Region Archives: Canada West

Business & Politics

Forest Fires, Timber Access Among Top Topics to be Discussed at COFI

By Jim Stirling
The Logging & Sawmilling Journal
February 27, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Something familiar—and reliable—provides a sense of normalcy and reassurance when our planet and many of its inhabitants are in turmoil. The British Columbia Council of Forest Industries (COFI) annual convention invites just such a response. The 2024 edition is scheduled for Vancouver’s J.W. Marriott Parq Hotel April 10-12. …The theme around which the 2024 COFI convention is framed is: Branching Out: B.C. Forestry for a Changing World. It represents a typically positive and forward looking message. …“Our delegates will hear speakers on where British Columbia and our forest sector fit into a world that is facing changes from geopolitical tensions, innovation, connectivity and a continued focus on meeting global carbon reduction targets,” said Linda Coady, COFI’s president and CEO. “We will be discussing how the B.C. forest sector is branching out in new ways through mass timber, the bioeconomy and other value added ventures.” The background to these conversations is a context of change and complexity.

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Western completes kiln upgrade at Saltair Sawmill and kicks-off additional $35 million investment in BC operations

Western Forest Products
February 26, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Ladysmith, British Columbia  –  Local government representatives (and the Tree Frog News) joined Western Forest Products employees to celebrate the completion of the first continuous dry kiln on the coast of B.C. at the Company’s Saltair sawmill. The Company also plans to continue accelerating its transition to higher value products with approximately $35 million of investments for two additional continuous dry kilns. The newly installed $12 million continuous dry kiln at the Saltair Sawmill increases the mill’s capacity for continuous drying of lumber, and also provides environmental benefits by reducing energy consumption. The new kiln adds to the three existing kilns on site for drying lumber. The Saltair sawmill is the largest single-line sawmill on the coast of B.C. following previous multi-phase strategic capital investments of over $42 million to modernize the sawmill since 2013. …Western is pushing ahead with two additional continuous dry kiln projects. One of the kilns will be constructed at the Company’s Duke Point sawmill in Nanaimo, B.C. and the other one at its Value-Added Division in Chemainus, B.C. [Slide show provided by the Tree Frog News]

Additional coverage in Nanaimo Daily News, by Ian Holmes: ‘We need to catch up:’ Western Forest Products increases focus on value-added products

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Manufacturing company announces significant expansion, new jobs in Barriere

By Hettie Buck
Quesnel Cariboo Observer
February 26, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Paradigm Building Solutions has announced the acquisition of additional land in the Louis Creek Industrial Park just south of Barriere to expand its manufacturing capacities. The company, which provides prefabricated open and closed wall panels used in wood construction, announced Feb. 26 the facility will house new manufacturing space, a warehouse, and serve as the new corporate headquarters. The expansion will mean 35 new jobs, possibly more. Paradigm’s CEO, Philipp Gruner, stated Monday they are extremely thankful for the support, commitment, and cooperation from the district staff, mayor and council and the community. “With just over 65 staff, we have become a major employer in the region, and we take pride in the fact that 99 percent of our manufacturing staff in Barriere are residents,” said Gruner. …the expansion is essential due to the “escalating demand” for the company’s high-quality, energy-efficient, and sustainable building solutions… 

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Canadian forest sector leader, John Allan, dies at 78

Victoria Times Colonist
February 25, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

John Allan, December 23, 1945 – February 23, 2024. On the morning of February 23rd, 2024, John Allan of Victoria, BC ended his brave battle with progressive supranuclear palsy and passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, and on his own terms, by receiving Medical Assistance in Dying at the age of 78. …John entered the BC Public Service in 1971 and worked his way up the corporate ladder until he became a Deputy Minister in 1990. John retired from the Public Service in 1999 and went on to become the President of the BC Lumber Trade Council and CEO of the Council of Forest Industries, positions he held until 2013 in Vancouver, BC. During that time, he assisted in the negotiations for the Softwood Lumber Agreement. In 2013, John semi-retired again but still worked part-time as a consultant until he was asked to return to the BC Public Service to serve once again as the Deputy Minister of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations.

After more than 25 years in the public service, John finally retired again in the Spring of 2021. Throughout his life, John was an avid car collector and fitness enthusiast. During his retirement, John learned guitar and became a passionate player and collector.

