Recent incidents in BC’s forest industry, in which trees being felled have contacted energized transmission lines, have led to the creation of some new documents by BC Hydro. These new documents support discussions with forest companies/ harvesting contractors to ensure obligations to identify the hazardous areas associated with harvesting near powerlines are addressed. One of these documents, The Logging Near Powerlines Emergency Contact Form, focuses on strict compliance with current WorkSafeBC (WSBC) Regulations. …Electricity seeks the path of least resistance to the ground. That path could include a tree, mobile equipment, tools, or the human body. …Health and safety in forestry workplaces is the responsibility of all parties that have an influence on how work is carried out. …Where possible as part of the initial planning process ensure that cut block boundaries are well away from the powerline corridor.
Mayor Everett Baker was pleased to share some positive news about Interfor as a second shift resumed at the Interfor sawmill in Grand Forks. Baker stated in a text message to The Gazette he was pleased to hear that the second shift started on Monday. In addition, the planer mill is also expected to be back to two shifts by the end of the month. …“I want to thank Interfor for working with all levels of government to continue to keep our mill operating.” While the extra shifts are great news, Baker added the mill needs a log supply, but the team working to get the mill back up and running to at-or-near full shifts is getting closer to their goal. It wasn’t clear how many employees would be returning. In November, a single shift of 68 employees was hired back at Interfor.
Workers at Western Forest Products Value-Added Division (WFP VAD) in Chemainus, BC, have joined the United Steelworkers union. The successful union organizing campaign was driven by a desire for better representation and a stronger voice on the job with a union that will fight for improvements that forestry workers need and deserve. …After significantly falling behind other USW-represented forestry workers in terms of wages, benefits, job security and strength on the job, the WFP VAD workers decided to come together and join a union with a proven record of achieving exactly what they are lacking in their collective agreement. …“Our local union is happy to welcome new Steelworker members from WFP VAD,” said Brian Butler, USW Local 1-1937 President. …“These workers deserve a union that has the strength, experience and resources to deliver real results at the bargaining table,” said Jeff Bromley, USW Wood Council Chair.
VANCOUVER, BC 
FORT ST. JOHN, BC — After much speculation, the Canfor sawmill in Fort St. John has officially been sold to outside interests. Canfor media relations representatives confirmed the sale of the sawmill, planer, pellet plant and energy systems to Rocky Mountain Salvage on May 29th. Rocky Mountain Salvage is a scrap metal and garbage recycling company with interests in Hinton and Edson, Alberta. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. “Since announcing the closure of the Fort St. John sawmill, Canfor is working to divest the site and assets,” said Canfor. …The sawmill was announced as closing in September 2024, affecting 220 jobs, along with a facility in Chetwynd.
FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The sale of a former sawmill owned by industry giant Canfor in Fort St. John could be happening very soon. According to a news tip received by Energeticcity.ca, a purchase by a salvage company based in the province’s interior was “99 per cent complete” with the new ownership possessing the property and hourly employees would have their last shift on Friday, May 29th, at midnight. The sawmill at 9312 259 Road was announced as closing in 2024, following a “systematic, orderly wind-down process” affecting 220 jobs. However, when approached by Energeticcity.ca, media relations representative of Canfor, Mina Laudan, said that no sale has been finalized as of yet.
A B.C. forestry company embroiled in insolvency proceedings has been handed a $429,000 penalty and two-year ban from hiring migrant workers after it was found to have violated several federal regulations. The sanctions to San Industries (part of the San Group) came after federal inspectors found it had breached five sections of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, rules designed to protect temporary foreign workers. According to a May 15 decision, inspectors found pay or working conditions did not match what San Industries had advertised. The employer was also found not to be engaged in the business the workers were hired for and could not show that the job it had sought to fill matched its Labour Market Impact Assessment application. And in another violation, San Industries was found to have broken federal or provincial laws for hiring and recruiting employees. …At $429,000, the penalty is the province’s second-largest on record.
