Region Archives: Canada West

Business & Politics

Uncertainties remain for Catalyst Crofton mill employees amid curtailment

By Don Bodger
The Nanaimo News Bulletin
July 17, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

The Catalyst Crofton Paper Excellence mill is in the midst of a month-long curtailment, affecting about 450 total employees from the Public and Private Workers of Canada Local 2 and from Unifor Local 1132. Paper Excellence announced in May it would temporarily curtail its Crofton facility for 30 days starting June 30 and lasting until July 31 when full crews are due to return. “The downtime will result in associated reduced production of pulp and paper,” noted Graham Kissack, Paper Excellence Canada’s VP. …Some maintenance work has been continuing at the mill while employees with vacation time owing have opted to use it to minimize the impacts of the shutdown. Kissack added market conditions are continuing to be monitored and a decision will be made in the next couple of weeks about the scheduled restart. The issue of the Cowichan River that feeds the mill is also a concern for the company during these hot and dry summers.

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Lil’wat Nation, Village of Pemberton each receive $329K from lumber sales

By Brandon Barrett
Pique News Magazine
July 15, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

For the first time since it was formed four years ago, the Spel’kúmtn Community Forest (SCF) has distributed funds to its shareholders from the sale of commercial timber, money that will be used, in part, to support locally focused projects in Pemberton and Mount Currie. Incorporated in 2019 as a limited partnership between the Lil’wat Nation and Village of Pemberton (VOP), the SCF is a community-led forest located on 17,727 hectares of unceded, traditional Lil’wat land that is designed to promote reconciliation and increase benefits to the respective communities. Each partner is receiving $329,000 as a disbursement of funds from the harvest and sale of timber in 2021 and 2022. The same amount has also been earmarked for a newly created Partnership Project Fund, which is aimed at boosting locally focused projects that “align with the shared community values outlined in SCF’s management plan,” according to a release.

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Powell River Community Forest presents huge cheque

By Paul Galinski
The Powell River Peak
July 14, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Powell River Community Forest (PRCF) issued its biggest cheque ever for $3,825,934, funding 12 organizations in the city and throughout qathet region. At the July 13 city council meeting, acting mayor Cindy Elliott said the community forest had been in existence since 2006 and the proceeds go to grants in the community. …Community forest president Greg Hemphill said the money comes from the community forest’s operations and sale of timber. “In this case, for the year 2022 at our annual general meeting in April of this year, our board declared our dividend of $3,825,934, which is a record high,” said Hemphill. “This is deposited into the community forest reserve fund and available for grants to support community projects.”

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Construction complete on Lanfine wind project in Alberta

The Journal of Commerce
July 13, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

WEST OYEN, Alberta — Renewable energy and transmission infrastructure company Pattern Energy Group LP recently announced it has completed construction and has started operation of the 150-megawatt (MW) Lanfine Wind power project in Alberta. …The project, which utilizes 35 Vestas V150 4.3 MW turbines, was managed by Borea Construction and approximately 250 workers were onsite during peak construction activity. …Lanfine Wind has entered into a 10-year financially settled power purchase agreement with West Fraser, a diversified wood products company for approximately 50 per cent of the facility’s output, which is supporting West Fraser’s efforts to reduce its scope one and two GHG emissions by 46.2 per cent by 2030, a Lanfine release stated.

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Both sides of B.C. port strike now considering mediator’s recommended deal

CBC News
July 12, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

A federal mediator appointed to help bring an end to the B.C. port strike has delivered their recommendations to both sides of the dispute, meaning the parties are now on deadline to respond on Thursday morning at the latest. …The International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the B.C. Maritime Employers Association now have 24 hours to decide whether to ratify the deal in principle — that is, until 10:30 a.m. PST Thursday. O’Regan appointed the mediator Tuesday after deciding the sticking point in negotiations wasn’t enough to justify the ongoing strike. The strike so far has cost an estimated $5.5 billion, based on industry body Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters’ calculation of about $500 million in disrupted trade every day. The ticking clock on the mediator’s recommendation could mark the beginning of a resolution for the strike, but business owners have said the current backlogs will still take weeks to sort out.