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B.C. budget aimed at affordability and priorities of working British Columbians

United Steelworkers Communications
February 23, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

The United Steelworkers union (USW) commends the B.C. government for continuing to invest … infrastructure around the province. …“We are pleased ongoing capital investment in key infrastructure, which includes the use of mass timber in a number of projects. USW will continue to push for … domestic materials to be prioritized in all public projects,” said Scott Lunny, USW Director for Western Canada. “We are pleased that there is ongoing capital investment in key infrastructure, which includes the use of mass timber in a number of projects,” said Lunny. …However, the USW remains concerned about the deepening crisis in the forest sector, noting the 2023-24 decline in exports (-13.1%), in particular overall manufacturing (-6.7%) and a major decline in softwood lumber exports (-39.9%). …“There is urgency to stabilize the primary forest sector, provide predictability and securing of fibre supply. Then First Nations, government, industry and labour need to get to work building the sector back,” said Lunny. 

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COFI Announces Keynote Speaker David Coletto

BC Council of Forest Industries
February 23, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

David Coletto, Chair and CEO of Abacus Data and recently recognized as one of the 100 most influential people in Canadian politics by The Hill Times, will present exclusive findings from new public opinion research commissioned by COFI. His talk and data will explore how wildfires are not just an environmental challenge but intersect with rural economic development, public health, forest health, and climate issues. The session will explore how the need for wildfire resilience could help move the public mindset beyond the debate over protection versus timber, and towards a more unified approach to conservation and forestry management.

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B.C. scraps proposed changes to Land Act amid consultation, controversy

By Brenna Owen
The Canadian Press in the Vancouver Sun
February 21, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Nathan Cullen

The BC government is scrapping a plan that was to allow shared decision-making with First Nations about the use of public land, a move Terry Teegee, regional chief of the B.C. Assembly of First Nations describes as a step back for reconciliation. …Minister Nathan Cullen said the province had decided not to proceed with proposed amendments after holding a series of meetings with stakeholders. Cullen said he spoke with people representing sectors including mining, forestry, oil and gas, tourism, hunting and agriculture, and the “vast majority” told him they want to be part of making reconciliation “work.” But he said officials also heard they need to “take the time to further engage with people and demonstrate the real benefits of shared decision-making.” The minister said some people “have gone to extremes to knowingly mislead the public”… adding there would have been “no impacts to tenures, renewals, private properties or access to Crown land.”

Additional Coverage:

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B.C. NDP backs away from Land Act, blames opposition and critics

By Vaughn Palmer
The Vancouver Sun
February 21, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Vaughn Palmer

Minister Nathan Cullen briefly took the blame at a news conference for the botched and now abandoned consultations on changes to the Land Act. …The mea culpa did not appear in the text of the news release where Cullen announced that the government plan to amend the Act was being put on hold. What did appear was a self-serving account of the humdinger of a job Cullen had been doing on the consultations. …No, he did not do that from the very beginning. …Only after the secretive consultations were reported did Cullen say that he wished he had been more proactive in involving the public. …“We want to get this right and move forward together,” said Cullen, finally getting to the news of the day. “For that reason, our government has decided not to proceed.” …Had Cullen left it at that, he might have managed a credible exit. But he couldn’t resist taking a partisan swipe at his critics.

Additional Perspectives on NDP pull back:

Additional Perspectives on proposed Land Act changes:

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Finance & Economics

Taiga’s fourth quarter results impacted by low commodity prices

By Taiga Building Products Ltd.
Cision Newswire
February 23, 2024
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, Canada West

BURNABY, BC – Taiga Building Products Ltd. today reported its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2023. The Company’s consolidated net sales for the quarter ended December 31, 2023 were $367.7 million compared to $400.8 million over the same quarter last year.  A decrease in sales by $33.1 million. Gross margin for the quarter ended December 31, 2023 decreased to $42.4 million from $49.4 million over the same quarter last year. The decrease in gross margin was primarily due to lower commodity prices during the quarter. Net earnings for the quarter ended December 31, 2023 had a slight decreased to $9.4 million compared to $9.7 million over the same period last year primarily due to lower sales accompanied by an increase in operating costs. EBITDA for the quarter ended December 31, 2023 was $13.1 million compared to $17.2 million for the same period last year. EBITDA decreased primarily due to lower margins earned during the quarter.

