Region Archives: Canada West

Business & Politics

New funding strengthens rural and Indigenous communities

By Ministry of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation
Government of British Columbia
May 21, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada West

Local governments, First Nations and not-for-profit organizations throughout British Columbia are receiving funding to promote economic diversification, clean-economy opportunities and infrastructure development. “We’re partnering with rural community leaders to invest in the future of their local economies,” said Diana Gibson, Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation. “By helping fund impactful projects throughout the province, we’re supporting people and helping their communities to flourish.” The Government of B.C is investing as much as $43 million from the third intake of the Rural Economic Diversification and Infrastructure Program (REDIP) toward more than 130 projects that will strengthen local economies, create an estimated 2,200 jobs and make a positive impact for people and communities across rural areas of the province.

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Regional District of Central Kootenay gives conditional approval to Spearhead re-zoning

By Bill Metcalfe
Nelson Star
May 15, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

The Regional District of Central Kootenay has tentatively voted in favour of a planned expansion for wood products manufacturer Spearhead on the North Shore, but held off on a final decision until a pair of conditions are met. …After several months of information-gathering and three public hearings, the RDCK board decided at its May 15 meeting that it needs two further pieces of information in order to finally decide on the zoning….First, the RDCK requires approval of the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure regarding the details of highway access to the proposed facility. Second, the board has asked that a covenant be prepared and placed on the title of the property that would require Spearhead to comply with the recommendations of a professional environmental consultant before a building permit is issued.

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Industry group questions ‘vague scope’ of new B.C. forestry council

By Andrew Kurjata
CBC News
May 16, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Kim Haakstad

The B.C. Council of Forest Industries (COFI) says it isn’t sure why the province has created a new forestry council with a “vague scope and mandate” when there are already multiple working groups focused on the troubled resource sector. On Thursday, the province announced the formation of the Provincial Forest Advisory Council, which it says is expected to “provide recommendations to support forest ecosystems at the same time as helping the forestry sector.” …However, COFI says the province already has multiple working groups, reports, reviews and initiatives that have yet to be fully implemented. “We are not totally sure what the overall objective and need for it [the new council] is, COFI president Kim Haakstad said in an interview with CBC News. …Green Party House leader Rob Botterell says forestry has always been a key part of the provincial economy, but its future depends on sustainable and long-term ecological stewardship.

Additional coverage in CFJC Today Kamloops, by Michael Reeve: MLA Stamer looking for more diversity on provincial forest advisory council

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Richelieu launches massive new facility

By Larry Adams
Woodworking Network
May 16, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

In just more than a year, Richelieu Hardware combined multiple Western Canada facilities into one much-larger, much more efficient structure in Calgary, Alberta, in the process speeding up customer order fulfillment through automated technology and sophisticated software, and adding a major product line to its already burgeoning product portfolio. And, it is not done yet. The Canadian hardware company’s numbers are big, no matter how you look at it. Sales are $1.8 billion (CAD) in 2024. It serves more than 130,000 customers from 116 facilities throughout North America, and product SKUs top 145,000 items; throwing in special orders, that number can easily triple. And those numbers are constantly changing. …One of the facility’s newest additions is a 104-foot-long Evans Midwest brand laminating line from Choice Machinery Group. The company makes the laminated boards from substrates in its inventory, and laminates from most of the major laminate suppliers that it distributes.

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New BC council launched to support forestry in BC

By Ministry of Forests
Government of British Columbia
May 15, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Members of the newly formed Provincial Forest Advisory Council are tasked with providing recommendations to government on advancing forest stewardship, while supporting communities and workers that rely on forests. Under the Cooperation and Responsible Government Accord 2025, the B.C. government and BC Green caucus have established the Provincial Forest Advisory Council. The council will provide recommendations to government to ensure there are clear and measurable outcomes that support a healthy forests, healthy ecosystems and a healthy forestry sector. …The council will consult with industry partners, such as the Provincial Forestry Forum and ecological, environmental and biodiversity experts, to engage the public for feedback and honour commitments to work in partnership with First Nations. …The council brings together forestry sector leaders that have been jointly appointed by the BC NDP and Green caucuses. The council will provide an interim report this fall, with a final report expected by the end of 2025.  