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Canfor blames port strike as it temporarily lays off 450 workers

CBC News
July 12, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

B.C. forestry giant Canfor is temporarily laying off approximately 450 workers at Prince George’s Northwood Pulp Mill, blaming the ongoing port strike. The company says it is running out of space to store its pulp products destined for overseas markets that are unable to be shipped as long as port workers in Vancouver and Prince Rupert are off the job. President and CEO Kevin Edgson said roughly 70% of its pulp products destined for Asia are being held up and that the curtailment will last as long as the strike continues. …Canfor’s Michelle Ward said until a deal is actually reached, Canfor will continue with its plans to curtail operations down to a skeleton crew. “We’ll start the process onWednesday evening and it will be fully curtailed on Thursday,” she said. “When we’re able to restart the mill, employees will be brought back to help with the process.”

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Finance & Economics

Key takeaways from the 2023 Global Softwood Log and Lumber Conference

By Sarah Stotler
Canadian Forest Industries
July 17, 2023
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Brendan Lowney, principal of macroeconomics at FEA kicked off the conference with an overview of the current macroeconomic landscape specific to the wood products industry. Lowney highlighted key industry drivers such as population growth, urbanization, and infrastructure development. …Paul Jannke provided reassurance that prices are expected to remain elevated in comparison to historical levels. The residential construction sector is expected to experience a modest recovery in North America. …Rocky Goodnow emphasized that the current outlook aligned with expectations, with weakened markets and decreased demand for softwood logs. …On the supply side, Goodnow was pessimistic when it came to the U.S. West Coast’s ability to increase log output. He noted Western Washington and Oregon have been affected by higher prices, losses of timberland due to wildfires, and stricter regulations on logging practices. …Bill Parson delivered the keynote presentation on WoodWorks.

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

2023 Global Buyers Mission Update

BC Wood Specialties Group
July 17, 2023
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

Join us for our celebratory 20th Annual Global Buyers Mission (GBM) September 7th to 9th, where we will host international buyers and specifiers from all over the world, to meet our Canadian suppliers in Whistler. If you are an industry member and thinking about exhibiting to get yourself in front of these buyers and decisions makers – ACT FAST! We have 4 booth spaces left at this point and they will go on a first-come basis. We anticipate many “new to GBM” Buyers this year, and with the expert help of our overseas staff, the continued assistance of the federal International Trade Commissioner Service and the provincial Trade & Investment Representatives abroad, we expect a good showing from across the globe. Features include WoodTALKS at the GBM – this year featuring the Mass & Heavy Timber Symposium on Saturday – and the Building Connections program. All designed to expand our Canadian wood products industry’s international business opportunities.

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Final intake of the Mass Timber Demonstration Program advances BC’s design and construction capabilities

naturally:wood
July 14, 2023
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

We are thrilled to announce that eight building projects and four research projects have been selected for funding in the third and final intake of the Mass Timber Demonstration Program. These proposed buildings are pushing the boundaries of low-carbon construction, applying opportunities for prefabrication, and embracing mass timber construction. The Mass Timber Demonstration Program (MTDP) provides funding for incremental costs in buildings that showcase emerging or new mass timber and mass timber hybrid building systems and construction processes. 

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Wood poles — old-fashioned, or stands the test of time

Manitoba Hydro
July 14, 2023
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

Forest fires and pole fires are a concern, people are always asking: “why are we still using wood poles for distribution lines?” Historically we used wood poles because wood is a renewable, abundant, strong, and inexpensive material. …engineers have a very good understanding of its material properties and how it will behave in different environments. Darryl Orr, an engineer who works with standards and materials, said, “The wood pole is a naturally a strong material that is easy to modify, climb, treat with pesticides, and is inexpensive relative to the other options available. It is also a renewable resource and naturally sequesters carbon during its development.” …Wood also has advantages during installation and replacement work. “It’s inexpensive and robust allowing for quick reconstruction with minimal equipment and tooling.” …So, while wood is still a best option overall, Manitoba Hydro has tested or is using many of the alternatives to wood poles.

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The natural building blocks of sustainable architecture

By MGA | Michael Green Architecture
TED Ideas worth spreading
July 14, 2023
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

We’re excited to share Michael Green’s latest TED talk! The built environment creates almost 40% of global energy related carbon emissions, and our industry must move from the Industrial Revolution to the Natural Revolution if we want a sustainable future on this planet. Michael outlines the urgent need for us to transform our thinking about our current carbon-intense buildings, and explores the role that biomaterials and technology will play in new, plant-based cities around the world.