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

Nanaimo council approves 10-storey height for VIU student housing

By Chris Bush
Nanaimo News Bulletin
March 1, 2024
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

Vancouver Island University got the nod to raise some tall timber as city council approved a major height variance for a student housing project. Council voted to issue a development variance permit for a 10-storey hybrid mass-timber student housing complex on VIU campus. …According to city documents, the complex will be built next to existing student housing and an outdoor sports court, and will be a seven-storey timber structure built atop a three-storey concrete podium. The housing will provide 266 student beds with shared lounges on each residential floor, student support space, amenity areas and food services and will be built with a goal to achieving Step 4 of the B.C. Energy Step Code for greenhouse gas emissions targets. The $87-million project was first announced in September 2022. The building will be 33 metres tall in an area zoned for a 14-metre building height maximum, so a height variance approval from council was required.

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Vancouver approves new incentives for mass timber construction

By Claire Wilson
Business in Vancouver
February 28, 2024
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

Ken Sim

Vancouver city council is branching out with new incentives to spur more mass timber construction. The motion approved on Feb. 27, which will amend the city’s zoning and development bylaw, proposes a rezoning policy to accelerate mass timber construction for new buildings taller than six storeys. New buildings in areas that would typically allow for eight to 11 storeys can qualify for two additional storeys, and buildings in areas that allow for 12 or more storeys can qualify for three additional storeys. The city’s aim is to provide additional support at the pre-application stage for those looking to build with mass timber. …The province announced last December it would consider changes to B.C. building and fire codes to allow as many as 18 storeys. “It’s a game-changer, offering significant environmental benefits by reducing emissions compared to typical concrete buildings. It’s not only affordable and safe, but stands strong against fires and earthquakes,” said Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim.

Additional coverage in the Daily Hive, by Kenneth Chan: New policies encouraging mass-timber towers approved by Vancouver City Council

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Paul Fast launches his new book, Design Trails: Adventures of a Structural Engineer

Fast + Epp
February 5, 2024
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

Paul Fast

Drawing on 35 years of design experience, Founding Partner Paul Fast reminisces about his work on groundbreaking projects such as the long span timber roof structure for the 2010 Richmond Olympic Oval, the 18-storey TallWood House at the University of British Columbia and the daring catenary roof structure for the Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre. The structural engineering profession, when practiced to its fullest potential, is one filled with much adventure, risk, and reward. Exploring and hunting in the magnificent setting of the Rocky Mountains in the Province of British Columbia is also an activity that has no shortage of thrills for adventure seekers. Paul Fast shares his parallel experiences in the outdoors and in the design office, weaving together common themes such as the joys of mountaintop experiences, disappointments in the valleys, hard climbs, unexpected scary moments, and the many pleasant surprises along the way.

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Teal-Jones’ evolution in shingles – just one of its entrepreneurial Pacific HemFir ventures

Pacific HemFir
February 28, 2024
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

Tom and Dick Jones

The enterprising spirit rooted in the Teal-Jones Group started more than 75 years ago… Consistently seeking new ways to innovate and expand, Teal-Jones is currently building on its expertise in roofing to take shingles to another segment of the marketplace. Its shingles of the future are composites made of ground hemlock flour, recycled plastic, limestone dust, fungicides, UV resistors, and a binding agent. The flour is pressed into a wedge shape to produce a roofing product that would resemble traditional wood shingles. This same process can be expanded to siding in decking applications. Pacific HemFir has several significant advantages over some of the other materials being used in new and innovative applications like composite roofing. It is … affordable. It is sustainable and renewable. Grown and harvested within the context of B.C.’s leading sustainable forest management regime, Pacific HemFir is a natural solution that helps mitigate climate change, locking in carbon over the wood product’s lifetime.

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Mass timber growing pains can be aided through Design for Manufacture and Assembly methods

By Don Procter
The Daily Commercial News
February 26, 2024
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

UNIVERSITY OF BC — While mass timber construction continues to build on its successes, the still-fledgling industry is not without growing pains. There still are knowledge gaps, for example, between the architects, engineers, manufacturers and builders that can present obstacles to achieving the best building possible. But many of those obstacles can be overcome through an approach called Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DFMA) which aims to get all disciplines on the same page early in the project. …AnnaLisa Meyboom was an instructor for a recent three-day workshop on DFMA held at the University of British Columbia’s Centre for Advanced Wood Processing (CAWP). The course included a design-build exercise using CAD/CAM software for the design and manufacture of components. DFMA allows creative input from all the stakeholders on a project to improve the final product, she says, adding all parties have not typically worked together in the past.