Related coverage in Business in Vancouver: BC appoints council to improve forest sector, and the forestry ecosystem

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COFI voices concern over exclusion from new BC Forest Advisory Council

By Kim Haakstad, President and CEO
BC Council of Forest Industries
May 15, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Kim Haakstad

Kim Haakstad, CEO of the BC Council of Forest Industries (COFI)… is deeply concerned by the lack of active, front-line industry representation on the newly announced Provincial Forest Advisory Council. To align ecological, economic, and social outcomes, those who manage the realities of the sector every day must have a seat at the table—not just be invited to comment from the sidelines. Also troubling is the council’s vague scope and mandate—especially given the many significant forestry reviews… still being implemented. …Introducing yet another process, while those on the ground are still adapting to new frameworks… does little to support either ecological outcomes or the stable, predictable flow of forest resources BC urgently needs. …Most forestry jobs and investment come from primary operations—sawmills, pulp mills, contractors, and tenure holders—yet these voices are missing from this council, the BCTS Review Task Force, and the Softwood Lumber Advisory Council. This pattern of exclusion is concerning.

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Steelworkers welcome launch of B.C.’s new Provincial Forestry Council with a focus on workers

By Jeff Bromley, Wood Council Chair
United Steelworkers
May 15, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada West

Jeff Bromley

The United Steelworkers union (USW) welcomes the launch of BC’s new Forestry Advisory Council as a critical step toward building a stronger, more sustainable forestry industry that puts workers and communities first. …“Our forest industry has suffered deeply over the past decade, with over 2,500 Steelworkers losing their jobs,” said Bromley. “Now is the time to ensure that BC’s working forest delivers the value to British Columbians that it was always meant to and that includes good, family and community-supporting union jobs.” …I’m on this council to make sure any review or reform of BC’s forest sector puts workers front and centre,” said Bromley. …The USW commends the B.C. NDP government’s effort to bring together a diverse group of stakeholders to guide the future of forestry.

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Nathanson, Schachter & Thompson LLP’s Mark Oulton, K.C., appointed King’s Counsel

Nathanson, Schachter & Thompson LLP
May 9, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada West

Nathanson, Schachter & Thompson LLP is proud to announce that Mark Oulton has been appointed King’s Counsel by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, on the recommendation of the Attorney General of British Columbia. Mark was called to the bar in 2000 and is a leader in forestry and natural resource law, appearing regularly as counsel before the Forest Appeals Commission, all levels of the British Columbia Courts and the Supreme Court of Canada. Mark Oulton has long been recognized as one of B.C.’s leading public law, natural resource and commercial law barristers. His unique background has allowed him to develop a multi-disciplinary litigation practice that sits at the intersection of forestry, commercial and Indigenous law, and engages challenging and important issues at the centre of reconciliation and its intersection with the provincial economy. Only 7% of practicing B.C. lawyers can be awarded the designation of KC. 

Government of British Columbia: Outstanding B.C. lawyers receive King’s Counsel designation

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Eby to visit Japan, South Korea and Malaysia on trade trip to reduce U.S. reliance

By Wolfgang Depner
The Canadian Press in the Vancouver Sun
May 15, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

David Eby

B.C. Premier David Eby says a trade mission to Asia next month will help the province become the “engine of a new Canada,” but an economist says B.C. also needs to become more competitive at home. Eby will be visiting Japan, South Korea and Malaysia between June 1 and June 10 as part of a business delegation that is to include B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham and Paul Choi, parliamentary secretary for Asia-Pacific trade. Eby says the trip is aimed at deepening ties with existing customers buying goods from British Columbia and finding new ones for natural resources in demand around the world. He says the trip is part of a joint plan with the federal government to make Canada more independent and less reliant on the United States.

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

B.C.’s first fossil fuel-free, zero-carbon hospital set to open in 2027

Campbell River Mirror
May 21, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

The new Cowichan District Hospital will be British Columbia’s first fossil fuel-free hospital, Island Health announced on Earth Day, April 22. The new hospital is under construction on Bell McKinnon Road near Duncan on Vancouver Island and is scheduled to open in 2027. It is also Canada’s first hospital to achieve Zero Carbon Building – Design certification from the Canada Green Building Council. “We’re building hospitals that will care for people in our communities for generations,” said Bowinn Ma, B.C.’s minister of Infrastructure. “This certification shows that through innovative design, we can create hospitals that support the well-being of families and a sustainable future.”.. The hospital’s leading-edge sustainability measures will free up resources for patient care while supporting patient and staff well-being and delivering environmental benefits.