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Manitoba Government Supports Exploring Greener Technology at Kraft Paper Mill

Government of Manitoba
July 13, 2023
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

The Manitoba government and the Community Economic Development Fund are partnering with Canadian Kraft Paper Industries Ltd. (CKP) to explore opportunities for transitioning to a greener economy in northern Manitoba, Natural Resources and Northern Development Minister Greg Nesbitt announced today. “Our government continues to invest in the north, creating and maintaining sustainable jobs,” said Nesbitt. “The use of forest biomass in the north can benefit both the environment and the local economy. It is a potential win-win that is well worth exploring further.” With the support of a $90,000 grant from the Manitoba government, $75,000 grant from the Community Economic Development Fund and $130,000 investment from Canadian Kraft Paper Industries Ltd., CKP will examine options for enhancing the use of biomass to generate energy at the kraft mill in The Pas. A biomass-based fuel alternative would support fossil fuel substitution resulting in reduced greenhouse-gas emissions and would increase the long-term viability of the facility.

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Forestry

She planted more than 4,500 trees in a day and found an audience of millions

By Nono Shen
Canadian Press in Moosejaw Today
July 18, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Leslie Dart

In a video viewed millions of times on social media, Leslie Dart walks across a desolate and burnt landscape in Saskatchewan. She plunges a small spade into the ground, levers open a hole, drops in a seedling, then stomps the hole shut, barely breaking stride as she does it again, and again. By the end of that day, Dart had planted 4,545 trees. In the past three summers, she has planted 372,290 trees across Canada. Dart, who now works in the aerospace manufacturing industry after graduating from Durham College, is among the thousands of tree planters, many of them college students, who work mostly for logging companies across Canada to plant trees each summer. …The B.C. Ministry of Forests says replanting is a legal requirement for forestry licensees, who must “regenerate” a specified number of trees in their stewardship plans. More than 200 million seedlings are planted in B.C. each year.

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How to prevent wildfires? Follow Slocan Valley’s community model for risk reduction

By Gordon Hoekstra
Vancouver Sun
July 17, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Stephan Martineau

In the Slocan Valley in B.C.’s southern Interior, a community group has used logging rights and responsibilities granted by the province to help reduce wildfire risk. That model — where a community has stewardship of the forests in its surrounding area — could help other communities successfully confront the increasing threat of climate-driven wildfire in B.C., says Stephan Martineau, the manager of the Slocan Integral Forestry Cooperative, known as SIFCo. He’s an advocate of putting wildland-urban interface areas surrounding communities — including First Nations – under its own stewardship system, so communities can directly tackle the wildfire risk. …The area-based rights, called a community forest, allow the residents to have a say on logging and preserving natural values. …Brian Watson, the operations manager for the Forest Enhancement Society of B.C., said the Slocan co-operative’s efforts demonstrate a cost-effective strategy for community protection but also serve as an impressive demonstration of landscape-scale climate change adaptation and wildfire preparedness.

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Tree Planting 2023: A Continuing Season of Upsets

By John Betts
Western Forestry Contractors’ Association
July 14, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

As we have often seen, one of the strengths of our reforestation contracting sector is its ability to adapt to unexpected conditions ranging from road washouts to a COVID pandemic. But 2023 may be showing the limits of that resilience. Disruptions to this year’s seasonal planting campaign have been various, numerous, and severe. For many planting contractors, and nurseries lately, it’s been difficult to maintain operational tempo and continuity coping with heat, drought, smoke, wildfire, and floods. The unsettled conditions may be affecting the workers’ resolve as well. …Through all this, nevertheless, the vast majority of this year’s estimated ~390-million seedlings (290 in BC the rest in Alberta) already have or will be planted. Approximately 60 million seedlings planned for this summer in BC are underway-albeit subject to smoke and fire. …Just how the industry can adapt to this operationally and contractually will be a major topic for the WFCA annual business and market summit in Kamloops in September.

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Alberta wildfires having positive impact on mountain pine beetle population

By Cindy Tran
The Edmonton Journal
July 16, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Alberta’s wildfire season has been taxing on several communities, but they’re having some positive impact on the province’s mountain pine beetle population. Nadir Erbilgin, a professor of forest health and the department chair of renewable resources in the faculty of agriculture at the University of Alberta, said that in order for wildfires to eliminate pine beetles they have to fully burn the trees that they are infesting. “When you burn the trees, you’re burning the insects under the bark, when the fire kills the tree it is no use to the beetles because they rely on the fresh source under the bark and it becomes charcoal so they cannot use it,” said Erbilgin. “The population is significantly declining.” …Erbilgin said that management activities and the province’s push to get rid of the beetles through burning and tree cutting are a huge contributing factor to the decline of the beetle alongside the colder weather.