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Forestry

How a common — and contentious — pesticide is impacting Canada’s forests

By Marc Fawcett-Atkinson
The National Observer
March 1, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

A professor at the University of Northern BC has been tapped to study the ecological impacts of glyphosate-based pesticides on forests. …Canada’s regulatory regime deems the pesticides safe, but its assessment does not account for the potential chronic impact of low-level exposure and does not examine forests. Researchers have found low-level exposure to glyphosate can impact the health of animals’ gut microbiomes. …Because the federal government does not track where, when and how pesticides are used, it is impossible to know exactly how much glyphosate is sprayed on Canadian forests each year. However, researchers estimate tens of thousands of hectares are sprayed each year, except in Quebec where the practice was banned in 2001. …Lisa Wood, who is working on the project in Alberta, BC and Alberta said, “because of the extent of the use, we start to think about how the previous research applies in these extensive-use cases — are there aggregate effects?”

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BC Community Forests February Newsletter

The BC Community Forest Association
February 29, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West
  • The BCCFA 2024 Conference & AGM will take place in Mackenzie, BC on June 11 – 13. Registration will open March 18, sponsorship opportunities are available now. 
  • Climate Change Adaptation Project The Harrop Procter Community Forest (HPCF) now has a real climate action plan with clear management priorities and site-specific treatments. They want to collaborate with other interested Community Forests to do the same in order to scale up and refine methods.
  • A series of educational wildfire risk managment films To reach and interest a broad audience on it’s wildfire risk reduction work, HP partnered with the Province of BC and Columbia Basin Trust to produce a series of short films.
  • Landscape Resiliency and Wildfire: A Primer for Collaborative Dialogue In November 2023, the Mitigating Wildfire Initiative (MWI) at the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue organized a two-day workshop in Williams Lake.
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Wolf cull initiated to protect caribou population

By Saddman Zaman
The Burns Lake Lakes District News
February 28, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

BURNS LAKE, BC — The province has initiated a wolf cull near Burns Lake as part of a predator reduction activity to protect the endangered Tweedsmuir-Entiako caribou herd. …Confirming the wolf cull activity in the area, Octavian Lacatusu, Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship public affairs officer spokesperson, said the Tweedsmuir-Entiako caribou herd is located in west-central B.C., approximately 50 kilometres southwest of Burns Lake. He said that the herd is designated as threatened under the federal Species at Risk Act, which was why the wolf cull was initiated. …He said that the decline of southern mountain caribou across B.C. has been attributed to extensive habitat change leading to a shift in the predator-prey dynamics of caribou. In the Tweedmuir range, he added that the mountain pine beetle epidemic, associated salvage logging, and large wildfires have contributed to significant landscape disturbance.

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Mike Flannigan proposes national collaboration in extreme wildfire events

By Abby Zieverink
Radio NL 610 AM
February 27, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Mike Flannigan

KAMLOOPS, BC — A wildfire expert at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops is tipping his hand on a national wildfire response. Mike Flannigan says he can see the BC Wildfire Service working together with a National Wildfire Service to help speed up the deployment of crews and resources from other parts of the province, during extreme wildfire situations. Flannigan says this as he points to a recent poll, suggesting 75 per cent of Canadians support a wildfire fighting effort. “I could see a national one working in those extreme periods and be hand and glove with the BC Wildfire Service. …“BC does not have enough crews to deal with 100 new fire starts in 24 hours, but calling in help, ahead of time would hopefully let us deal with it.” …Additionally, Flannigan suggests a national response would also reduce the need to call in international crews to help.

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Retired foresters share wildfire frustrations with Columbia Shuswap board

By Barb Brouwer
The Revelstoke Review
February 29, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Archie MacDonald

Murray Wilson

Retired foresters Archie MacDonald and Murray Wilson presented at the Columbia Shuswap Regional District board meeting in Salmon Arm. The two retired foresters, with more than 35 years experience in the forest sector, said British Columbia’s forests are in poor health and in dire need of a new management prescription to reduce future frequency and intensity. “We have become increasingly frustrated about the misinformation and doom and gloom being spread about wildfires and are equally concerned about the lack of any meaningful measures being put forward by the provincial government to combat wildfires,” said MacDonald. “This is concerning because 95 per cent of the province is Crown land and the vast majority falls within the jurisdiction of the provincial government.” While frustrated with the province’s management, MacDonald said he and Wilson are encouraged by the programs in place at the community level designed to reduce the impact and intensity of wildfires.

