Region Archives: Canada West

Special Feature

Forestry is key to growing a resilient bioeconomy in B.C.

By Linda Coady, Council of Forest Industries & Stéphane Renou, FPInnovations
Business in Vancouver
February 10, 2024
Category: Special Feature
Region: Canada, Canada West

Linda Coady

Stéphane Renou

In Vancouver, leaders and changemakers will be coming together at the GLOBE Forum 2024 to explore solutions to reimagine our economy, and to look at innovations that go beyond sustainability to regeneration. Globally, the shared challenge of moving towards a net-zero economy and reducing emissions is vital. In British Columbia and Canada, we have a unique opportunity with a sustainable and regenerative natural resource like forestry. …The Canadian forest sector has a critical role to play in meeting this challenge. The forestry industry in B.C. strives to use virtually 100 per cent of every tree. …Bioproducts are being developed that can replace non-renewable materials in items like medical face masks, asphalt for roads, and natural-based glue and adhesives for wood panels in houses and buildings. …If there are no pulp mills, we cannot grow the bioeconomy and develop the value-chain of engineered products and bioenergy that will move us towards a net-zero economy.

Providing fibre certainty for industry creates the conditions for investment and continued operations across the forest sector, which supports families and communities throughout the province. If we take these steps, a key opportunity that could been realized in Canada are examples of transformative modern facilities. These include modern kraft plants that have been developed elsewhere globally, with the ability to yield increased pulp production, energy self-sufficiency, improved environmental performance, excess production of electricity, and employment opportunities. This can drive the creation of bioproducts as platforms for the growth of a high-value and low-carbon bioeconomy. A project of this nature would generate significant benefits for Canadians and secure the future for our sawmill operations.

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Business & Politics

Tla’amin Nation set to reclaim village of tiskʷat 151 years after it was taken

By Abby Francis
Chek News
February 11, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

POWELL RIVER, BC — For the Tla’amin Nation, the loss of their village site tiskʷat has been like “a missing limb” for the community, according to Dillon Johnson. Their home and salmon fishing site was stolen and sold by “British Columbia” 151 years ago at a time when the community’s population was decimated by disease. For the next seven generations, Tla’amin people were separated from tiskʷat. People were moved onto reserves, salmon runs were all but wiped out by construction of a new dam, and a paper mill began operating on the site. …In 1912, Powell River Company built a paper and pulp mill at tiskʷat that operated for more than 100 years. It later changed ownership to the company Catalyst. The tide started to turn in 2021, when the Nation received word that the Catalyst mill would be closing indefinitely, and the over 300-acre industrial site would go up for sale.

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Canfor sells Taylor, British Columbia, pulp mill in northeast BC for $7 million

The Canadian Press in CBC News
February 7, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Canfor Pulp Products says it’s entered an agreement to sell its Taylor pulp mill. The mill in northeastern B.C., which produces bleached chemi-thermo mechanical pulp for use in packaging and tissue products, is being sold for $7 million to an undisclosed buyer. Canfor Pulp  CEO Kevin Edgson says the new owner is committed to repurposing the site and developing a long-term plan that will benefit the community, which is home to just over 1,000 people between Fort St. John and Dawson Creek. The sale is expected to close during the first quarter, at which point the buyer will be identified. The mill has been closed since the end of 2021. Those curtailments were extended until the beginning of 2023 when Canfor said it did not see a path to reopening due to “a reduction in the long-term supply of fibre in the Peace region.”

Canfor press release: Canfor Pulp Announces Sale Agreement for Taylor Pulp Site

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Williams Lake power plant, city’s biggest tax payer gives 1 year notice

By Ruth Lloyd
Burns Lake Lakes District News
February 7, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Williams Lake’s largest single taxpayer, Atlantic Power Inc., has put its employees, the city and BC Hydro on notice. Spokespersons for the power plant say it will close by mid-January 2025 if something isn’t done to address a lack of available fibre which is limiting the plant’s viability. The company has given a 12-month termination of contract notice to BC Hydro on their current contract for the Williams Lake plant. Sean Gillespie, vice president of operations for Atlantic Power, and business manager Frankie Nelson, spoke to the city of Williams Lake seeking support to find a solution. …“With reduced forest activity, there is increased competition in the region for fibre, and that is affecting prices,” said Gillespie. In 2019, the city approved an expansion of the Pinnacle’s Williams Lake pellet plant, which also takes wood waste to make wood pellets used in pellet stoves.