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As climate changes, where will B.C.’s wildlife find refuge?

By Stefan Labbé
North Shore News
July 14, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

In the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Jason Fisher nailed the flesh of a beaver carcass to a tree. The bait set, he unspooled several metres of barbed wire, wrapping it loosely around the trunk to snag a fur sample for later testing..  …A wildlife biologist from the University of Victoria, Fisher had come to the B.C.-Alberta border to find wolverines. …“As the climate warms, wolverine range is contracting,” said Fisher. “In Kananaskis Country, the Golden area, you used to find wolverines. You don’t anymore.” …It’s one reason the biologist says wolverines are getting spotted in communities far out into Alberta’s prairie, he says. “Their backs are against the wall,” said Fisher. “They push into the prairies and are never heard from again. They’re just starving out.” …The planet’s changing climate is projected to unravel the natural balance as we know it — from the planet’s biggest to its smallest creatures.

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Finding a better balance in B.C.’s forests

By Anna Dulisse
The Prince George Daily News
July 16, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Mike Morris

Since 2013, Mike Morris has served as an MLA with the BC Liberal Party (BC United) for the Prince George – Mackenzie riding. …Mike believes volume-based logging must end and that an ecological approach to forest harvesting is the only way forward. He wants to see forestry practices focus on forest health, climate change and ecosystem restoration so that wildlife can thrive and mills can continue to operate. …Mike’s wildlife advocacy work from within the government is coming to an end soon. He will not be running in the likely 2024 election, and instead, he hopes to “turn into a grizzled old trapper granddad and go trapping and take my grandkids out.” Free of the constraints that come with being an elected official, Mike may still continue to push for forestry reform and wildlife protection.

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One size does not fit all: Creating space for small-scale forestry in British Columbia

By Rebecca Anne Riggs, Chris Gaston, James Langston and Jeffrey Sayer
University of British Columbia, Faculty of Forestry
July 17, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Small scale forestry in British Columbia is growing as a platform to integrate community, climate, and forest values. This policy brief highlights critical constraints facing small forest tenures and the need for engagement on long-term solutions that allow for locally driven management decisions. The intention to Modernize Forest Policy in BC creates an opportunity to break long-standing constraints facing small-scale forestry, reconsidering how forest stewardship priorities are regulated for diverse and local values. A long-term vision for small local forestry in British Columbia that creates enabling conditions for diverse and locally appropriate forest management is currently missing from BC forest policy. Small tenure holders seek greater autonomy, expanded revenue options, and improved opportunities for innovation and more diverse fibre utilization. Creating a more inclusive forest sector will require transformative policy change and local initiatives that promote diversity in tenure, management, and stewardship.

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‘Should have never happened’: B.C. MLA shocked with Indigenous band clearcutting

By Paul Johnson
Global News
July 13, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

A large area of treaty land has been clear cut, leading to concerns with a B.C. MLA, Mike Morris, and a resource policy analyst, Ben Parfitt. The Kerry Lake clear cut, north of Prince George, B.C., has Morris disturbed with its staggering size, which is seven times larger than Stanley Park, and he noticed no culverts were installed to manage erosion. “This should never have happened,” Prince George-Mackenzie MLA Mike Morris told Global News. “There should have been small wildfire retention areas. There should have been several hundred hectares of mature forest retained for wildlife habitat but it wasn’t. Everything was cleared right out.” Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives B.C. resource policy analyst Ben Parfitt also investigated the clear cut area.

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BC Wildfire Service puts out call for 1,000 more firefighting personnel

By Dirk Meissner and Mia Rabson
The Canadian Press in the Vancouver Sun
July 13, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

British Columbia is putting out a call for national and international help to fight wildfires that are blanketing communities in thick smoke, as some residents watch flames approach their homes. The province had requested 1,000 additional foreign firefighters to join 160 from Mexico and the United States already in B.C., said Bowinn Ma, minister of emergency management and climate readiness. Ma also formally requested more federal resources from her counterpart in Ottawa, Bill Blair, to help fight the 350 or so fires burning across B.C. She said at a briefing about drought conditions in B.C. on Thursday that an “incident management team” from Australia is arriving on Saturday. Firefighters from South Korea, France, South Africa and the Dominican Republic have also been fighting fires in Canada, during what is shaping up as a record-breaking fire season. …Blair said Ottawa is ready to deploy resources.