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Figuring out which species of tree seedlings work best, and where, in British Columbia’s warming climate

By Jim Stirling
The Logging and Sawmill Journal
February 27, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Out in the bush near Fort Babine, B.C. is a plot of recently planted tree seedlings. They are destined to be under unusual levels of scrutiny as they battle for survival and growth—if they grow at all. The odds are stacked against them. …The Fort Babine site includes species not normally planted in that part of west central British Columbia. … The list includes Douglas fir; ponderosa pine; western larch; cedar and birch. The Fort Babine plantation site initiative is being spearheaded by the B.C. Ministry of Forests with the support of a variety of forest industry partners. The hope is the Fort Babine plantation will become part of a chain across the province. The mixed species plantations are in direct response to B.C.’s warming climate. The idea is the various Fort Babine’s across the province will in time produce a useful insight into which tree seedlings respond best, and where.

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Healing the land after wildfires: Lessons from St’at’imc Nation

CBC News
February 26, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

In 2021, a deadly heat dome produced a devastating wildfire season across British Columbia. While immediate media coverage often focuses on evacuations and the numbers of homes destroyed, many First Nations say what these fires do to the land in their territories — and the cultural lives of their communities — is often overlooked. IDEAS visited St’át’imc territory around Lillooet, B.C. to learn how 21st-century wildfires are reshaping the landscape — and their consequences for plants, animals, and humans alike. This two part-series follows a post-wildfire research project led by northern St’át’imc Nations — Ts’kw’aylaxw, Xwísten, and T’it’q’et-P’egp’íg’lha — alongside the Indigenous Ecology Lab at UBC and the Lillooet Regional Invasive Species Society. More than two years after the McKay Creek wildfire, the nation and their co-researchers are working to document the effects of wildfires — and to chart a new future based on Indigenous approaches to healing and balancing an ecosystem.

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Grassroots groups recommend new Forest Act to protect communities from floods and fires

By Boundary Forest Watershed Stewardship Society
Castanet
February 26, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Boundary Forest Watershed Stewardship Society (BFWSS), a grassroots citizens group in southern BC, is launching a campaign … to push for a new Forest Act so that forests are protected so that communities are safe. As a result of massive losses of intact primary forests due to industrial forestry, BC communities are faced with: decreases in agricultural and drinking water supply and quality; more drought; more fires; and more floods. Scientists, such as Dr. Younes Alila, have been sounding the alarm… Communities and Indigenous groups on the land are paying the price. Despite calls from BC residents to reduce logging of primary forests, the BC government is not changing industrial forestry practices. Volunteer-led groups do not have the resources or influence of the forestry lobby. …BFWSS has a plan to join forces with grassroots groups and Indigenous people across the province to push for a new Forest Act.

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Locals celebrate as province commits $14 million to replace Cowichan Lake weir

By Robert Barron
The Cowichan Valley Citizen
February 23, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

B.C. Finance Minister Katrine Conroy announced that $14 million has been earmarked to help pay for the long-sought replacement of the Cowichan Lake weir in the 2024 provincial budget. With climate change and more extreme droughts every summer, which has seen water levels in Cowichan Lake and Cowichan River reduced to dangerous levels, impacting the local supply of drinking water and fish habitat. …The current weir, located in the Town of Lake Cowichan, was built in the 1950s, mainly to provide industrial water storage for Catalyst Paper’s pulp and paper mill in Crofton. But the weir was not designed to hold the additional and necessary volume of water to sustain the river flows that is now needed, nor does it meet today’s engineering standards required for expansion of storage capacity. The weir is owned and operated by Catalyst Paper, under licence from the province. 

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Minister defends fire-related travel ban that cost Okanagan communities millions

By Klaudia Van Emmerik
Global News
February 23, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

WEST KELOWNA, BC — Bowinn Ma is defending her ministry’s decision to issue a regional travel ban last August due to the McDougall Creek wildfire that erupted in West Kelowna, B.C. …“The conditions had rapidly escalated and the projections grew to more than 28,000 people on evacuation order and 36,000 more people on evacuation alert who could have needed to evacuate at any moment. “In addition, I was hearing from senior executives of key response partners that access to accommodations were hampering their ability to import critical response personnel, firefighters, health-care workers and more,” Ma said. …Ma made the comments after receiving a letter from the Penticton and Wine Country Chamber of Commerce that stated it was seeking assurances that “more effective protocols and accountabilities will be put into place before an emergency measure like a travel ban is ordered.” 