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Expanding the Glulam Sector in BC

By Branchlines
UBC Faculty of Forestry
May 21, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

Frank Lam

The global market for mass timber is growing… An emerging opportunity for made-in Canada engineered wood products may be glulam beams and glue laminated timber panels composed of western hemlock and amabilis fir, known as hem-fir. “However, the obstacle to the use of glulam made from BC/Canadian hem-fir comes from both the lack of technical evidence on the strength properties of hem-fir glulam and limitations stemming from current CSA Group standards,” states UBC Forestry Prof. Frank Lam, Chair of Wood Building Design and Construction, who is conducting research. …Western Forest Products is collaborating to test novel applications for hem-fir, particularly in key growth product categories, such as glulam. …“The tree species mix and age profiles are changing in BC and will result in a larger proportion of available stands of western hemlock,” states Mark Dubois-Phillips, Director of Marketing and Product Management with Western.

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Wood Connections Newsletter

The BC Wood Specialties Group
May 16, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

The BC Wood May Newsletter is published, these are some of the headlines:

  • Register to Exhibit Now – 2025 Global Buyers Mission (GBM): Sept. 4th-6th, the Annual GBM is fast approaching, and as in previous years, pre-registration is required to participate in the GBM. Receive your invitation link by emailing gbm@bcwood.com. All registered exhibitors are invited to participate in this year’s Sponsorship Program for the Global Buyers Mission.
  • BC Wood’s Proposed Trade Activities for 2025-26 are designed to connect British Columbia’s value-added wood product manufacturers with global markets. Here is the list of proposed activities for 2025-26…
  • BC Wood has space available for value-added wood manufacturers at the Interior Design Show (IDS) in Vancouver – Canada’s premier platform for cutting-edge design and architectural innovation!
  • BC Wood is pleased to announce a market development program for Mexico.
  • Exhibit with BC Wood at the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Circle of Trade, July 15-17, 2025 in Winnipeg
  •  

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Kootenay Business Round-Up: Report on major projects in development around the region

By Keith Powell
The Kimberly Daily Bulletin
May 14, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada West

We are taking a look at developments throughout the Kootenay region. All of these developments are in the planning, permitting stage or development is underway. …Castlegar: Kalesnikoff Mass Timber Project Completion In Sight — Completion is in sight for one of West Kootenay’s biggest projects. Last year the BC government’s Manufacturing Jobs Fund (BCMJF) contributed some $6.7 million to assist Kalesnikoff Mass Timber Inc. to expand by establishing a new prefabricated mass-timber and cross-laminated timber modularized building facility, and purchasing new machinery to drive production of building components that will be used for rapid housing construction. The $34 million Mass Timber facility will create 90 jobs… This is the third Kalesnikoff operation in the region. Nelson: Spearhead Timberworks Set to Expand – Spearhead Timberworks, recently received a $7.5-million grant from the B.C government to expand its North Shore facility. The new facility will allow it to upgrade and increase production of its own custom glue-laminated timber. 

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Forestry

Mosaic’s 2025 Wildfire Prevention Strategy Prioritizes Community Safety and Forest Health

Mosaic Forest Management
May 22, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

An early start to the fire season on private forest lands underscores the need for careful planning, investment in protection, and collaboration with communities. An early May fire that began on private lands managed by Mosaic serves as a reminder that wildfire season is here. An unattended campfire is believed to be the cause of the three-hectare wildfire that started near Campbell River. Fortunately, a collaborative effort between local fire departments, BC Wildfire Service, and Mosaic prevented the fire from spreading to nearby homes and businesses. The early season wildfire highlights the importance of being responsive and ready. In a recent Mosaic survey, wildfire risk from human activity was a leading concern for those recreating on private managed forest land. “As a responsible landowner and neighbour, Mosaic is committed to fortifying all lines of defence to help ensure the safety of our communities, landscapes, and resources,” said Steve Mjaaland, Mosaic’s Manager of Forest Protection.

Additional coverage in the Comox Valley Record by Brendan Jure: Mosaic Forest Management releases 2025 Wildfire Prevention Strategy

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Groups recruiting ranchers willing to help limber pine, with funding support available

By Waterton Biosphere Region
The Pincher Creek Echo
May 22, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Southern Alberta — This season, Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation of Canada and Waterton Biosphere Region are recruiting ranchers willing to help limber pine by testing the effectiveness of identified beneficial management practices for grazing in limber pine habitats. Funding support is available to address potential costs of implementing such practices. Endangered limber pines face threats from white pine blister rust (an introduced fungal disease), mountain pine beetle, changing fire regimes, climate change and human development. Populations are now declining much faster than they are regenerating. Conserving this slow-growing species requires ongoing planting efforts over the long term to ensure rust-resistant seedlings and trees are distributed across their range.