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We need a province-wide action plan to restore landscape resilience to wildfire

By Doug Donaldson, wildfire resiliency – University of Victoria, BC Forest Minister 2017-2020
Vancouver Sun
July 13, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Doug Donaldson

The trifecta of managing forests primarily for timber values, the shifting climate, and changing settlement patterns has created a triple-threat on the ground. …We have the largest single wildfire in colonial B.C. history burning in the northeast, with the usually highest-threat season still weeks away. …With the 2017, 2018 and 2021 catastrophic wildfire seasons barely in the rear-view mirror, this season is on track to be another record breaker. …one route to a better future when it comes to wildfires in B.C. is the multi-lane path laid out in June by the Forest Practices Board. …The board calls for an overarching approach with wildfire at its centre, citing hard-hit California’s wildfire and forest resilience action plan as an example. B.C. is different from California yet the scale of the wildfire challenge we face compels actions on a similar scale. This involves a “whole of society” approach where senior governments (provincial, Indigenous, federal), communities, industry and civil society are pulling for a common goal. It’s time. The wildfires demand it.

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BC Forest Practices Board audit of BC Timber Sales operations in Fort St. James area finds issues

BC Forest Practices Board
July 13, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

FORT ST. JAMES – An audit of the BC Timber Sales Program (BCTS) and timber sale licensees in the Fort St James field unit portion of the BCTS Stuart-Nechako Business Area found significant issues with bridge documentation, as well as unsound practices related to terrain stability assessments and soil disturbance. The Forest Practices Board (FPB) conducted the full-scope compliance audit of all BCTS and timber sale licence (TSL) holders’ forestry activities between June 1, 2021, and June 24, 2022. The audit found that one TSL holder had installed three bridges on fish streams without preparing and retaining all the required documentation. “The Forest Planning and Practices Regulation is specific about the documentation required for bridge construction. This is to ensure bridges are installed soundly and streams adequately protected,” said Rick Monchak, an FPB board member. “In this case, the licensee did not provide the legally required documents, and as the bridges were removed prior to the field inspection.”

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Women in the mix for Powell River Logger Sports competition

By Tanya Hill
Powell River Peak
July 11, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Rosalea Pagani

Before competing in her first Powell River Logger Sports event in 2016, Rosalea Pagani, a local forestry worker with deep roots in the community, hadn’t heard of logger sports. Throwing an axe and sawing through logs for sport had never crossed her mind, until she was approached by Powell River Logger Sports board president Bob Marquis. Pagani was working for BC Ministry of Forests at the time while Marquis was one of the road building contractors. …Marquis invited Pagani that evening to practice and learn how to throw an axe. Three days later she was competing in her first logger sports event. That year was the first logger sports event Powell River had hosted in 11 years. “There were no women competing and [Marquis] wanted some local females from Powell River in the competition,” said Pagani. …The logger sports event is this weekend, July 15-16, at Loggers Memorial Bowl at Willingdon Beach. Carvers will start Friday, July 14.

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Five wildfire risk reduction projects to better protect communities in the Boundary Region

Forest Enhancement Society of BC
July 13, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Midway, BC — efforts are being made by the West Boundary Community Forest (WBCF) to better safeguard nearby communities from the potential dangers posed by wildfires. With the infusion of new grant funding from the Forest Enhancement Society of BC, the WBCF has made significant progress to reduce the risk of wildfires in the area. Last year, WBCF received a grant of just over $1.1 million from FESBC. With this funding, the WBCF has taken proactive measures to enhance the safety of the communities of Midway, Greenwood, Grand Forks, Rock Creek, and Westbridge by working to mitigate the risk of wildfires. “Sustainable community forest management is critical to reducing wildfire risk in our province,” said Bruce Ralston, Minister of Forests. Funding will be used to clean up dead material and ladder fuels in the understory, limit insect infestations by salvaging trees that host beetles, and improve foraging for wildlife. 