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Critics take aim at B.C.’s forestry policy and debate the province’s financial future

CBC – The Early Edition
February 26, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

BRITISH COLUMBIA — The Early Edition’s political panel weighs in on the details of B.C.’s 2024 budget and how best to diversify and grow the province’s economy. Panelists interviews include Diane Watts (United), Aisha Estey (Conservatives), Adam Olsen (Green), and Moe Sihota (NDP). 

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Logging equipment damaged in community forest

By Marisca Bakker
The Interior News
February 26, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Sam Coggins

Smithers RCMP are looking for suspects responsible for damaging Community Forest logging equipment over the long weekend. Corporal Madonna Saunderson said police received a report of mischief to property on Feb. 17. A grader, parked on the McDonell Forest Service Road was damaged. The Wetzin’kwa Community Forest Corporation confirmed it was one of their logging contractor’s equipment. General Manager Sam Coggins said it is a shame the grader was damaged. “There is pretty thin margins in forestry already,” he said. “Just to shell out money for people having a bit of fun or maybe intentionally vandalizing, it is hurting the contractor and there is the safety aspect to it as well.” This is the second incident of vandalism the Community Forest has faced in the last six months. Late last year, an outhouse was blown up near the Silvern gathering shelter. Coggins is hoping this isn’t becoming a trend.

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B.C. called on to protect caribou with logging moratorium

By Stefan Labbé
Prince George Citizen
February 23, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

A Kootenay-based conservation group is calling on British Columbia to enact an interim logging moratorium in the critical habitat of endangered mountain caribou. …Over that time, B.C. has blown past deadlines to release recommendations that would protect the species. With one year left before the agreement expires, Wildsight says caribou habitat continues to be logged. …Responding to the call for a logging moratorium, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship said in an email it has made “significant progress” recovering southern mountain caribou in the four years since signing the bilateral agreement. That includes implementing logging moratoriums on over 724,000 hectares of land, read the statement unattributed to any individual at the ministry. …Timber companies reached by Glacier Media said interim measures to protect caribou habitat have already had a serious impact on the industry.

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We Wai Kai First Nation reaches agreement with Mosaic for timber harvesting

Campbell River Mirror
February 23, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The We Wai Kai First Nation has reached a two-year agreement with Mosaic Forest Management to undertake collaborative planning and timber harvesting within We Wai Kai territory. The agreement builds on the partnership established in 2022 between Mosaic and Way Key LP, as well as a more recent agreement between We Wai Kai and Mosaic in 2023. The services will take place within We Wai Kai territory on Quadra Island and in Jackson Bay on the mainland. “We Wai Kai Council has made significant investments in our forestry businesses and in building relationships with licencees that operate in our territory,” said We Wai Kai Chief Ronnie Chickite. ..Timber harvesting will be provided by Way Key, a First Nation-owned company employing 14 We Wai Kai band members.

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Northern BC towns blast province after wildfire crew relocation

By Tom Summer
Prince George Citizen
February 26, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The District of Tumbler Ridge and the District of Hudson’s Hope have sent letters to Bruce Ralston, Minister of Forests, expressing their concerns with the removal of an initial BC Wildfire attack crew based in Chetwynd, which has been reassigned to Dawson Creek. In a Feb. 8 letter, Hudson’s Hope called the relocation arbitrary, and noted that no consultation was done with local stakeholders and First Nations, including West Moberly, Saulteau, and Halfway River, in addition to the communities of Chetwynd, Tumber Ridge, Moberly Lake, Hassler Flats, Jack Fish Lake, Farrell Creek, and Upper Halfway. Initial attack crews from Chetwynd have been vital to controlling wildfires in the community and the region through their quick response, explains the letter, signed by Hudson’s Hope Mayor Travous Quibell and Fred Burrows, their Director of Protective Services. 

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Logging near cemetery a ‘shock’ for Port Alberni residents

By Elena Rardon
Alberni Valley News
February 23, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Port Alberni residents are upset to see logging activities taking place right on the edge of a cemetery. …Mosaic Forest Management took down a number of trees near Alberni Valley Memorial Gardens. The logging took place right up to the edge of the Yates Memorial Services cemetery. …In a statement to the Alberni Valley News, Mosaic says they initially planned for a retention patch of trees adjacent to Alberni Valley Memorial Gardens. “However, further professional review indicated that retaining large trees in this area would create public safety risks with potential future blowdown,” said a Mosaic spokesperson. “Small leave trees that posed no risk of blowdown and no safety concerns were retained in this area.” …While Barry Tuck, the owner of Yates Memorial Services acknowledges that Mosaic has the right to log their own property, he feels that the harvesting wasn’t done with much sensitivity to his clientele.