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B.C. mayors raise concerns over what could be very active wildfire season

By Sonia Aslam
CityNews Everywhere
May 22, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

With drought and tinder dry conditions hitting many parts of the province, a number of municipal mayors are raising concerns about yet another potentially record-breaking wildfire season in B.C. Clearwater Mayor Merlin Blackwell, who has seen flames dance around his community for years, says current temperatures are well above normal. “We are in drought conditions up here. We are expecting an above normal, higher risk wildfire season for sure,” he said. …Mayor Barbara Roden has lived in Ashcroft for 28 years. She says, given the fire seasons in the last several years, fear now hangs over residents. …she says the increasingly extreme heat facing this province year after year is also becoming an equally serious concern. A sentiment understood and echoed by Lytton Mayor Denise O’Connor. She moved back to her family home not that long ago after the village was leveled by a massive wildfire during the 2021 heat dome.

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British Columbia, it’s time for us to step up

By Ravi Parmar, MLA for Langford-Highlands and B.C.’s Minister of Forests
CFJC Today Kamloops
May 21, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Ravi Parmar

…Wildland firefighters put it all on the line during the wildfire season, but they can’t do it alone. The majority of wildfires right now are caused by human activity… Whether you live in Fort Nelson, Sicamous, Kelowna, Maple Ridge or Langford, we all have a role to play. One of the most impactful ways to build wildfire resilient communities is by participating in FireSmart activities like clearing the debris from your yard, trimming trees and shrubs, storing firewood away from buildings, and making sure your property is accessible to emergency crews. But don’t stop there. When you’re using fire on your property, make sure you’re doing it safely. Put out your campfire when you leave your site and follow all open fire prohibitions. These simple actions save lives. …Let’s protect what matters. Let’s honour the work of our wildland firefighters by doing our part. British Columbia, it’s time for us to step up. We’re in this together.

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No going back: The fight to save Saskatchewan’s forests

By Kayle Neis, Larissa Kurz
The Regina Leader-Post
May 22, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

It doesn’t look like much from the grid road. Just an approach with deep tire ruts chewed into the summer Saskatchewan mud, tall jack pine and spruce trees clustered at its opening like a gateway. But if you walk past that first line of trees and down the narrow working trail, it fans out into a pocket of open space. Scattered there are stumps, piles of dirt and roughage, logs that are too small or too large stacked to the side — the aftermath of a logging sweep, both bare and messy. That pocket opens further into a clearing, a few hundred acres in size, that was logged the spring before. Grass now pokes through the churned-up dirt; grasshoppers chirp in the still July heat. Across the clearing, even if you can’t see it through the trees that dot the far side, is the northern town of Big River, Sask. It’s just a few hundred metres away.

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West Fraser logging plan sparks debate over trails, wildlife, and water

By Iziah Louis Reyes
The Cochrane Eagle
May 20, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

When outdoor enthusiasts Jeff Woodgate, Shaun Peter and Joey Reinhardt learned of West Fraser Timber Cochrane’s plans to harvest parts of their beloved forests near Moose Mountain and West Bragg Creek, they didn’t sit back. Fueled by a deep connection to the land and a sense of urgency, the trio founded Guardians of Recreational Outdoor Wilderness (GROW) and launched a petition to cancel the logging plans. Their message struck a chord. Today, more than 20,000 people have signed in support of preserving these cherished landscapes… After listening to public concerns, West Fraser reduced the scope of its plan by 37 per cent, now targeting 556 hectares — 268 in West Bragg Creek and 288 in Moose Mountain. According to West Fraser, the revised plan will now affect only five of 26 trails, with just 2.1 km directly impacted. Another 18.3 km of trail — about 17 per cent of the network — falls within 50 metres of harvest areas.

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Lheidli T’enneh, BC Parks break ground on Ancient Forest enhancement project

By Brendan Pawliw
MY PG NOW
May 21, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Improvements are coming to the Ancient Forest, one hour east of Prince George. The Enhancement Project is funded through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program – Community, Culture, and Recreation Program, with a total project cost of approximately $8.7 million. The Ancient Forest Provincial Park, known as Chun T’oh Whudujut in the Dakelh language, is one of the world’s few inland temperate rainforests, and was saved from logging in 2005… The project was originally funded in late 2019, and was expected to be finished by March of this year. However, it faced significant delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which disrupted planning and operations. This was followed by the tragic loss of both the Project Coordinator and Project Manager due to cancer, resulting in a loss of leadership and continuity.