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100 Mile House Norbord plant to be redeveloped into business park

By Patrick Davies
The Williams Lake Tribune
February 8, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

The Tsq̓éscen̓ First Nation and the Spelqweqs Development Corp have big plans for the old Norbord OSB Plant. Closed in 2020 during the pandemic and sold to West Fraser, the Norbord/Ainsworth site has been vacant for the last few years. In mid-December last year West Fraser sold the property to Spelqweqs for an undisclosed price under its assessed value. …In addition to acquiring the Norbord property Spelqweqs also manages Tenyie Logging Ltd and Cpelmétkwe Ranch (Bridge Creek Ranch) which borders the Norbord property. …These buildings are the old OSB plant that’s around 200,000 square feet, a mechanic shop, a large storage building and the former Ainsworth OSB district office, fully equipped with offices, conference rooms and a kitchen. …Rather than re-open the OSB plant Doug Webster, Spelqweqs’ CEO said their plans for the site are to redevelop it into a business park. 

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Unifor and the Steelworkers to host BC Forestry Workers’ Summitt

Unifor
February 7, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

BC used to be a world-renown source of forestry products. For more than 150 years, the forestry industry has helped build the province’s economy with good jobs in virtually every region. But poor forestry management over the last two decades, especially under the B.C. Liberals, has threatened the industry with collapse. Mill closures caused by virtually unregulated raw log exports has cost thousands of jobs. …Unifor and the Steelworkers will bring together B.C. forestry unions to discuss the challenges the industry is facing and provide the opportunity to work together on solutions. Workers made this sector the economic powerhouse, and their voices should be central to planning its future. …Unifor local leadership in B.C.’s forestry industry are encouraged to send a strong delegation to represent their locals in these important discussions. To register email Teri Roland teri.roland@unifor.org. The registration deadline is February 20, 2024.

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Conifex loses court bid to force BC Hydro to supply power to cryptocurrency mining

By Nelson Bennett
Business in Vancouver
February 5, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Conifex Timber has lost its bid to have the courts overturn a B.C. government ban on providing power to cryptocurrency miners. Conifex, a lumber company that also has a biomass energy business, was hoping to get into the cryptocurrency mining space. But in 2022, the B.C. government placed a pause on new connections for cryptocurrency mining, due to the concerns about the strain it might put on B.C.’s electricity supply. Cyptocurrency mining consumes huge amounts of electricity. …The B.C. government relieved BC Hydro of any obligations to supply cryptocurrency projects with power. Conifex went to court, seeking a judicial review, but on Monday announced it had failed in its bid to have the order reversed. …“Conifex is conaidering its position in relation to the judgement, including potentially appealing the ruling, along with other legal avenues which it may pursue thereafter.”

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

Breaking down how B.C.’s building code changes affect sustainability

By Tyler Choi
SustainableBiz
February 12, 2024
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

Wendy Macdonald

Changes to British Columbia’s building code are geared to elevating the sustainability of buildings in the key areas of energy, materials and climate resilience. Wendy Macdonald, with RJC Engineers, spoke about updates to B.C.’s building code which were implemented last year and others being discussed for implementation in 2024 and 2025. …Changes to the code that took effect in May 2023 affected energy efficiency targets and the Zero Carbon Step Code. From March 2024, one living space per building must not exceed 26 C. The proposed change that may take place as early as spring 2024 would allow for taller mass timber buildings. A seismic requirements code change that will take place after March 2025 addresses embodied carbon. …“As mandates and requirements start to show up around limiting the emissions from embodied carbon,” she said, “I think the fact that the BC Building Code is allowing more mass timber will help support teams in achieving those targets.”

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Is Mass Timber Construction About To Go Mainstream In BC?

By Howard Chai
Storeys Toronto
February 7, 2024
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

On Tuesday, Vancouver City Council took its first steps towards creating a new policy program to “remove barriers to mass timber” and encourage more developers to utilize the building form. The proposed Mass Timber Policy for Rezonings would allow additional height and density through the rezoning process, allowing up to two additional storeys on sites that currently allow for eight to 11 storeys, and up to three additional storeys on sites that currently allow for 12 or more storeys. The City says … additional density was “one of the most compelling incentives” that was identified during consultations. …The City will also provide support to those looking to utilize mass timber construction on a new project. Staff will convene for consultation during the development enquiry stage, before an application is officially submitted because “uncertainty of entering into the permit process with a new building form” was something that offset the advantages of using mass timber construction.

