U.S. new home starts

By Joel Schlesinger
The Calgary Herald
May 29, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, Canada West

New homes development got a shot in the arm this spring with April starts rising in Canada and the United States. Recent reports from TD Economics examined new home data in both markets, finding month-over-month rises in starts for April. In Canada, starts jumped 30 per cent month over month, marking the largest rise since June 2023. Driving growth was the multi-family family segment that saw starts rise 34 per cent, whereas single-family detached home starts gained six per cent from March. …TD noted the “bounce-back” in activity was not unsurprising given levels were so low to start the year. What’s more, housing starts could “be softening,” amid higher construction costs and lower immigration, it cautioned. In the U.S., activity was less robust by percentage growth. Starts there increased less than two per cent month over month.

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Weyerhaeuser, Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance Partner for Fourth Year to Provide Mental Health Resources for Wildland Firefighters

Yahoo Finance
May 28, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada West, US West

Weyerhaeuser Company and Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance (FBHA) today announced an extension of their Fighting Fires Together campaign, a partnership that provides specialized mental health support for wildland firefighters and their families across the Pacific Northwest. Fighting Fires Together, now in its fourth year, addresses the often-overlooked mental health impacts of wildland firefighting in isolated, hazardous and highly stressful conditions. Through a free online resource hub, first responders can find specially designed content, including videos about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, anxiety and suicide prevention, along with mental health tips, educational articles and contacts for occupationally aware support groups and counselors in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. Weyerhaeuser’s support for wildland firefighting efforts in the Pacific Northwest began in the aftermath of the Yacolt Burn in 1902, when the company began advocating for Washington’s first forest fire legislation and the funding of community fire prevention education and patrols. 

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

Vancouver Island mass timber home shows potential of green building tech

By Marc Kitteringham
Oak Bay News
June 3, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

Tom Grimmer

Just over a month ago, the spot where Tom Grimmer is standing was little more than an empty lot. Construction crews had cleared the land, built the foundation and laid the groundwork for what was to come, but for the most part, it was empty; he explained this as he went up the stairs onto the second floor. …The house, since there is indeed most of a house there now, was dropped off in six containers in late April and has been subsequently assembled into what it is now. “The first panels landed a month ago,” he said. “It’ll be done pretty soon.” …This, according to Grimmer, is the only mass timber passive house on Vancouver Island. Grimmer isn’t new to passive homes. …While there are mass timber facilities in Canada and B.C., they are more geared towards institutional and commercial buildings.

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Forestry

Edmonton braces for pest that has decimated ash tree populations to east, west

By Jackie Carmichael
Edmonton Journal
June 2, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Traps are expected to go up around Edmonton this week to capture the emerald ash borer. The shining and dangerous pest is poised to wreak havoc on Edmonton’s $400-million population of ash trees, and the city has two staffers working full time to detect any advance here as the invasive bug closes in from the west or east into Alberta. “We have the largest percentage of our urban forest canopy in green ash of almost any city in North America,” said Michael Jenkins, senior scientist with the City of Edmonton. Ranging from 8.5 mm to 14 mm long and 3.1 mm to 3.4 mm wide, the beetle is difficult to spot. “A single piece of firewood can destroy millions of trees,” warns a poster depicting a stack of ash firewood as dynamite sticks with an emerald ash borer at the tip of the fuse.

Related content:

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Launching Your Community Fireguard Project

Silvacom Ltd.
June 3, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Is your community prepared for the rising risk of wildfires? Join wildfire mitigation experts from Silvacom for an insightful webinar on launching effective Community Fireguard projects. This session is designed to equip you with the knowledge to protect people, infrastructure, and vital ecosystems. Learn how Fireguards serve as a critical front-line defense and understand the comprehensive process from initial concept to successful construction. Municipal Leaders, First Nations Representatives, Planners and Land Managers, and people involved in community wildfire preparedness and mitigation in Alberta are encouraged to attend. Highlights: 

  • Understanding fireguards and their effectiveness in reducing wildfire spread. 
  • Comprehensive guidance on planning, permitting, and constructing a fireguard. 
  • Strategies for addressing regulatory processes and fostering community engagement. 
  • Real-world case studies from municipalities and First Nations across Alberta. 
  • How Silvacom can assist your organization at every stage – from planning to implementation. 
  • Engage directly with environmental professionals and get your questions answered. 