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Wildsight commends BC Timber Sales promise to protect caribou habitat

By Wildsight
The Castlegar Source
May 20, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Wildsight is applauding BC Timber Sales for its commitment to pause new development in forests that are critical to the ongoing survival of endangered deep-snow caribou in the Revelstoke-Shuswap region. The decision, which was communicated to Wildsight via email, will help safeguard the future of the Columbia North caribou herd, one of the last remaining southernmost herds in British Columbia. “BC Timber Sales controls important caribou habitat within their tenures in the Revelstoke-Shuswap region,” said Wildsight Conservation Specialist Eddie Petryshen. “This is a significant move and it sets a precedent for other licensees to stop logging core habitat in this region.” Logging poses one of the biggest threats to the future of the Columbia North herd, which has only a third of its core habitat protected despite the draft federal recovery strategy determining that 100% should be protected.

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Alberta’s caribou conundrum

By Mark Bradley
Jasper Local
May 20, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Is the Alberta government hell-bent on eliminating what remains of the two caribou herds that live in the mountains just north of Jasper National Park? Looking at the province’s recently released draft management plan for the Upper Smoky area, one might think that is the case. Let’s set this up: the motivation behind the sub-regional plan in the first place was to convince the federal government that the province was doing a good job of caribou conservation. Spoiler alert: they haven’t! Meanwhile, I can’t help but think of the irony that… the company which stands to benefit the most is a US-based forestry corporation, Weyerhaeuser. …For decades now, provincial governments have been promising to conserve and rehabilitate caribou habitat. And for decades, those governments have not made good on those promises. As discussed in previous Jasper Local articles, for caribou to have a chance, they need some space.

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BC Timber Sales pauses logging in threatened caribou habitat

By Stefan Labbé
Business in Vancouver
May 20, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The B.C. government-run corporation responsible for administering a fifth of the province’s annual logging quota says it will pause new operations that overlap with habitat of a threatened caribou herd north of Revelstoke. The pause is expected to last until planning has restarted or government gives BCTS direction, a BCTS planning forester wrote. “We are not operating within caribou core areas,” the email reads. …A statement from the Ministry of Forests said the logging pause was part of a collaboration with First Nations, industry, as well as local and federal governments. …Eddie Petryshen, a conservation specialist with Wildsight, said about 112,000 hectares of BCTS tenure overlap in some way with critical habitat of the Columbia North caribou herd. …Logging has combined with oil and gas exploration to carve up forests across B.C., opening up paths for predators to hunt mountain caribou.

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It could all go up in flames: Why Banff and Bow Valley face mounting wildfire peril

By Bill Kaufmann
Calgary Herald
May 21, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Cliff White

The agony of last summer’s Jasper wildfire casts a long shadow across the Bow Valley. The blaze left a smouldering $1.23 billion in devastating costs to the Jasper area, while also leaving experts predicting — and residents worrying — that other pristine mountain communities such as Banff and Canmore could be next. …“It’s just so primed to burn, you can’t stop it — I don’t think Banff has time,” Cliff White, a former Parks Canada forestry scientist said last summer. …With the lack of follow-up on tending to prescribed burn areas and other breaks “we are doing about one-fifth of what needs to be done just for maintenance, and given the backlog of biomass accumulated, we are at about one-tenth of what should be done for the next two to three decades,” said the Cliff White.

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Spruce budworm: Pest’s persistent presence concerns Sundre-area horticulturalist

By Simon Ducatel
The Albertan
May 17, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

SUNDRE While the persistent, multi-year presence of a destructive pest known as spruce budworm has been noted by Alberta Forestry and Parks, an entomologist for the provincial government said the localized impact is not yet considered an epidemic. “We mapped some minor infestations that are on private land south of the Sundre area,” said Forest Health Specialist Caroline Whitehouse. …“From what we’re seeing from our aerial overview surveys – that’s the primary way that we are doing monitoring for spruce budworm – we’re not seeing what we would call an epidemic at this point,” she said. …Asked whether there are any regions in the province where there might be an epidemic unfolding, she said the department’s data from 2024 does not indicate as much. …Steve Bouchet, owner of Everblue Nursery said he is less worried about his own tree farm. …“But it’s also a forest fire risk.