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Top tips for insuring your next mass timber building

naturally:wood
February 6, 2024
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

You’re planning a building: you need financing, a design, a general contractor and, critically, insurance. But if you’re planning to use mass timber in your building in North America, you may have to employ different measures to secure both builder’s risk (also known as course of construction) insurance and occupancy insurance. Here are several steps building owners and developers can take to ensure they’re covered at the right price. Help your broker understand how mass timber — which employs engineered wood products such as cross-laminated, nail-laminated and glue-laminated timber as well as laminated veneer lumber — differs from light wood frame construction. You’ll need to educate brokers about the substantial and growing body of international evidence of mass timber’s fire-resistant properties. You’ll also want to show them that “numerous tests have been done that show mass timber’s fire-resistant properties. 

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Webinar Tomorrow: Guidance for using alternative solutions

WoodWorks BC
February 7, 2024
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

Unlock construction innovation with our webinar, Guidance for Using Alternative Solutions. Navigate the unique pathway outside of traditional building solutions with a focus on the process in BC. Learn who to engage and when. Our experts provide insights into effective communication, the right information to include, and crafting compelling rationales for both designers and municipalities. Revolutionize your approach to construction compliance and embrace a new era of building possibilities! Join WoodWorks BC to discover pathways beyond conventional building solutions, specifically tailored to the process in British Columbia. Learn valuable insights from experts on effective communication, optimal timing, and crafting compelling rationales for designers and municipalities. 

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Visit the wood pavilion at BUILDEX in Vancouver

naturally:wood
February 7, 2024
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

Join naturally:wood at BUILDEX Vancouver, the ultimate gathering for professionals in construction, design, and real estate. Visit us at booth 1425 in the Wood Pavillion to explore the latest innovations, connect with industry experts, and stay ahead of the curve with cutting edge technologies. Be sure to check out our sponsored session with Greg Shea, Vice President of Health Infrastructure & Development with the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) and Kate Gerson, Associate of DIALOG. This session will focus on the FNHA Metro Vancouver Office Project, including the building design, stakeholder engagement, and incorporation of First Nations building traditions. Looking for sessions relating to building with wood? Check out more in the 2024 program:

  • Circular Economy Approaches Within Construction, Renovation & Demolition: Unlocking Material Diversion Potential & Wood Waste Utilization
  • Net Emissions Strategies for Residential Encapsulated Mass Timber Construction Buildings That Achieve BC Energy Step Code & VBBL Compliance
  • Igniting Innovation: Lessons Learned From the World’s Largest Mass Timber Fire Test 

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25-storey Main Street mass timber rental housing tower approved by Vancouver City Council

By Kenneth Chan
Daily Hive
February 5, 2024
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

Mass-timber construction for residential tower uses will be pushed to new limits in British Columbia, following Vancouver City Council’s approval last week of a 260 ft, 25-storey tower project. This represents an upcoming phase of Westbank’s Main Alley tech campus and the first residential addition to an otherwise job-space-focused complex of buildings. The tower is named “Prototype” or M5, a reference to this project being a taller mass timber case study and the fifth building at Main Alley. …The development site is within close walking distance to SkyTrain’s future Great Northern Way-Emily Carr and Mount Pleasant stations. This tower will carry 100% secured purpose-built rental housing. …The design uses cross-laminated timber components that are pre-fabricated off-site before being delivered for assembly and installation.

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Forestry

B.C. South Coast mountains receive much-needed snowfall amid drought concerns

By Kristi Gordon
Global News
February 11, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Much-needed snow is falling across the B.C. South Coast and Southern Interior mountains Sunday. The snowfall comes after the province reported the snowpack is at 61 per cent of normal with the South Coast mountains recording only 30 to 47 per cent of seasonal averages. This well-below-normal snowpack is raising concerns about drought heading into the spring and summer months. Ten to 20 centimetres of snow is expected in the mountains Sunday through Monday morning. …A snowfall warning is in effect for Whistler, Central and Northern Okanagan, South Thompson, West Columbia and East Kootenay regions.