B.C.’s housing market remained tepid into April as sales pointing to another disappointing spring market. Seasonally adjusted home sales decreased by 1.1 per cent in April to 5,227 units after a 0.5 per cent drop in March. This was also the lowest monthly figure since November 2023. …Weak housing market conditions are likely to progress in the near term given the shaky geopolitical climate, sluggish economic growth and weak labour market conditions. …On the manufacturing front, sales in B.C. rose marginally in March. …Wood product manufacturing also declined for the third consecutive month, falling 2.4 per cent to $728 million. This represents the lowest level since May 2020, when sales were $623 million. Year to date, durable goods sales are up 2.6 per cent.
Canadian wood producers and manufacturers say they know how to solve the country’s housing shortage and, at the same time, increase demand in the construction industry for their products. The “two-fer” solution is laid out in a recent report published by the Canada West Foundation. The report is based on a December 2025 roundtable at which the Canadian Wood Council and the Forest Products Association of Canada convened leaders from construction and forestry to discuss how to increase the use of wood products in prefabricated, modular and panelized wood construction in residential multi-storey buildings. In the CWF report, these methods of construction are identified collectively as Modern Methods of Construction, or MMC. Eric Johnson, for FPAC and CWC, says factory-built components make better use of materials and skilled labour, reducing waste and increasing productivity. …The biggest barriers to scaling up wood-based housing are not technical but regulatory and organizational.
We studied the efficiency and productivity of BC’s secondary wood manufacturing sector using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Malmquist total factor productivity index (MPI), while incorporating data from both a survey on individual firms and Statistics Canada’s sectoral data. DEA results showed that BC’s secondary wood manufacturing firms had low efficiency and the factor contributing to the inefficiency was more lack of technical capability than scale of operations in most of the business types. The MPI results reveal that SWM consistently underperforms relative to the sawmill and panel sectors, with a clear divergence emerging after the 2007–2009 financial crisis. Weak productivity growth is largely attributable to limited and inconsistent technical change, reflecting a lack of innovation and adoption of new technologies. Policies aimed at supporting the sector could focus on factors improving firms’ technical efficiency and frontier such as process optimization, technology adoption and innovation, and training and skill development.
The rain this weekend … has certainly reduced the fire danger rating in B.C. The precipitation, even though it varied in different regions, was widespread throughout the province. According to Taylor Colman, fire information officer at the BC Wildfire Service, the rain lowered the fire rating from high and extreme to moderate in Chilcotin, the Peace Region, the South Thompson, and the Fraser Canyon. “The rain rehydrated those lighter forest fuels such as grasses, needles, brush, anything on the surface layer of the forest floor and then the duration and the amount was enough to penetrate into the deeper layers of the forest floor as well,” Colman explained. “… so that reduced the fire danger rating in those areas of concern.” …There are currently 16 active wildfires in B.C.
When BC’s community forestry leaders gather each year, one of the sector’s highest honours is the Robin Hood Memorial Award for Excellence in Community Forestry. Established in 2016, the award recognizes the community forest that best exemplifies the values of British Columbia’s community forestry program—leadership, innovation, local economic opportunity, stewardship, and a passion for community forestry. The award is presented jointly by the 
CRESTON, BC — A Kootenay-based project is receiving provincial funding to convert forestry waste into a soil supplement, benefiting agriculture and forestry sectors. …Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Jobs and Economic Growth, said “By turning wood waste into valuable new products, this project is creating jobs, supporting local businesses and helping build a stronger future for the community.” …Through the Rural Economic Diversification and Infrastructure Program (REDIP), the Province is providing approximately $182,000 to Wildsight to support its Fire for Healthy Soils project in Creston. The funding supports a pilot project to convert wood waste into biochar, which is a stable, carbon-rich form of charcoal produced by heating organic waste in a low-oxygen environment. …The provincial investment will support Wildsight, the Creston Community Forest and the Regional District of Central Kootenay to collaboratively pilot a biochar business project using low-cost kiln technology.