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The fight for B.C.’s old growth comes to Victoria’s silver screens

By Evan Lindsay
Victoria News
June 2, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

From the front lines of Fairy Creek to the silver screen comes a new documentary capturing the fight for B.C.’s old-growth. Fairy Creek is a new documentary from Jen Muranetz, an award-winning documentary filmmaker and visual storyteller based out of Vancouver, B.C. The film tells the story of the Fairy Creek blockade protests, which made headlines nationwide as one of the largest acts of civil disobedience in Canadian History. “With unique insider access and use of in-the-trenches cinema vérité, Fairy Creek offers an intimate, fly-on-the-wall view of collective resistance,” said Nicole Trask, of Pender PR.  “Viewers are brought into the throes of this complex standoff, where blockaders form barriers with their bodies and tree-sitters’ forest canopies are assailed by police officers deployed from helicopters.” Murantez tells the story from the frontlines, presenting an “intimate, fly-on-the-wall” view of the resistance – from the retaliation of forestry workers, to rising tensions and arrests.

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Quesnel hosts Future of Forestry Think Tank

Quesnel Cariboo Observer
May 30, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

After two devastating wildfire seasons in a row, 2017 and 2018, the Quesnel Future of Forestry Thank Tank was created as a community-led opportunity to discuss challenges and opportunities in the area’s forest landscape, manufacturing sector and workforce. The think tank’s goal is to rethink the regional forest sector and revitalize the region’s ecosystems and economy linked to forests. The 2025 theme was “accelerating change” and saw over 50 delegates from the city, First Nations, academia, the industry and more  to discuss forestry. …The Quesnel Future of Forestry Think Tank investigates: How to restore regional forest ecosystem to a state of resiliency and adaptability that will stop large scale pest infestations and wildfires from recurring? How to reinvent manufacturing facilities in the region be to address the decline in sawlog availability and non-sawlog commercial forest fibre? Training to ensure the local workforce is employed in good paying jobs in the City and in the surrounding forests?

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BC community forest group gathers in Nanaimo

CHLY 101.7FM
May 30, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Jennifer Gunter

The British Columbia Community Forest Association gathered in Nanaimo for a three day conference this week, Midcoast Morning explores the state of community forests in the province with the group’s executive director, Jennifer Gunter. Fast forward to the 13:20 minute mark for the interview with Jennifer.

In related coverage, in the Sunshine Coast Reporter: Sunshine Coast Community Forest wins provincial excellence award

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‘No end in sight’ for systematic killing of BC wolves to save caribou

By Rochelle Baker
The National Observer
June 2, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The BC government spent a decade killing wolves to protect caribou. Now, critics warn that despite questions about its effectiveness, ethics and impact on the rest of the environment, the government is moving to make the wolf cull a permanent part of its strategy. Launched as a short-term emergency measure in 2015, the decade-long wolf cull is a morally outrageous tactic to divert public attention from the root cause of caribou declines — the province’s failure to significantly address habitat destruction — said Pacific Wild co-founder Ian McAllister. …The future for caribou and wolves is looking even more dire given the federal and provincial plans to fast-track permitting and reduce environmental assessments for development, McAllister said. …The province is looking to make its “short-term emergency” measure of shooting wolves to protect caribou a permanent practice in lieu of protecting habitat, critics warn.

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Small but mighty Sunshine Coast community forest stepping up in local economy

By the Ministry of Forests
Government of British Columbia
May 30, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

The Sunshine Coast Community Forest is being recognized for its excellence in forestry and its effect on the community, receiving the 2025 Robin Hood Memorial Award for Excellence in Community Forestry on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. “When you hear about local leaders and the incredible benefits they bring to their community through forestry, you can just tell this is what the future of forestry looks like,” said Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests. “The Sunshine Coast Community Forest is this future and is leading with a community-first approach that weaves together local economic resiliency with healthy forests to support those who call the Sunshine Coast home.” …“It means a lot to us to be recognized among the many exceptional community forests in B.C.,” said Sara Zieleman, executive director, Sunshine Coast Community Forest. …The Robin Hood Memorial Award for Excellence in Community Forestry was established in 2016 to honour the life and legacy of the late Robin Hood. 