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Why no one in B.C. knows exactly how many black bears there are

By Chad Pawson
CBC News
May 21, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

They’re common subjects of news stories and interaction with humans and urban areas. But how common is the black bear in B.C.? Wildlife advocates say the answer is far from clear, and better data is required to help and understand the species, many of whom are destroyed as a result of becoming habituated to human food. “I want some more pressure on the government to address this big knowledge gap that we just don’t know how many we have,” said registered professional biologist Helen Davis with Artemis Wildlife Consultants. “We don’t know if we’re hunting too many, if we’re killing too many through conflict.” …Biologists like Davis, who, along with First Nations, want bear dens in old-growth forests protected with provincewide legislation, say there could be a misconception that a key species with ecological and cultural value is plentiful when the data to support that is outdated or even dubious.

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Whistler confronts wildfire uncertainty with bold new plans and collaborative science

By Liz McDonald
Pique News Magazine
May 16, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

With fire season arriving earlier and burning longer each year, Whistler is pushing forward with a suite of new wildfire risk mitigation measures—ranging from forest fuel-thinning and emergency planning to updated bylaws and collaborative research. At the heart of the work is a recognition wildfires are no longer rare events, but a growing threat made worse by climate change. “We are acutely aware that the wildfire risk is rising in Whistler and it’s the single biggest climate change related risk and vulnerability for all of us here,” said the Resort Municipality of Whistler’s (RMOW) manager of climate and environment Luisa Burhenne at the May 13 council meeting. The RMOW has treated more than 100 hectares of high-risk forest, representing about one-third of its 2030 target.

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Spruce budworm: Pest’s persistent presence concerns Sundre-area horticulturalist

By Simon Ducatel
The Albertan
May 17, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

While the persistent, multi-year presence of a destructive pest known as spruce budworm has been noted by Alberta Forestry and Parks, an entomologist for the provincial government said the localized impact is not yet considered an epidemic. “We mapped some minor infestations that are on private land south of the Sundre area,” said Forest Health Specialist Caroline Whitehouse. “That kind of extends along that narrow band of spruce between the public forest and private land all the way west of Diamond Valley,” Whitehouse said. “And then it does peak into the Kananaskis forest area a little bit, but it’s really quite minor in that region”… Steve Bouchet, owner of Everblue Nursery who first established a plantation near Sundre in 1996, said he is less worried about his own tree farm where he can deploy mitigation strategies to attack the aggressive pest but harbours concern about damage trees in the greater area could suffer.

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Seedling Demand Forecasts Show 300-milion/year A Long Way Off—If Ever

By John Betts
Western Forestry Contractors’ Association
May 16, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The BC reforestation sector is not likely to return to the annual seedling demand levels we saw at the beginning of this decade according to recent forecasts produced by the Forest Genetics Council. In 2020 the sector peaked above 300-million seedlings planted. Lately, tree nurseries and planting contractors have seen demand drop by 20% due primarily to the shrinking harvest. It is likely to stay in that range for the foreseeable future based on the Council’s analyses of projected harvests, public reforestation investments, and the effects of climate change on species suitability. …According to information from provincial seedling storage operators, about a third of their tree cartons have been delivered to the field since Interior planting began in April. …Following the launch last March of an online Job board at The Cache,  the industry website has continued to grow with a new “Ask an Expert” section to answer questions posed by workers. 

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Weather conditions expected to fuel active wildfire season in southern Alberta

By Brendan Coulter
CBC News
May 17, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Heavy rainfall this week has brought down the immediate wildfire risk in southern Alberta, but dangerous conditions are still expected in the months ahead. Environment and Climate Change Canada is forecasting above-normal temperatures across the entire province through October. And while much of northern Alberta is expected to welcome above-average precipitation, below-average precipitation is predicted across much of southern Alberta. “If that forecast is correct, we could have fire problems,” said Thompson Rivers University fire management expert Mike Flannigan, adding it doesn’t take long after rain for the fire danger to pick up again. “I have a saying, ‘Give me a week of warm, dry, windy weather. I can give you a raging inferno,'” he said. Most of the Alberta wildfires sparked so far in 2025 have occurred north of Edmonton, according to the province’s wildfire status dashboard. But Natural Resources Canada predicts the fire danger will shift to southern Alberta by August.