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B.C.’s fire season now second-worst on record

By John Arendt
Goldstream News Gazette
July 13, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

British Columbia’s 2023 wildfire season is now the second-worst on record — and it’s still far from over. As of July 13, 1,040 fires have been recorded and more than 1.22 million hectares have been burned, according to statistics from the BC Wildfire Service. The wildfire season is calculated from April 1 to March 31, each year. The bulk of this year’s wildfire activity has been within the Prince George fire centres, covering northeastern B.C. In that region, 346 wildfires have been reported and 1.14 million hectares have been destroyed. The Kamloops Fire Centre, which includes the Thompson-Okanagan, has had 167 fires and around 3,000 hectares destroyed. The amount of land burned provincewide so far this year now exceeds the damage from the 2017 wildfire season. …The worst fire season in British Columbia’s history was in 2018 when 2,117 fires destroyed 1.34 million hectares.

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Powell River Logger Sports reflects history of industry

By Tanya Hill
The Powell River Peak
July 13, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Fourth generation logger Bob Marquis has lived and breathed the forestry industry on the Sunshine Coast as well as globe-trotted around the world competing in logger sports games for more than 40 years. He is a former logger sports world champion, and the current president of the Powell River Logger Sports Board. “I started [competing] for my brother’s memorial show,” said Marquis, in an interview with the Peak. “He passed away in a logging accident.” …Marquis believes the local event is “Canada’s first real global competitive sport here in Powell River.” In 1971, BC premier WAC Bennett proclaimed logger sports to be BC’s official industry sport. At this year’s event (July 14 – 16 at Loggers Memorial Bowl), BC’s minister for sport and culture, Lana Popham, will be at the opening ceremony to proclaim July 15 as Loggers Sports Day in BC. “It’s rare to have an industry where there has been a sport created,” said Marquis. 

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Too costly?

Letter by Bill Ellis, Sechelt
Sunshine Coast Reporter
July 13, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

In the ‘50s and ‘60s, when I was working in the logging industry, we still had fire seasons. We still burnt slash, or mitigated as they now call it. We still had forestry lookouts. …When the weather became hot, these towers were manned day and night. When smoke or fire was spotted the forestry station then took action. …As time wore on, the forest companies and government decided that it was too costly to keep burning slash as there seemed there was not too much of a risk. It was decided if people were told to be careful there was no reason to shut down the forest during hot weather.  …Now we see the effect: this has helped create the fire problem we have. I hope this will let people know, we need the forest to be closed during these hot spells. Why take a chance? Mitigate, as they now call it, must keep going on. 

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Severe drought likely to put even more stress on already weakened trees

By Cindy White
Castanet
July 12, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

How’s that tree doing in your backyard or on the boulevard in front of your house or business? Strong winds last weekend brought some trees crashing down in Kelowna. Now they’re facing another threat from worsening drought conditions. “We are moving into pretty severe drought conditions in our area. What we might see from some of our trees in the city are kind of going into an early fall dormancy,” says Tara Bergeson, urban forestry supervisor with the City of Kelowna. “They’ll conserve energy by…we might see browning off, we might see fall colours coming a little bit early. “If you see that happening for trees on your property or on city trees on the boulevard, they could certainly use an extra five gallon bucket of water once a week to help them through this period.”

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Drought update follows minister’s call for B.C. residents to conserve water

Canadian Press in the Prince George Citizen
July 13, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

VANCOUVER — British Columbia residents will get a clearer picture today about the status of the drought that has parched much of the province. Emergency Management and Climate Readiness Minister Bowinn Ma has scheduled a briefing with weather and wildfire experts to provide an overview of the drought situation. Earlier this week, she urged B.C. residents to take measures to conserve water, including watering lawns sparingly, taking shorter showers and doing only full loads of laundry. Ma said many communities are already implementing water restrictions, and further measures across larger areas of the province are anticipated. …Premier David Eby and Ma both said this week the situation in B.C. is serious and much of the province has never before experienced the current level of drought this early in the summer.