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Helicopter logging proposed for Powell Lake

By Paul Galinski
The Powell River Peak
May 29, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

qathet Regional District’s planning committee is recommending the regional board express no objection to a Western Forest Products helicopter logging operation on Powell Lake. At the May 27 planning committee meeting, directors considered a recommendation to advise the provincial ministry of water, land and resource stewardship that the regional district has no objection to the crown land application for a licence of occupation for the purpose of industrial log handling and storage on the northern arm of the lake. Electoral Area A director and committee chair Jason Lennox said there was a detailed staff report on the application. “I’m in support of the recommendation,” said Lennox. “If you read the report, it’s a three-year activity for harvesting into the lake. You will see the different due diligence pieces in there around mitigation measures to the environment; the Powell Region Cabin Owners Association was consulted as well.

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Forest Enhancement Society of BC project updates

Forest Enhancement Society of BC
May 30, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

British Columbia’s forests are home to a diverse range of wildlife species, which play a significant role in the ecology of a living forest. At the Forest Enhancement Society of BC, we recognize that responsible forest management plays a crucial role in enhancing wildlife habitat and supporting biodiversity. Because of this, one of our key purposes as an organization is to help improve wildlife habitat within B.C.’s forests. Collaborating with the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation we have supported over 100 wildlife habitat enhancement projects restoring forest health and evaluating the habitat and wildlife response to fire… In this newsletter: Tick Safety from the BC Forest Safety Council; An interview with Thomas Sullivan, Applied Mammal Research Institute; 64 newly funded forest enhancement projects; Lower Nicola Indian Band wildfire risk reduction; and a UBC Faculty of Forestry survey explores interest in international tours.

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UBC Faculty of Forestry explores interest in international tour opportunities

By the Faculty of Forestry
University of British Columbia
May 30, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

In September 2023, UBC Faculty of Forestry led a tour of 31 BC foresters, technologists, and allied professionals on a study tour in Finland with the purpose of increasing our understanding of Finland forestry. We have since received a number of inquiries about upcoming forestry study tours to Finland. We are certainly capable of organizing a new tour if there is enough interest among the BC forestry professionals. With this survey, we are exploring the initial interest for a new tour, the best timing for the tour and expectations for learning objectives. Would you be interested in possibly attending the study tour? Please complete our survey and share your thoughts and expectations. 

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What happens during a Red Flag Warning? Alberta Wildfire explains

By Steven Sandor
The Edmonton Journal
May 29, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The Red Flag Warning has been sounded by Alberta Wildfire. But what does it mean? It means conditions are ripe for the ignition and fast-moving spread of wildfires. The forest-fire experts use a sliding scale, first adopted by the U.S. National Weather Service, to determine how dry the conditions are in the forest areas, and how the wind could help fan the flames if that dry tinder is ignited. Basically, a score is calculated based on wind speed, heat and the lack of humidity. A sample document provided by Alberta Wildfire shows a hypothetical watch being created when the maximum daily temperatures is expected to hit 33 Celsius, the humidity is at 25 per cent or lower, and wind speeds are 10 km/h. Basically, when it is punishingly hot and dry, it doesn’t take a lot of wind to trigger an alert. “And, just like weather alerts, “watch” is one level below “warning.”

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City receives funding through Forest Enhancement Society

By Paul Rodgers
The Kimberley Bulletin
May 29, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Kimberley Fire Chief Will Booth was at the most recent meeting of City Council, discussing the 2025 Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan, but also advising Council that grant funding has been awarded through the Forest Enhancement Society of British Columbia (FESBC). …These funds will support a major project to help build a larger buffer against wildfires along Kimberley’s western flank. It will involve thinning and slash piling and burning in six identified units within the Horse Barn Valley, or just south of it. The Fire Department has identified these units to help support the future development of a 140-hectare unit prescribed burn. The three main goals of the project are to reduce active crown fire potential, reduce surface fire intensity and long-range spotting and increase wildfire resilience. 