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B.C. forecast for drought and wildfire is bleak, but don’t panic yet, say officials

By Andrew Kurjata
CBC News
May 16, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

B.C. is already reporting some areas of extreme drought, which could spell bad news for the summer ahead. In the province’s first drought update of 2025, a few areas have been highlighted as regions of concern, including the Fort Nelson, North Peace and East Peace regions which have been recorded as having moderate to severe drought conditions. Most of the province has yet to be assessed but Vancouver Island is also reported as having level three drought conditions, on a scale of zero to five. Dave Campbell of the River Forecast Centre says while conditions are not as dry as they were in 2024, they are still concerning. The northeast, in particular, he said is now entering its third year of a multi-year drought where there are “long-term precipitation deficits” that contribute to dangerous conditions overall, such as wildfires. …Natural Resources Canada forecasts shows the potential for yet another active wildfire season across Western Canada…

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Mosaic seeks public input on recreational use of private forestry lands

By Hilary Angus
Victoria Times Colonist
May 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Mosaic Forest Management is gathering public feedback through a survey on outdoor recreation on its property, including its use of gates on its private forestry lands. Mosaic manages 550,000 hectares of privately owned land between Victoria, Sooke and Campbell River, or roughly 18 per cent of Vancouver Island’s total land mass. Olivia Lyle, Mosaic’s communications manager, said Mosaic wants the public’s input on topics related to recreation to inform their action and strategies. Key themes and trends from the survey will be compiled into a report that will be shared on their website in the near future. …Mosaic limits access to the land, according to its website, “to ensure the safety of workers and the public, to reduce the risk of wildfires, to protect sensitive plant ecosystems, and to protect wildlife habitat.” …The survey takes about eight minutes to complete and is available on Mosaic’s website until May 23.

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West Fraser hosts open house for West Bragg Creek logging project

By Hannah Lepine and Alesia Fieldberg
The Canadian Press in CTV News
May 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Canada’s largest logging company is hosting an open house to review its plans to harvest trees in the West Bragg Creek and Moose Mountain areas. West Fraser (formally Spray Lake Sawmills) plans to clearcut 268 hectares near West Bragg Creek and another 288 hectares in the Moose Mountain Trail Networks. The total harvest planned for both areas west of Calgary, slated to start in October 2026, is set for 556 hectares, a 37 per cent reduction than what the company initially planned. “We made sure to minimize and work together to come up with the best plan for both groups,” said Tyler Steneker, woodlands manager with West Fraser. The company also altered the placement of a logging road. “That road will turn into a trail when they’re done, so it’s been a very collaborative process. Very pleased with what has transpired so far,” said Mike Duszynski, executive director of the Bragg Creek Trails Association.

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Downton Lake wildfire investigation finds BC Wildfire Service compliant

BC Forest Practices Board
May 13, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

VICTORIA – The Forest Practices Board has released the results of its investigation into a complaint about the BC Wildfire Service’s (BCWS) use of planned ignitions during the 2023 Downton Lake wildfire near Gun Lake. A planned ignition is a deliberate use of fire in an emergency to remove unburned fuel from an area, typically between a control line and the wildfire. Burning this fuel can help contain the wildfire and make fire suppression efforts more efficient. The complaint, submitted by three Gun Lake residents, raised concerns that a planned ignition conducted by BCWS on Aug. 1, 2023, contributed to the destruction of more than 40 homes on the west side of the lake. The board assessed whether BCWS complied with the Wildfire Act and if its decision to use a planned ignition near the complainants’ properties was reasonable, given the conditions at the time. The board found BCWS complied with the Wildfire Act and BCWS’s decision to conduct the ignition in this emergency situation was based on sound forest practices and a reasonable assessment of the wildfire threat.

Additional coverage from Canadian Press in Times Colonist: Planned ignitions in 2023 wildfires were ‘reasonable,’ Forest Practices Board rules

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Deer Park Wildfire Brigade receives certification

By Deer Park Recreation Society
Nelson Star
May 13, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

In response to the growing threat of wildfires in rural areas, 22 members of the Deer Park Recreation Society (DPRS) achieved certification at the Deer Park Fire Hall on May 4 after meeting the BC Wildfire Service Pilot Project For Rural Communities criteria requirements. DPRS formed 27 years ago to provide fire protection services for its communities due to the area’s drier, warmer micro climate and substantially increased risk of wildfires. Following several recent wildfires in the area, including three very large forest fires, the society took charge and applied for grant funding to attain brigade validation by providing additional training, increased wildfire equipment and upgraded personal protective equipment (PPE) for its communities. …The pilot project enables BCWS to assign the Deer Park Wildfire Brigade to assist during wildfire emergencies in their area.