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Thrown for a looper: Inside the city’s emergency contract for Stanley Park logging

By Bob Mackin
Vancouver is Awesome
February 12, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Top bureaucrats inside Vancouver city hall secretly approved spending $2.1 million last summer to remove tens of thousands of Stanley Park trees due to the Hemlock looper moth outbreak. Deputy city manager Karen Levitt rubber stamped the emergency request on Aug. 8 from Colin Knight in the finance department… Knight estimated $2.02 million for euphemistic “operational treatments” between Sept. 1 and Dec. 31 on 39 hectares around the Stanley Park Causeway and Stanley Park Railway. During the same time period, “prescriptions” on 55 hectares around the railway, Prospect Point, Brockton Point, Vancouver Aquarium and the steep area above the seawall, for $55,000. …“It is the goal of this project to maximize the number of removals as part of this initial phase of a multi-year program to reduce the risk to public safety and potential for forest fires,” it said. “Any changes to the project phases, timelines and deliverables may be amended with prior Park Board approval.”

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University of Northern BC research team gets $1.5 million to study glyphosate

By Hanna Petersen
Prince George Citizen
February 12, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Lisa Wood

Prof. Lisa Wood and her team at the University of Northern British Columbia have been awarded a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Alliance grant worth more than $1.5 million, with partner in-kind contributions for a five-year project, to study the effects of glyphosate-based herbicides (GBH) residues on ecosystem health. The grant is a first for UNBC and only awarded to projects addressing significant societal challenges. “This knowledge is urgently needed, given the large-scale use and persistence of GBH in the natural systems humans and wildlife rely on for high quality ecosystems services, like air and water quality, climate moderation and food sources,” said Wood. …“Canadians will benefit from the research conducted by better understanding the extent of the impact of GBH on forest systems,” said Wood. “Our partner organizations will use this information to support their mandates and advocate for updates to policy, where warranted.”

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Canadian Geographic and friends plant guerrilla mini-forest on the doorstep of Globe Forum Convention in Vancouver

By Royal Canadian Geographical Society
Cision Newswire
February 13, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

VANCOUVER, BC – A remarkably powerful and timely innovation in urban forestry – the mighty Mini-Forest will be planted outside the Globe Forum at the Vancouver Convention Centre this week. Densely planted these native-species of trees and shrubs, grow faster, acting as urban oases and carbon sponges. Canadian Geographic and the Network of Nature partners are advocating for the establishment of these tiny forests in demonstration plots in communities across Canada. In its second year, the Network of Nature’s Mini-Forest initiative, after undertaking a series of pilot Mini-Forest plantings in 2023, developing training resources and communities of practice and experimenting with monitoring technologies, has attracted champions in communities from across the country who, with the required financial support, are prepared to help advance a national network of Mini-Forests.

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Is B.C. about to radically transform governance?

By Trevor Hancock, Professor Emeritus, University of Victoria
Prince George Citizen
February 11, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Trevor Hancock

As far back as 1964, Paul Sears, an eminent American ecologist and former chair of the graduate program in Conservation at Yale University, described ecology as “a subversive subject” and asked “if taken seriously as an instrument for the long-run welfare of mankind, would it endanger the assumptions and practices accepted by modern societies, whatever their doctrinal commitments.” …It seems something is afoot in the body ­politic and the halls of government, something that might ­challenge those core beliefs and subvert the ­assumptions and practices accepted by modern ­societies: ecology. …The draft framework is commendably clear: If it’s adopted, the B.C. government would commit “to the conservation and management of ecosystem health and biodiversity as an overarching priority and will ­formalize this priority through legislation and other enabling tools that apply to … all sectors.”

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Forestry and Parks Ministry responds to Okotoks’ logging moratorium request

By Harrison O’Nyons
HighRiverOnline
February 12, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The Town of Okotoks’ has received a response to their request for a logging moratorium. In November, town council received a letter and presentation from the Calgary Climate Hub (CCH) requesting support in calling for a moratorium on logging in Southern Alberta, specifically due to an approved project from Spray Lake Sawmills in Kananaskis Country’s Upper Highwood drainage. The CCH presented five reasons why a moratorium should be put in place, including effects on native species, the Highwood watershed, and harm to the region. Mayor Tanya Thorn signed a letter of support for a moratorium addressed to Minister of Environment and Protected Areas Rebecca Schulz, specifically pointing to increased water absorption rates amid Alberta’s drought conditions. At today’s (Feb. 12) meeting, council will review a response letter from Forestry and Parks Todd Loewen.