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Quw’utsun Nation and Municipality of North Cowichan moving forward on co-management for Municipal Forest Reserve

By Scott Penfold
My Cowichan Valley Now
May 28, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The Quw’utsun Nation and the Municipality of North Cowichan are moving forward on a co-management framework for the Municipal Forest Reserve. The initiative is being developed with the help of Your Wayfinders Management Solutions, a project management consulting firm. The goal is to create a partnership in key areas like shared decision-making, economic opportunities, Indigenous forest practices, recreation, and stewardship of culturally sensitive areas. A final draft plan is expected by early 2026. In the meantime, North Cowichan has paused new decisions on the forest reserve, but essential activities like FireSmart work and invasive species control will continue. North Cowichan had a technical review and public engagement done for the forest reserve between 2020 and 2023, and a preferred forest management scenario favouring ecological and sustainable values was presented to council.

Related content in the Lake Cowichan Gazette, letter by Larry Pynn: Glen Ridgway: the ex-politician who can’t see the forest for the clearcuts

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

BC climate action has reduced emissions, with economic success

By Mark Zacharias (SFU) & Rachel Doran (Clean Energy Canada)
Business in Vancouver
June 1, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West

Seventeen years on and the evidence is clear: B.C. has moved the needle on emissions. While the province’s population has grown 25% over this period, carbon emissions between 2008 and 2023 are down almost 5% — or nearly 7% if you measure from 2018, when CleanBC was announced. …BC’s industrial sectors, spurred by provincial regulation and investments, have done much of the heavy lifting. Heavy industries, including mining, smelting, pulp and paper, cement, steel, gypsum, and chemicals and fertilizers have seen emission declines of 16% over this period, while oil and gas production emissions are down 30%. …Admittedly, not everything is good news. The province is not on track to meet its 2030 climate target, and many CleanBC policies — including the oil and gas emissions cap, capping emissions from natural gas utilities and the clean transportation action plan — remain incomplete. …BC has announced a review of its CleanBC plan to be completed this fall. 

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Most of Western Canada’s glaciers ‘doomed’ to disappear, researchers find

By Stefan Labbe
Business in Vancouver
May 31, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West, International

Climate change has put Western Canada’s glaciers on track for devastating loss over the coming decades, with the southern half of BC expected to lose nearly 75% of the alpine ice — even if warming stops today, a new study has found. The planet has so far warmed an average of about 1.2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures. If that increase climbs to 1.5 degrees C, 81% of Western Canadian and US glacier mass would melt, according to the study published Thursday in the journal Science. …Harry Zekollari, the study’s lead author and a glaciologist at Belgium’s Vrije Universiteit Brussel, said the international research team used eight glacier computer models to analyze the potential long-term evolution of the year-round ice. The results painted a dire picture for the world’s glaciers, as the planet has already locked in enough warming to melt 40% of the Earth’s year-round ice by the end of the century.

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Boeing invests millions in B.C., Quebec projects to manufacture sustainable jet fuel

By Stefan Labbe
Coast Reporter
May 28, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West

Boeing Canada says it’s investing millions of dollars into business ventures in B.C. and Quebec with the eventual goal of producing close to 200 million litres of sustainable jet fuel every year. The announcement, made Wednesday, includes nearly $17.5 million split between two projects looking to turn wood waste and carbon captured from industrial smokestacks into sustainable aviation fuel. The fuel, known in industry as SAF, has the potential to reduce carbon emissions by up to 80 per cent over its lifecycle and “offers the fastest route to decarbonization in the aviation sector,” according to Boeing. Boeing’s latest investment will direct $10 million to Project Avance, a joint venture between Bioenergie AECN and Alder Renewables in Port Cartier, Que. The project aims to convert wood residue from sawmills into low-carbon bio-crude that can later be converted into almost 38 million litres of unblended jet fuel every year.

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Health & Safety

Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment Responds to the Devastating Wildfires in Central Canada

Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment
May 30, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada West

Saskatoon & Winnipeg In response to the devastating wildfires threatening communities in central Canada. Dr. Murray Opdahl, a family physician and co-chair of CAPE Saskatchewan said, “It’s a dark day in … with so many of our communities at risk from these devastating wildfires. Wildfires and wildfire smoke pose immediate safety risks, and can have long-lasting impacts on people’s health and mental health. Our communities need immediate support during this crisis. We also need bold action to stop these wildfires from continuing to get worse each year. The science is clear: these increasingly severe wildfires are directly linked to climate change driven by fossil fuel emissions. What we’re witnessing isn’t natural; it’s the result of human activity warming our planet. I’m calling on all governments to take immediate action to protect people on the frontlines of this crisis—and to declare their commitment to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to safer alternatives.”