Kelowna has topped the list of Canadian cities most at risk from wildfires in 2026, according to a report from a Toronto-based online insurance company. Using data from Natural Resources Canada’s recently upgraded Canadian Wildland Fire Information System, MyChoice said Kelowna has a wildfire Risk Index score of 6.8/10. It was the only city to get a “very high” rating on the MyChoice Canada’s 2026 wildfire risk map. “While Prairie cities recorded more severe forecast fire weather conditions, Kelowna’s extremely high community exposure, driven by dense wildland-urban interface development, surrounding forest fuel, and historical wildfire activity, pushed it to the top overall,” said MyChoice in its annual wildfire study. To calculate the wildfire risk index, MYChoice gave equal weight to two factors: Forecast fire weather severity and community exposure.
The Province is investing $155 million toward reforestation programs to plant more than 125 million trees throughout BC. The funding, which also includes investments from the federal government, will deliver both large-scale reforestation and targeted projects that restore critical habitats, conserve biodiversity and support wildfire recovery. “Since 2017, we’ve invested in planting 400 million trees in B.C. Now, we’re adding 125 million more,” said Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests. “As we head into the Council of Canadian Forest Ministers Conference, hosted right here at home, we’re showing how B.C. continues to lead not only in forestry, but in reforestation and restoration. The Province’s reforestation investments will support: more than $56 million for reforestation, more than $1 million for B.C.’s Riparian Recovery Project, and more than $99 million for large-scale reforestation through the BC Forest Investment Program. …B.C. has secured more than $200 million in federal funding for reforestation and habitat restoration initiatives in British Columbia…
In 2024, the Tsay Keh Dene Nation and McLeod Lake Indian Band bought a logging licence near the town of Mackenzie from Canfor for $69M. …“It’s just a huge step to have some local Indigenous nations who are vested in our community step forward,” Makenzie Mayor Atkinson said. …But what if Canfor and others aren’t logging at rates close to what their licences say they can? If they sell such licences, what should those licences be valued at? And what role should the B.C. government play as the party that issues those licences and must approve any future sales? …Canfor, West Fraser and Western Forest Products alone control 39% of the timber that the government has firmly committed to logging companies. For decades, successive provincial governments granted logging licences to companies on the requirement that the public get something in return. The quid pro quo was that the companies would build mills.
The Syilx Okanagan Nation is calling on the federal government to issue an emergency order protecting critical habitat for Southern Mountain Caribou. In a filing under Section 80 of the federal Species at Risk Act, the Syilx Okanagan Nation is calling for immediate and enforceable protections for habitat used by the Columbia North, Frisby-Boulder and Central Selkirk herds, which occupy areas within Syilx Okanagan territory in southern British Columbia. “The current provincial and federal recovery measures have failed to address ongoing habitat destruction and cumulative effects across caribou ranges,” Chief Dan Wilson of the Okanagan Indian Band said in a media release. … “The continued logging of critical caribou habitat is inconsistent with Syilx Forestry Principles and Standards, yet the province continues to authorize logging in these core areas,” Coun. Jordan Coble, chair of the Syilx Nation Natural Resource Committee said in a media release.
MANITOBA — A northern Manitoba tree-planting program is trying to replace trees destroyed by wildfires, but the cancellation of the federal two billion trees program is making that more challenging. In 2016, this forest in Manitoba’s Interlake region, about 300 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, was devastated by a jack pine budworm infestation. It was starting to regenerate when wildfire ravaged the Devils Lake area in 2021. Areas just north are already burning this spring. Marley Moose says she felt sad when she returned to the forest three years ago as part of a tree-planting program through Nekoté LP, an Indigenous-owned corporation representing seven Swampy Cree First Nations in northern and central Manitoba. According to the Canadian Tree Nursery Association (CTNA), the country is losing trees faster than nature can grow them or people can plant them.