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Flirting with disaster in British Columbia

By Catherine Swift
The Niagara Independent
February 9, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

David Eby

There is a very serious legal change being contemplated in BC that will greatly affect people living in that province and potentially in the rest of Canada. This change pertains to BC’s adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP). …It basically states that indigenous people have the rights to the lands and resources on those lands where they live. There has been much confusion over exactly what this means. …Although a number of estimates of how much of the province will be affected have been discussed, it is generally agreed that most of the territory of BC will be involved. This is expected to give indigenous groups an effective veto over most if not all future resource, agricultural, forestry, communications and other such projects in the province. …Continuing with this legislative plan will damage the BC economy very seriously, and will be extremely difficult to reverse.

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Premier worried about on-going drought in Northeast BC as snowpack levels remain low

By Michael Popove
CJDC TV
February 9, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

FORT ST. JOHN — The Premier of British Columbia says he is worried about the on-going drought in Northeast BC. Premier David Eby says BC is seeing “some of the most dramatic drought conditions that have been seen in our lifetime, especially in Northeast BC.” The provincial snowpack has remained extremely low since the beginning of February, according to B.C.’s Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship. Across the Peace Region, snow levels are 22 per cent below normal. Across BC, snow levels are 39 per cent below normal, drastically worse than this time last year, when levels were still 19 per cent below normal, according to a B.C. River Forecast Centre report released Thursday. …“We need to keep trees on land, that buffers the snow melt and makes the snow pack last longer,” Aaron Hill, executive director of Watershed Watch Salmon Society said.

Additional coverage in the National Observer, by Rochelle Baker: ‘Here we are talking about drought in February’

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Holistic wildfire management approach needed as season looms: BCIT instructor

By Warren Frey
Journal of Commerce
February 12, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

A forestry expert says it’s time to take a holistic approach to wildfire management as British Columbia gears up for another season. British Columbia Institute of Technology instructor Justin Perry recently addressed a TedX Abbotsford conference with a presentation titled Holistic Wildfire Management: Seeing Fire Through Multiple Lenses which calls for a balanced strategy when attempting to control wildfires. …“Holistic wildfire management is just about assessing where we can make improvements to the way we’re currently doing things. It’s about trying to mitigate this crisis we’re facing.” Perry said historically when fire emerged it was immediately dealt with on an ad-hoc basis but that has resulted in unanticipated knock-on effects. He added BC Wildfire has adopted a modified fire response where the fire is monitored and “they try to let it burn for ecological benefit.” …You can watch Perry’s Tedx talk here.

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Final Cut: British Columbia’s Forest of Opportunities

By Bob Brash, TLA Executive Director
Canadian Forest Industries
February 8, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The beginning of a new year brings with it the persistent and eternal optimism in all of us working and involved in our forest sector. …Let’s start with managing for less wildfire risk. Frankly, our loggers are the best in the world so when it comes down to adopting innovative harvesting techniques. …For carbon sequestration, active management and harvesting of the forest resource is the pathway to maximizing carbon capture of the forests. …There is a need for a whole lot of housing and wood is the core material to deliver. …The real question is whether the leadership is in place to capitalize on this forest of opportunities. …The ingredients needed are not that complex: a pragmatic and scientific approach to the future versus dogmatic alarmist rhetoric; a clear and consistent framework of policy and legislation; an invigorated investment climate; a renewed globally competitive sector; and a collective vision endorsed and supported by all involved. 

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Wildfire mitigation work to begin in Prince George next week

By Hanna Peterson
Prince George Citizen
February 8, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Wildfire fuel mitigation work will kick off next week in Prince George. The work will take place at Broddy Road between the Vanway Firehall and the Vanway transfer station starting from Monday, Feb 12. The project is expected to be completed by the end of August and there may be the need for short road closures (of a few hours) of Broddy Road over the coming weeks. Wildfire fuel removal activities reduce the amount of combustible material that can be used as fuel for a fire. This might include thinning trees, pruning branches and removing dead wood, reducing the amount of litter and debris on the ground, or creating buffer zones between homes and wildlands.