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Forest Fires

About 15,000 have fled Saskatchewan wildfires and more coming: Premier Moe

Canadian Press in Global News
June 3, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

PRINCE ALBERT – As Manitoba grapples with wildfires that have forced more than 17,000 people from their homes, the premier of Saskatchewan said Tuesday the situation is becoming just as dire in his province. Scott Moe said upwards of 15,000 people have had to leave their communities and more are likely in the coming days. “We didn’t have a very good day yesterday,” he told reporters in Prince Albert, Sask. …Moe said the biggest destruction has been in places like the northern village of Denare Beach, near the Manitoba boundary, where some family homes have been lost. There will likely be challenging days ahead due to a lack of rain in the forecast, the premier added. …Marlo Pritchard from the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency said about 400 structures have been lost. Many firefighters had to stand down in some areas Monday due to “extreme fire behaviour,” he said.

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Evacuation orders issued as winds fan flames of wildfire near B.C.-Alberta border

By Akshay Kulkarni
CBC News
June 3, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

New evacuation orders have been issued due to the Kiskatinaw River wildfire near the B.C.-Alberta border in northeastern B.C. on Tuesday, in addition to previous orders for 55 properties issued late last week. As of Tuesday afternoon, the fire covered an area of just under 40 square kilometres, and is one of B.C.’s two “wildfires of note” — those that are particularly visible or pose a threat to public safety — the other being the Summit Lake wildfire in the far north. Highway 52 East remains closed in the area due to the blaze, which is burning close to the Pembina Steeprock gas processing facility. The B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) says that the wildfire is set to experience “significant growth in the coming days”, with winds up to 60 km/h pushing the fire north, south and east towards Kelly Lake and the B.C.-Alta. border by Friday.

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No relief in sight from wildfires as 20 Saskatchewan communities under evacuation orders

By Aishwarya Dudha
CBC News
June 1, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

Wildfires in Saskatchewan are expected to continue to grow aggressively during the next few days, fuelled by high temperatures, winds and dry conditions. And there’s no sign of relief in sight, according to the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency. “This will drastically impact our ability to contain some of these fires and will actually cause some of these fires to grow in size over the next period of time,” Steve Roberts, SPSA vice-president of operations, said Sunday. As of Sunday afternoon, 15 fires were burning in the province, down from 17 because two fires have merged and some small fires have been contained, the SPSA said. Roberts said 20 communities are under an evacuation order as of  Sunday. The latest evacuation orders have been in Sturgeon Landing and Timber Bay. Thousands of people have already been displaced from their homes in communities including Hall Lake, Pelican Narrows, Creighton, Denare Beach and Weyakwin.

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There’s a wildfire crisis in Western Canada. Why is this happening so early in the season?

By Tiffany Crawford
Vancouver Sun
May 31, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

It’s not yet summer, but out-of-control wildfires are raging across Western Canada, fuelled by drought, warmer temperatures and lack of rainfall. Residents in northeastern BC, near Kelly Lake, have fled their homes, as Manitoba and Saskatchewan declared provincial emergencies this week. As of Friday, wildfires in Manitoba had displaced more than 17,000 people. Thousands more have been given evacuation orders because of wildfires in Saskatchewan and Alberta, including 1,300 residents of Swan Hills, a community northwest of Edmonton. …“We did see similar early-season activity like this in the far northeast in 2023 and in 2024 in BC,” said Budd. “That’s really the result of prolonged drought in the region that goes back as early as 2022.” …Manitoba is also facing a dire situation. The Flin Flon fire, located on the Manitoba-Saskatchewan border near Creighton, started at a landfill before crossing over the Manitoba border. It has grown to more than 200 square kilometres.