A new logging road project on the Sunshine Coast has drawn concern from local environmental advocates. At the same time, provincial officials say the work is designed to improve access and protect water resources. The Ministry of Forests confirmed to Coast Reporter that it is responsible for the road-building contract tied to Timber Sale Licence A94817. This project will see “just over 4km” of new road constructed to “move industrial traffic away from high-use public roads” and to create long-term access for multiple user groups. The ministry also said that the design has “enhanced overland techniques to minimize impacts to ground water,” along with water-quality monitoring and environmental oversight. However, Elphinstone Logging Focus’s (ELF) Ross Muirhead says the scope of the project is unusual for the region, saying four kilometres of brand new logging road is “unprecedented” on the Coast and that most projects are much shorter.
The start to the 2026 wildfire season has been slow with the number of fires raging across the country well below average, but government officials warn that as the summer progresses there’s a risk things could get much worse. “Despite the fact that we’re seeing so little activity so far this year … this summer retains the potential to be a significant one right across the country,” a government official said Thursday during a technical briefing. The official said that while the wildfire risk is unlikely to result in a record-breaking year like 2023 or 2025, the federal government is forecasting above average conditions as the season progresses. Whether that happens depends, officials explained, on what happens to the weather over the next few months. If the above average temperatures predicted for across the county come to pass, B.C. faces the highest wildfire risk, particularly in July.
Olds College entomologist Ken Fry says forest tent caterpillars are native to Alberta and relatively common, but their populations go through cycles in which they increase dramatically. Municipalities in Alberta are advising residents of an increase in the caterpillars this spring. “Roughly every 10 years populations increase enormously,” he said. The cyclical population explosion is called an outbreak. He said the causes of these cyclical outbreaks are still being studied but are believed to be influenced by weather, health status of trees, and other factors like predators, parasites and disease. Forest tent caterpillars are perhaps best known for the damage they inflict on trees. …”Trees can usually withstand a one-season munching, but when it comes to prolonged persistent defoliation over two, three years, that can result in some twig death or branch death or die back, you know, vulnerability over the winter to winter kill, things like that,” Fry said.
WHISTLER — As Western spruce budworm populations continue to spread through Whistler’s forests at historically unprecedented levels, the BC government is preparing to spray thousands of hectares around the resort municipality with a biological insecticide to blunt the outbreak. The Ministry of Forests is planning to aerially treat areas using Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (Btk)—a naturally occurring soil bacterium used for decades to control defoliating insects. Taylor Holt, the provincial resource coordinator, said… the aerial overview surveys in 2025 picked up 275,000 hectares of damage. [It’s] nearly three times as much damage as noted ever historically.” …Cheakamus Community Forest (CCF) executive director Heather Beresford, said. “So this is really the only viable treatment.” Still, she acknowledged the decision comes with uncomfortable trade-offs between wanting to prevent dead trees from posing a wildfire risk and protecting local non-budworm species who will be affected by spraying BtK.
Prescribed burning is getting renewed attention in parts of B.C. as communities look for ways to reduce wildfire risk before summer. In Kimberley, B.C., that conversation recently took residents onto the trails near the city’s nature park. The city-led walk gave residents a look at treated areas where crews have been reducing forest fuels. They also heard from local fire officials and wildfire specialists about how planned fire can help protect nearby homes, trails and forested parkland from wildfire risk. Kimberley Fire Department Chief Will Booth says the tour was meant to help residents understand prescribed burning before more fuel management work happens in the city. The local tour comes as prescribed and cultural burning are getting more public attention after years of being less visible. …Bob Gray, a wildland fire ecologist and fire scientist, says warmer temperatures and drought are adding pressure to forests that already have too many trees competing for moisture.