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Alberta to add firefighters for expected busy wildfire season

The Canadian Press in CTV News Edmonton
February 8, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Alberta’s forestry minister says the province plans to field more firefighters and volunteers as it braces for what it expects will be another busy wildfire season. And Todd Loewen says it looks like more of the same in the future as Alberta’s climate gets drier and warmer. He says communities will have to become more fire smart and forestry companies may have to adjust their harvesting practices. Loewen says the government will be “a little more aggressive” in declaring fire bans. The government has already said fire crews will be in place earlier this year. There are 57 wildfires burning in Alberta already, 54 of which are carry-over fires from last season that have sprung into flame after smouldering underground over the winter. 

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Mayor of Mackenzie takes aim at Victoria over inaction on forestry in Northern BC

By Adam Berls
CKPG News Prince George
February 8, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

PRINCE GEORGE — A mayor of a community deeply impacted by recent changes in the forestry industry says… the province needs to take strong action to protect jobs and communities. It was less than a month ago when the Province announced… funding through the BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund, but the North was mainly absent from the announcement. Minister of Jobs Brenda Bailey said that the Fund was designed to help communities. However, Joan Atkinson, the mayor of Mackenzie, a community that has been hit hard by mill closures, says that communities like hers needs action, not promises. It is hard to understate just how much Mackenzie has been impacted… after Canfor shut the sawmill down … “My message to government is stop these make work projects to make it appear that you’re actually doing something because you’re not doing a thing that matters to the people who are dependent on resource communities.” 

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B.C. NDP consulted a select list on Land Act changes

By Vaughn Palmer
The Vancouver Sun
February 8, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Nathan Cullen

VICTORIA — While the New Democrats launched their consultation on changes to the Land Act without letting the public in on the secret, they did alert some corporations, industry associations and other interest groups. The government released a list. The names included some of the biggest corporations in the province: Telus, Rogers, Bell, Fortis and B.C. Hydro…[and] many of the industry associations: B.C. Business Council, Council of Forest Industries, Clean Energy B.C. …Adventure Tourism Coalition, Guide Outfitters. However, the provincial government provoked suspicions when it did not announce its intentions by news release or any other broadly public process. …This week the minister has been promoting the consultations, albeit mostly with the same groups that were invited to join in the first place. …For members of the public who did not get an invitation, the main option for feedback remains the Engage B.C. website.

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B.C.’s lack of snow foretells summer drought woes

By Rochelle Baker
The National Observer
February 7, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The persistent lack of snow across much of B.C. is setting the stage for a possible repeat of the record-breaking provincewide drought experienced last summer, watershed experts worry. Despite a short blast of arctic weather in January, unseasonably warm temperatures coupled with rain have been melting already stressed snowpacks, particularly in parts of southern B.C. and Vancouver Island, said Coree Tull, of the BC Watershed Security Coalition. …This year, drought concerns are surfacing even earlier than last, Tull said… “But the unprecedented unpredictable weather we’ve seen continues to contribute to really this persistent risk of severe drought.” And the northeast region of the province is still caught up in the serious drought from last summer. …Prioritizing the preservation of natural solutions like mature forests, wetlands and beaver dams that store or retain water on the landscape and reduce the risk of wildfires, drought and floods is also key, Aaron Hill said.

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Quesnel forestry students get mental simulation

By Frank Peebles
The Quesnel Cariboo Observer
February 7, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Working the forests of the future will need machinery of the future. Quesnel is a city unequivocally centred in the B.C. forest and centred on the B.C. forest industry. One of the effects of the biennial Future of Forestry Think Tank held in Quesnel is a set of companies, agencies, and government departments conversing about how Quesnel might well be positioned as a training hub for the latest in sustainable forestry practices. That dialogue took a step forward this past week when a high-tech piece of forestry equipment was set up right inside City Hall. This industrial machine is not a diesel-spewing roaring dinosaur of the bush, though. It is more like a video game console that only plays titles like Forwarder and Single-Grip Harvester – two of the logging machines emerging as international favourites for careful and nimble 21st century lumberjacking.

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World’s Largest Burl Moves to Enhance Tourism in Port McNeill

By Jeff Bartlett and Brenda Johnson
Island Coastal Economic Trust
February 6, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Port McNeill: The World’s Largest Burl is on the move, with the Town of Port McNeill creating a new public space closer to the main business and tourist areas to showcase its iconic attraction. The town and local volunteers aim to complete the project prior to the 2024 summer tourism season through an investment with Island Coastal Trust. “We feel that salmon and the burl are what put Port McNeill on the map,” says Lorraine Landry, a 30-year local resident and volunteer “Moving it to a new location will bring life back into this piece of Port McNeill’s history.” The burl has always been a source of great community pride, connecting the community with its deep roots in the forestry industry. …When a recent fire caused damage to this site, the Town Council voted to move the burl to a new permanent space at the gateway of downtown.