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Secrecy surrounds forest spraying

By James Steidle, Stop the Spray
The Prince George Citizen
July 12, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

PRINCE GEORGE, BC — It is a fundamental democratic principle that the taxpayer may scrutinize the public expenses they contribute to. So why don’t they let us see what we are brushing and spraying? …But you don’t. Those spray maps and brushing maps showing the locations where this public money is being spent, which Stop the Spray BC demanded two years ago, are still not published, despite new reporting requirements in forestry. It’s not like they can’t do it. The Ministry of Environment in fact gets the maps before spraying. They just don’t have to alert the public. …Back in 2018, when I got the spray maps directly from Canfor, I publicized a cutblock that shouldn’t have been marked for spraying. And what do you know? The company backed out of spraying it. …Canfor stopped giving me the maps after that.

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B.C. looking for input on grizzly stewardship, bear viewing

By Ministry of Forests
Government of British Columbia
July 12, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

British Columbians are invited to share their thoughts on grizzly bear stewardship and commercial bear viewing, as the Province develops strategies to strengthen environmental stewardship and biodiversity. The Ministry of Forests is gathering public feedback on the draft Grizzly Bear Stewardship Framework and the Commercial Bear Viewing Strategy through two online questionnaires, which can be accessed online until Aug. 18, 2023. The Grizzly Bear Stewardship Framework will strengthen stewardship of bears and their habitat, better managing biodiversity in B.C. and ensuring bears continue to be an integral part of healthy ecosystems. The Commercial Bear Viewing Strategy provides guidance and recommendations for bear viewing throughout the province. The strategy includes guidance for viewing bears in a way that reduces viewer’s influence on bears and the development of area-based viewing plans to ensure a healthy and sustainable wildlife tourism industry in British Columbia. 

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Province assisting communities; people, businesses urged to conserve water

By Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness
Government of British Columbia
July 13, 2023
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West

As drought conditions worsen, with unprecedented levels of drought being observed in British Columbia this early in the season, people and businesses are urged to prioritize water conservation. In B.C., drought levels are measured on a 0-5 scale. Drought Level 5 means it is almost certain that an area will see adverse effects on communities and ecosystems. As of July 13, four of B.C.’s 34 water basins are at Drought Level 5: Fort Nelson, Bulkley Lake, West Vancouver Island and East Vancouver Island. There are 18 water basins at Drought Level 4 – meaning more than two-thirds of these basins are in level 4 or 5. …Every drop counts – people are encouraged to conserve water where possible.

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Alberta commits $60-million to help transform industry in the province

By Emma Graney
Globe and Mail
July 12, 2023
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West

On Wednesday, Strathcona Resources Ltd. received $7-million from clean-tech investor Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) to help fund a $30-million project to capture carbon from natural gas fired turbines used at its Lindbergh oil sands facility near Cold Lake, Alta. …The project is one of 14 emissions-reducing initiatives selected by ERA for a share in $60-million from the province’s carbon tax on large emitters. …But the projects in the latest round of ERA funding aren’t limited to the traditional oil and gas sector. They cover a swath of industries in the province, from forestry to energy, transportation, construction and agriculture. CarbonIP, for example, will receive $1.8-million for a project converting forestry waste to anodes for use in lithium-ion batteries, and Canadian Forest Products Ltd. $10-million for a technology to use geothermal energy at forestry operations.

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Health & Safety

Centralized alerts would help eliminate wildfire confusion, northern B.C. residents say

CBC News
July 18, 2023
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada West

As more emergency alerts are issued this summer in British Columbia’s ongoing response to wildfires, some residents say the lack of a centralized warning system is causing confusion and leaving them on edge. Regional districts and First Nations issue evacuation orders and alerts for residents in their jurisdiction after co-ordinating their response with the provincial government and the B.C. Wildfire Service. But while Emergency Info B.C. ultimately collates all the alerts across the province, when it comes to real-time alerts, residents say they’ve faced confusing choices between the official B.C. Wildfire app, social media and third-party alert services — with the current turmoil at Twitter highlighting the unreliability of popular social media platforms. …B.C. Wildfire Service says there is a “known issue” with the app that occasionally stops emergency alerts from displaying on its map. …Ministry of Emergency Management said that familiarizing oneself with the local district’s emergency protocols should be part of emergency kit planning.