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Wildfire contained near Flin Flon, Man.; Saskatchewan hamlet ordered to evacuate

Canadian Press
June 1, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

Fire crews in northern Manitoba have so far been able to contain an encroaching wildfire that forced thousands from their homes, while more residents in Saskatchewan have been told to leave due to a fast-moving blaze. The Saskatchewan government issued an evacuation alert Sunday morning for the dozens of residents that live in the hamlet of Timber Bay. Residents were told to leave the community on their own and head south to a hotel in Regina, about 484 kilometres away, to receive further support. …Approximately 80 people from Timber Bay are the latest to be forced from their homes. In Manitoba, some 17,000 Manitobans have had to leave their homes due to fires. Officials in Flin Flon, Man., where a nearby out-of-control wildfire crews have been trying to keep a nearby blaze at bay, said the fire burning near the mining city has been contained to outside its perimeter highway…

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Cool temperatures, chance of rain as crews battle wildfires near Flin Flon, Man.

The Canadian Press
June 2, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

FLIN FLON, Manitoba – Cooler temperatures and a chance of rain this week is expected in a northwestern Manitoba city that’s had to evacuate thousands of people due to wildfire. Environment Canada says temperatures in the mid teens to mid 20s are forecasted this week, with a good chance of rain coming Saturday in Flin Flon. Fire crews have been trying to keep a blaze near Flin Flon at bay, and have said the fire has been contained to outside its perimeter highway. Crews say there have been no structures lost due to the wildfire. More than 17,000 people have been displaced by wildfires in Manitoba, including 5,000 from Flin Flon. Thousands have been affected by wildfires across the Prairie provinces, with Saskatchewan issuing an evacuation alert Sunday morning for dozens of residents in the small northern community of Timber Bay, located about 260 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon. [END]

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‘This is classic climate change’: Sask. faces worst wildfire season in decades

By Aliyah Marko-Omene
CBC News
June 1, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

Saskatchewan is battling the worst wildfire it’s seen in decades — including the 300,000-hectare Shoe Fire in northern Saskatchewan — and experts say it’s largely caused by climate change. “This is classic climate change,” said Colin Laroque, head of soil science and professor at the University of Saskatchewan. Laroque said climatology is studied using 30-year timeframes of weather patterns, which “weren’t that different” until recently. …”These are things that we traditionally saw more in June, July and later summer, when everything dried out and then the fires took off,” Laroque said. Saskatchewan is making its way out of a relatively dry period. Few places had snow for long periods of time over winter. In the past, “snowpacks” would take time to fully melt and trickle into the ground as it warmed up. This would recharge the moisture of the soil.

In related coverage: In the CBC No relief in sight as 20 Sask. communities under evacuation orders

Brandon Sun, by Tom Brodbeck: Climate change a ‘right now’ problem

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Evacuation orders grow as out-of-control wildfires ravage northern Alberta

By Mackenzie Rhode and Bill Kaufmann
Calgary Herald
May 29, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada West

Orders to evacuate in the face of surging wildfires continued to spread Thursday as hot, dry conditions fuelled forest blazes in the province’s north. That comes as much of the province came under a rarely issued red flag warning, meaning if wildfires break out, they’re more likely to spread and grow due to warmer temperatures, stronger winds and dry forest fuel. As a large area of the province’s north burns, the fire hazard west of Calgary is listed as high to very high, leading to increased vigilance among emergency officials and more calls for stepped-up forest management to reduce the wildfire threat. “In all fairness, the government of Alberta has done a good job in its commercially forested zones, but not so much in its parks and set-aside areas,” said Rick Doman, a longtime forestry industry figure who’s campaigning to better protect the Bow Valley from what many see as ripe for a catastrophic blaze.

Additional coverage in CBC by Wallis Snowdon: Hundreds ordered to evacuate overnight in northern Alberta as wildfires flare

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Hot, dry forecast spells trouble for Saskatchewan wildfires

By Jeffrey Tram
CBC News
May 30, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

A meteorologist is warning the upcoming weather forecast isn’t good news for the wildfire outlook in northern Saskatchewan, with hot, dry and windy conditions in the foreseeable future. “We’re not getting any relief, unfortunately,” said Justin Shelly, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada. “We’re expecting very warm conditions to continue.” A cold front will develop from Alberta that will move to Saskatchewan on Friday, but it will only create some isolated chances of showers and thunderstorms, said Shelly. “There’s not going to be a lot of accumulations in terms of rainfall amounts associated with this,” he said. Shelly said another system from Alberta will be coming Saturday night into Sunday morning, but most of the rainfall will hit isolated spots of northern Saskatchewan, with only about five to 15 millimetres in those areas.

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