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Health & Safety

Psychological health and safety — Joint committee requirements

WorkSafeBC
May 21, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada West

In this edition of the WorkSafeBC Health and Safety News you’ll find:

  • Learn how promoting psychological health and safety can help you experience stronger employee engagement, greater productivity, and decreased conflict and turnover.
  • Making a WorkSafeBC Claim – If you’re injured on the job, this resource explains what you need to do to file a claim. 
  • Online services – Whether you’re an employer, a worker, or a health care or service provider, you can use our online services to access your account information.
  • Prevent falls from heights – With outdoor construction ramping up, we’re reminding employers that falls from heights continue to be a leading cause of workplace injuries and fatalities. 
  • Safety information session for drivers of commercial vehicles — June 11 – Burnaby RCMP, in partnership with WorkSafeBC, is hosting a safety information session in Delta on June 11. 

 

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Forest Fires

Wildfire deaths in Manitoba turn ‘an emergency into a tragedy’: Premier Wab Kinew

By Darren Bernhardt
CBC News
May 15, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada West

Flags have been lowered to half-mast at the Manitoba Legislative Building to honour two people who died after being trapped by an out-of-control wildfire in the rural municipality of Lac du Bonnet. Premier Wab Kinew, who offered condolences to the family, friends and community members of the victims, called the move “a small gesture towards the sympathies that we feel and how this latest turn in this year’s wildfire situation hits on a different emotional level.” “The news of this loss of life changes what was an emergency into a tragedy,” he said at a Thursday morning news conference. …Kinew urged people heading into the May long weekend — traditionally the unofficial start to summer and camping season — to listen to evacuation orders and stay out of areas where emergency crews are working. As of Thursday, there are 21 fires burning in the province, with a total of 80 recorded so far this season…

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‘Another challenging day’ fighting Manitoba’s wildfires with not enough rain on the way, officials say

By Darren Bernhardt
CBC News
May 14, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

Hot weather, dry conditions and very windy days have caused multiple fires to erupt in Manitoba, forcing people out of their homes and burning buildings — and forecast rain is not enough to help much, fire officials say. There are 24 active fires, six of them requiring significant response, said Christine Stevens, assistant deputy minister for the Manitoba Emergency Management Organization. “This is an extremely dynamic time for us,” she said at a briefing on Wednesday afternoon. “The message that we want to send out to Manitobans today is that if you do not need to be in the parks and if you do not need to be in the areas where first responders need to access, we are asking you to stay away.” Six states of emergency have been declared and five provincial parks, three local authorities, three northern communities and 24 cottage subdivisions have issued mandatory evacuation orders.

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Major Canada wildfire kills two and forces 1000 people to evacuate homes

The Guardian
May 14, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada West

A major wildfire burning in central Canada has killed two people and forced 1,000 more to evacuate their homes, kicking off a fire season authorities warn could prove devastating. Canadian federal police confirmed on Wednesday that two people died in the small community of Lac du Bonnet, in the central province of Manitoba, which is experiencing unusually hot, dry and windy conditions. Manitoba’s premier, Wab Kinew, said he was “deeply saddened to learn of the tragic loss of two Manitobans due to the wildfires”. “My heart goes out to their loved ones,” he added in a post on Twitter/X. In 2023, during Canada’s worst wildfire season, there were no recorded civilian deaths. Chris Hastie of the Royal Canadian mounted police told reporters that authorities “were aware that these individuals had been trapped in the fire”.

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Residents asked to evacuate as wildfire threatens Regional Municipality of Alexander for 2nd time in recent weeks

By Arturo Chang
CBC News
May 13, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

Some residents of a community in eastern Manitoba were asked to leave their property out of concerns a nearby wildfire may threaten their homes should winds turn their way. People living in the Rural Municipality of Alexander between Hill Road and the Bird River bridge were advised to evacuate Monday afternoon after a fire began north of the Bird River area. Chief administrative officer Gisele Smith said the number of people who may have had to evacuate is currently unknown. …The province is also closing Highway 314 through Nopiming Provincial Park bordering the RM to the northeast amid a separate fire. The government said Monday afternoon the fire is currently about 400 hectares and that crews are working on it. …This is the second fire the RM of Alexander has had to deal with in recent weeks.

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