Additional coverage in the Victoria Times Colonist: Port McNeill moving beloved burl to new, more visible location

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Alberta has made little progress to protect caribou despite conservation deal, reports shows

By Bob Webber
CBC News
February 8, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

An Alberta government document suggests the province has made little progress in protecting its 15 threatened caribou herds, despite having signed an agreement with Ottawa that promised it would. That document, released three years late on Jan. 19, is the first report into the so-called Section 11 agreement between the province and Environment Canada. The 2020 agreement was made under threat of the federal government stepping in to protect critical habitat for the herds, which are in many cases almost entirely disturbed by resource development. The report considers the deal’s first two years. But even that limited time frame suggests a long list of problems, from the slow cleanup of seismic lines to the ongoing growth of industrial footprint to the lack of range planning that would let the species survive in some of Canada’s busiest landscapes.

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New housing rules in B.C. trigger fears of ‘catastrophic’ loss of urban trees

By Sara Cox
The Narwal
February 6, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

B.C.’s NDP government says new legislation aims to address the housing crisis. Critics say the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach removes local autonomy and threatens urban forests, including Greater Victoria’s endangered Garry oak ecosystem. …Bill 44 aims to address the province’s deepening housing crisis. In a nutshell, the new legislation takes aim at single family zoning. It overrides the ability of municipalities to decide what type of housing is built on the majority of residential land in the province, upending years of community planning informed by public consultations. …Haddon and others are deeply concerned about the bill’s potential environmental impacts. …At a time when many cities around the world are planting trees and creating green corridors for people and wildlife, they say the legislation will make it far more difficult for B.C. municipalities to protect the province’s urban forest canopy.

 

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Osoyoos Indian Band, Mercer Celgar partner over waste wood utilization

By Don Urquhart
Times Chronicle South Okanagan
February 6, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB) and pulp and paper mill Mercer Celgar (Celgar) are collaborating to rethink conventional practices around what has traditionally been considered uneconomical wood fibre. This wood fibre typically wouldn’t make its way to sawmills and was not economically feasible for non-sawlog products. These logs have a lower value and generally are only used to create pulp for various products, including paper, tissue, and food packaging.  The project participants say the primary goal is to promote “diversification and innovation within the supply chain” to recover and utilize greater amounts of wood fibre that was typically wasted. …With funding from the Forest Enhancement Society of BC, the project is helping recover as much of this residual fibre as possible from the OIB’s traditional territory. Dan Macmaster, Forest Manager at the OIB, highlighted the fact that higher fibre utilization has both environmental and economic benefits. 

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Group wants to halt Stanley Park logging, force disclosure of expert reports

By Bob Mackin
Vancouver is Awesome
February 5, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

A Vancouver software developer has launched a campaign to halt tree-cutting in Stanley Park and force the park board to disclose the reports behind the $7-million operation to take down 160,000 trees. The board says a quarter of the trees were killed by the hemlock looper moth infestation and are a wildfire hazard. Michael Robert Caditz said he is seeking legal advice aimed at applying for a court injunction and will attend Monday’s park board meeting. He formed the Save Stanley Park group after he became alarmed about the number of trees removed. Last year, the city awarded two emergency contracts to North Vancouver forestry consultant B.A. Blackwell and Associates totalling $3.85 million. …Norm Oberson, owner of Arbutus Tree Service fears that the risk of wildfire is being overstated in order to expedite bulk tree removal.

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Federal Court says Minister Guilbeault’s interpretation of the Species at Risk Act was unreasonable

Ecojustice
February 6, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

VANCOUVER, BC – A Federal Court Justice has ruled in favour of conservation groups that challenged the federal Environment Minister for failing to take action to protect the critical habitats of at-risk migratory birds. This includes the Marbled Murrelet, which relies on coastal old-growth forests. Ecojustice lawyers were in court on behalf of Sierra Club BC and Wilderness Committee, to advocate for the protection of migratory birds.  …The groups’ main contention was that a “protection statement” issued by Minister Guilbeault in 2022 too narrowly interpreted the Species at Risk Act. …Last week, Chief Justice Crampton concluded that only ensuring the protection of migratory birds’ nests, but not the rest of their critical habitat, was not justified under the law or key facts before the Minister. The Chief Justice concluded that the Minister should have considered that habitat loss and degradation is a key driver in the decline of most at-risk bird populations. 