British Columbia’s forests support a diversity of trees, plants, fungi and wildlife, while also providing recreational opportunities, cultural values, and economic benefits to communities. As we recognized the International Day for Biological Diversity on May 22 and Wildfire Awareness Month throughout May, it’s an important time to reflect on the connection between healthy forests, resilient ecosystems, and the communities and wildlife that depend on them. Wildfire resilience and biodiversity are deeply connected. Thoughtful forest management activities, including strategic fuel reduction treatments and cultural and prescribed burning, can help reduce wildfire risk while also creating healthier and more diverse forest ecosystems for generations to come. …Today, FESBC is investing in treatments that reduce wildfire risk around communities, infrastructure and other resources. We are supporting the return of cultural and prescribed burning to the landscape. We are asking questions about how wildfire risk reduction treatments can also support biodiversity and other forest values, such as recreation.
Experts are calling on the B.C. government to halt logging in a Tsitika watershed cutblock on northern Vancouver Island that has been designated for old-growth deferral. But the some First Nations whose territory it falls in say they have their own approach to managing the area sustainably. Pacific Wild, an environmental organization, says B.C. Timber Sales (BCTS) is selling off rare and ecologically significant forests for minimal economic return. In letters sent to BCTS and other government decision-makers in April, the organization presented new data, maps and field evidence showing that cutblock TA1375 — identified by the Old Growth Technical Advisory Panel as a Priority Deferral Area — provides essential habitat for threatened species and stores significant amounts of carbon. The cutblock was auctioned in March despite opposition from scientists, community members and many First Nations whose territories overlap with the Tsitika watershed.
Residents and visitors to Cowichan Bay on Saturday, May 30 take note. A large-scale exercise to help emergency responders train for potential wildfires is taking place in Cowichan Bay from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. “Please do not be alarmed and help ensure crews can safely complete their training by obeying signage and giving personnel and equipment plenty of space,” said CVRD spokesperson Lisa Moilanen. The exercise will include Shawnigan Lake, Malahat, Mill Bay, Cowichan Bay, Duncan, Sahtlam, Ladysmith, and North Oyster fire departments, as well as BC Wildfire Services and more “working, practicing and learning together to help be aligned, prepared and keep our communities safe,” Moilanen added. The exercise features a scenario where a forest fire is threatening a developed area or community. Moilanen said people will notice emergency vehicles, personnel, traffic cones, and wildfire response activities around Falcon Crescent, and Wilmot, Galdwell, Rondeault, and Hillbank Roads.
HAZELTON – The Forest Practices Board will audit the forest planning and practices of BC Timber Sales (BCTS) and timber sale licence holders in the Kispiox Timber Supply Area (TSA) portion of the Skeena Business Area, starting Monday, June 1, 2026. The audit will examine harvesting, roads, silviculture, protection activities and associated planning. These activities will be assessed for compliance under the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act. BCTS operates throughout the Kispiox TSA, within the Skeena Stikine Natural Resource District. Activities in the audit area are administered from the Hazelton Field Office. The audit area overlaps the territories of the Gitxsan, Wet’suwet’en, Gitanyow, Nisga’a, Lake Babine Nation, Kitselas, and Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha First Nations. …The area includes mountainous terrain, rivers and lakes that support recreation, wildlife habitat and important fish populations, including several salmon species, bull trout, Dolly Varden and lake trout.
Classification change policy in the Assessment Manual lists the possible reasons for changing a firm’s classification. Under this policy, a firm’s failure to provide timely, complete, and accurate information to WorkSafeBC, and to respond promptly to information requests or information provided by WorkSafeBC (the positive duties), is addressed under the heading of fraud or misrepresentation. This creates confusion when the contravention is inadvertent. Our Policy, Regulation and Research Department is releasing a discussion paper with proposed amendments to policy in the Assessment Manual to clarify how a contravention of the positive duties is interpreted in the context of classification change. The discussion paper and information on how to provide feedback can be found here: 