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Return to work obligations: Duty to cooperate and duty to maintain employment

By Policy, Regulation and Research Department
WorkSafeBC
July 18, 2023
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada West

Our Policy, Regulation and Research Department is releasing a discussion paper with proposed policies regarding two new provisions of the Workers Compensation Act: the duty to cooperate and the duty to maintain employment. The proposed policies provide guidance on these new provisions, added to the Act by the Workers Compensation Amendment Act (No. 2), 2022(Bill 41). The discussion paper and information on how to provide feedback can be found here: Proposed policies regarding duty to cooperate and duty to maintain employment. You’re invited to provide feedback on the options until 4:30 p.m. on Friday, September 1, 2023. WorkSafeBC’s Board of Directors will consider stakeholder feedback before making a decision on the proposed policies.

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Clear Safety Guidelines Needed For Forestry Crews Working In Heat and Smoke

By John Betts
Western Forestry Contractors’ Association
July 14, 2023
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada West

With smoke conditions in some parts of BC so severe and obviously hazardous, planting crews in the thick of it are now standing down until conditions improve. But it’s not always clear—when it comes to smoke and heat—just when it’s unsafe to work outside. WorkSafeBC has some general guidelines for heat stress. And research continues into smoke. But for a forestry crew leader looking at temperature, humidity, and smoke and sometimes all three together on a worksite, they need more specific guidance around safe exposure thresholds. While we break worldwide heat records research is showing cardiovascular strain can occur at 34ºC under humid conditions. Some wood smoke particles can directly enter our bloodstream posing a pernicious threat. Wildfire dirt, the kind that firefighters get on their clothes and themselves, is also hazardous as it’s absorbed through our skin. Planters working on dry burned ground may have the same risks. [scroll to the second story in this newsletter]

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B.C. wildfire fighter killed responding to blaze outside Revelstoke

CBC News
July 13, 2023
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada West

A British Columbia wildfire fighter died Thursday after being injured responding to a blaze, the B.C. Wildfire Service confirmed late Thursday night. The crew member, a young woman, was battling a wildfire outside of Revelstoke — a community in B.C.’s southeastern interior, about 150 kilometres west of the Alberta border — said the B.C. General Employees’ Union, which represents the approximately 1,600 wildfire fighters employed in B.C. each year. “Each and every one is committed to ensuring that their fellow members return from work safely while protecting our resources and our communities. Unfortunately, incidents like today’s remind us all how dangerous this work can be,” read the statement. …RCMP and WorkSafeBC are investigating the death, a BCWS spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement to CBC News. While the BCGEU did name the individual, CBC News is verifying whether her next of kin have been notified. …It has been nearly three years since a firefighter has died in the line of duty in B.C.

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Forest Fires

B.C. sets all-time record for area burned with months left in wildfire season

By Simon Little
Global News
July 17, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

British Columbia’s 2023 wildfire season has set a destructive new record, with more hectares scorched than in any year on record. The BC Wildfire Service said Monday that 1,181 fires across the province have burned more than 1.393 million hectares to date — an area about the same size as the Bahamas. That figure eclipses the 1.354 million hectares burned by 2,117 fires in the historic 2018 wildfire season. The province spent $615 million fighting fires that year, the third most expensive fire season in modern history. The 2023 figure is also nearly 3.5 times as large as the 10-year average for hectares burned, with months yet to go in the season and the province warning of the potential of a record drought. Currently, there are 384  fires burning across the province, including 22 wildfires listed as visible or threatening enough to be considered “fires of note.” The northeast has felt the brunt of the 2023 season, with 388 fires.

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Increasing wildfires prompt nearly 70 evacuation orders, alerts across B.C.

Canadian Press in the CBC News
July 15, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

The number of wildfires in British Columbia continues to rise amid persistent drought, and federal aid — including military resources — is on the way.  Maps from the B.C. Wildfire Service and Emergency Management B.C. show nearly 70 wildfire-related evacuation alerts and orders as of Saturday morning.  While wildfire activity was largely concentrated in northeastern B.C. earlier this season, most blazes of note are now clustered in the Bulkley-Nechako and Cariboo regions of the central Interior, between Prince George and Terrace.  B.C.’s drought bulletin also shows nearly the whole province is experiencing drought conditions of at least Level 3 of five, with the Fort Nelson basin in the northeast, the Bulkley basin and all of Vancouver Island classified at the most severe level.  Bowinn Ma, B.C.’s minister of emergency management and climate readiness, says federal personnel will work alongside about 2,000 crew members with the B.C. Wildfire Service as they fight nearly 380 blazes burning throughout the province.

In CTV News: Military begins B.C. wildfire deployment blazes continues to climb

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