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Former government scientist slams Canada’s climate plan as ‘totally inadequate’

By Stefan Labbé
Vancouver is Awesome
February 8, 2024
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada West

David Hughes

Canada’s mid-century plan to absorb as much carbon pollution as it emits is “nowhere near” strong enough to have a realistic chance of succeeding, says the author of a new report released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). The report assessing the country’s climate commitment analyzes a June 2023 plan from the Canada Energy Regulator (CER) projecting energy supply as Canada aims to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The plan calls for reducing oil and gas production between 21 and 75 per cent, expanding the generation of renewable electricity up to 12 fold and nearly tripling nuclear capacity. But those measures are not nearly enough, said David Hughes, who produced the report for CCPA. …Similarly, Hughes concluded the plans to triple the carbon absorbing capacity of Canada’s forests would require a “major improvement of Canada’s forestry management practices.” For more than 20 years, Canadian forests have emitted more carbon than they absorb, according to the federal government. 

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Whistler should stop ‘greenwashing’ with carbon credits

Letter by Edgar Dearden
Whistler Pique Magazine
February 7, 2024
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West

Pique’s reporting on March 31, 2023, offered a glimmer of hope that the Cheakamus Community Forest’s Carbon Credit scheme “would not be exploited by large corporations for greenwashing.” The liquefied fossil gas plant being constructed in Squamish claims to achieve “net-zero” emissions by purchasing carbon credits from the Cheakamus Community Forest. This situation uses the growth of trees in Whistler to justify a fossil-fuel megaproject, with the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) directly supporting fracking and fossil-gas expansion. This stance is in stark contrast to the values of a community known for its natural beauty and commitment to conservation. …I urge the RMOW and the Cheakamus Community Forest to halt the sale of carbon credits to fossil gas projects and to publicly denounce a project that contradicts the environmental principles they profess to uphold.

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Leaders eye possibility of wood pellet heating system for community of Wekweètı̀, Northwest Territories

By Mah Noor Mubarik
CBC News
February 2, 2024
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West

The senior administrative officer of Wekweètì, Northwest Territories, says his community is mulling over the possibility of switching to wood biomass as a way to heat homes. The idea, said Fred Behrens, is to install a biomass district heating system that would help provide heat to all the homes in the community. It would involve a wood boiler, and a series of pipes that would connect each of Wekweètì’s 28 households, as well as 10 larger buildings to provide heat. “Then, instead of having to use their furnace or their woodstove, they would be connected to our boiler and get the heat from our system,” Behrens said. …Behrens said this project would offer a number of benefits for the community. One of the big ones would be employment, where individuals would be involved in maintaining the biomass system as well as securing the wood needed for the system to work.

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Health & Safety

New Vancouver climate projections reveal ‘big public health risk’

By Stefan Labbé
Prince George Citizen
February 8, 2024
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada West

New climate projections for the City of Vancouver have found the number of days the city spends under a heat wave every summer could spike 16 fold compared to the 1990s if the world continues burning fossil fuels under a “business-as-usual” scenario. The analysis from the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium for the City of Vancouver offers an early look at how climate change will impact a big B.C. city under three emission scenarios. The findings, which have yet to be presented to Vancouver city council, found that by the 2050s, the number of extreme heat days above 30 degrees Celsius could climb to between six and 29 times higher. Hot nights above 16 C, meanwhile, are projected to climb to between 43 and 92 nights per year, up from an average of six hot nights a year in the 1990s.

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Forest Fires

‘Holdover wildfires’ from 2023 producing visible smoke again, says B.C. Wildfire Service

CBC News
February 8, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

Wildfires that went dormant over the winter have once again moved above ground, producing visible smoke and smouldering, the B.C. Wildfire Service says. The service says these “holdover fires” are primarily in the Prince George Fire Centre, which covers the northeastern quadrant of the province, and are being aided by ongoing drought conditions in the region. “A holdover fire is a fire that remains dormant and/or undetected for a considerable time after it starts,” the service said in a bulletin, adding they are particularly common for lightning-caused fires or fires of “considerable size.” It is not uncommon for holdover wildfires to be reported, though in past years notices about their reappearance generally come later in the year, around March or April.

 

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