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Wildsight calls for moratorium on logging in core caribou habitat

By Carolyn Grant
Nelson Star
February 22, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

©David Moskowitz

Kootenay-based environmental group Wildsight is calling for an interim moratorium on logging and road building in core southern mountain caribou habitat. The moratorium should stay in place until permanent protections are in place, says Eddie Petryshen, Wildsight Conservation Specialist. Petryshen says that in an agreement signed in February 2020, the province of B.C. committed to actions to stabilize caribou populations. These actions included increasing protection of habitat. “With one year left before the agreement expires, almost no progress has been made, and caribou habitat continues to be logged,” he said. …B.C.’s overall caribou populations has dropped from an estimated 45,000 to 15,000 over the last century. The deep-snow herds have declined from 2,500 in the 1990s to approximately 1,250 today.

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BC Wildland Firefighter Awards: Nominate Today!

FireSmart BC
February 23, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

In recognition of the critical role wildland firefighters play in keeping the province safe, the First Nations’ Emergency Services Society of BC (FNESS), BC Wildfire Service, and FireSmart BC are partnering to create the new BC Wildland Firefighter Awards. Four recipients will be recognized during a special ceremony led by the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation during the Wildfire Resiliency Training Summit in April 2024. If it applies to you please help support this important new award by nominating your fellow colleagues in wildfire response, including any agency, organization, or community. Nominations will be open until February 28.

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Kananaskis logging plan pauses for stakeholder consultation

By Jessica Lee
The Rocky Mountain Outlook
February 21, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

KANANASKIS COUNTRY – A controversial plan to clearcut a forested area about the size of 2,000 football fields in the Upper Highwood of Kananaskis Country is temporarily halted. West Fraser Cochrane, formerly Spray Lake Sawmills, announced in a statement on the company’s website that it’s pausing its 1,100-hectare logging plan to allow time for consultation with stakeholders. “We want to take time to meet with local groups that have expressed an interest in our planned activities and to meet with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) to discuss the bridge over the Highwood River,” it stated. “We are now in the process of meeting with local groups that are interested in sharing information regarding forestry operations in the region.” …The logging plan was met with criticism from recreational and environmental groups like Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), Alberta Wilderness Association and Bragg Creek and Kananaskis Outdoor Recreation.

Additional coverage in the Narwhal by Drew Anderson: After community pushback, forestry company pauses clearcut of beloved Rocky Mountain valley

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Mayors of Hudson’s Hope and Tumbler Ridge express concern over the relocation of wildfire crews

CJDC TV
February 21, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

CHETWYND — The mayors of Hudson’s Hope and Tumbler Ridge are expressing concern over the relocation of the Northern Initial Fire Attack Crew from Chetwynd to Dawson Creek, saying it could double response times in the community and surrounding districts. In letters addressed to B.C.’s Minister of Forests Bruce Ralston, both Hudson’s Hope and Tumbler Ridge condemned the move that they say was made without consultation with stakeholders and local First Nations communities. The mayor of Hudson’s Hope Travous Quibell said the move to not consulate the districts is a breach of the Emergency and Disaster Management Act. “This requirement doesn’t seem to apply to the Ministry,” said Quibell in his letter. Quibell says that the relocation will delay response times from approximately one to two and half hours, and will not only impact or displace residents, but could cost millions to local businesses.

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North Shuswap resident travels to Victoria delivering petition calling for wildfire investigation

By Luc Rempel
Castanet
February 21, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Jim Cooperman

Lee Creek resident Jim Cooperman travelled to Victoria last week, carrying a signed petition from North Shuswap community members calling for an investigation into the wildfire which devastated the area last summer. The documents, which included a press release and a briefing note, were delivered to Premier David Eby, cabinet ministers and government agencies on Feb. 12. In a press release, Cooperman said North Shuswap residents want answers. “Our community demands a full investigation into this disaster and the failed back burn that caused it,” Cooperman said. “No rural community should have to experience the massive damage and trauma that our North Shuswap endured last summer after the BC Wildfire Service allowed two wildfires to expand and then did an aerial ignition prior to a windstorm.”

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Climate change denial bullying declining — but not fast enough

By Suzanne Simard and Steph Troughton
The Vancouver Sun
February 27, 2024
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West

In recent years, a noteworthy shift has occurred in the conversations surrounding climate change. What was once a landscape overflowing with blatant denial and misinformation has gradually transformed into a more balanced science-based discussion. The era of climate change denial is slowly waning, and in its place, is a growing recognition of the urgent need for action. …The reason for this shift is clear: The evidence supporting the reality of climate change has become overwhelming. Scientists from the University of B.C.’s faculty of forestry are among those speaking out about the world’s climate crisis. Hydrology expert and pioneer of applying the probabilistic framework of attribution science to flood risk, Dr. Younes Alila reminds us that climate change and clearcut logging undeniably contribute to record-breaking floods and droughts. His team’s research routinely shows B.C.’s heightened risk from climate and land-use changes are exacerbated by forest cover loss.

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Vancouver Island firm BioFlame producing alternative heating source for the masses

By Don Bodger
The Tofino-Ucluelet Westerly News
February 27, 2024
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West

Marcus Woernle

CHEMAINUS, BC — Marcus Woernle is a young innovator in an ever-evolving forest industry. Woernle, 38, has utilized his experience from the time he previously worked at the Crofton pulp mill as a power engineer to meet growing demands for the residential and commercial heat market while being environmentally conscious at the same time. That led him to establish BioFlame Briquettes, with a production plant located in the Chemainus Industrial Park. He’s the sole owner of the company, with a couple of additional employees and the chance for rapid expansion of the workforce in the future. “We make sawdust briquettes, they’re compressed sawdust bricks,” Woernle pointed out. “What we’ve recently got into which I think is going to be the future is we make a smaller briquette.” With limited natural gas available in many parts of the region, it seemed a natural to him for the development of the product for wood stoves.

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British Columbians support $36B electricity grid expansion, renewables over LNG

Clean Energy Canada
February 21, 2024
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West

VANCOUVER — With a low snowpack threatening hydroelectricity production in B.C., power concerns are more top of mind than usual for many British Columbians. Overwhelmingly, B.C. residents support the provincial government and BC Hydro’s recent $36 billion investment to expand and improve the electricity grid over the next decade, according to a new public opinion survey conducted by Stratcom for Clean Energy Canada. A third of respondents (33%) say the expansion is overdue, while another 40% say the province is acting at the right time. …As for the type of power generated, British Columbians would like to see more renewable options, with hydro (84%), solar (81%), and wind (79%) taking the top spots. Respondents also expressed strong support for energy storage (78%)—often paired with wind or solar power to store energy for later use—and homeowner-generated rooftop solar (75%). [38% identified biomass as important or very important]

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Health & Safety

B.C. paper and pulp mill worker electrocuted in the workplace

By Jim Wilson
Canadian Occupational Safety Magazine
February 22, 2024
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada West

BRITISH COLUMBIA — One worker died 12 days after he was electrocuted at the Canfor Intercontinental paper and pulp mill in Prince George, BC. …45-year-old Gary Lefebvre was operating an electric hoist attached to an overhead monorail… when they collapsed. “An exposed 347-volt conductor was subsequently found on the electric hoist power cable in close proximity to where the worker had been,” according to WorkSafeBC. Lefebvre was given cardiopulmonary resuscitation at the scene, which revived him before he was transported to University Hospital of Northern British Columbia. Lefevre spent four days in hospital before being sent home. “He was in hospital for four days and was cleared by three cardiologists, including an electrical specialist from Vancouver, and six days after he got home he died”. “He was a healthy man, there’s no way it wasn’t related to the electrocution.” Canfor said it will provide support to Lefebvre’s family. …Meanwhile, WorkSafeBC is investigating the incident.

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Forest Fires

Wildfire near Chetwynd “being held”

By Shailynn Foster
Energetic City
February 27, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

CHETWYND, B.C. — The wildfire that sparked near Chetwynd on February 23rd is now listed as “being held” by the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS). Located 15 kilometres on the Hasler Creek Forest Service Road, the wildfire is now being held at eight hectares. According to the BCWS, the fire remained out of control until Monday morning, when it was re-classified. …The BCWS says weather conditions such as precipitation and low temperatures like the region has experienced recently reduce fire behaviour and facilitate suppression.

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