Region Archives: Canada West

Business & Politics

Teal Jones curtailing Surrey mill operations

By Shawn Hall
Teal Jones Group
June 29, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Surrey B.C. – Teal Jones is taking a seven-day production curtailment at its Surrey lumber operations, starting today. The company’s coastal lumber operations are being impacted by tight log inventories, high stumpage rates and challenging lumber markets. Log supply was constrained by weather earlier in the year. The company continues to work hard to secure fibre to support consistent operations in the face of tight fibre availability, high costs and challenging market conditions.

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B.C. government announces new chair of WorkSafeBC’s Board of Directors

WorkSafeBC
June 29, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Baltej Dhillon

On June 29, 2023, Minister of Labour Harry Bains announced the appointment of Baltej Dhillon as chair of WorkSafeBC’s Board of Directors. Dhillon, a veteran RCMP officer and recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Golden and Diamond Jubilee medals for community service, has been a member of the Board since 2017, when he was appointed as the representative professional in the area of law or law enforcement. “On behalf our Enterprise Leadership Team, I’d like to congratulate Baltej on his appointment,” says Anne Naser, president and CEO of WorkSafeBC. “We look forward to working with him in this new role, alongside our Board members and our stakeholders, to help achieve our vision of a province free from workplace injury or illness.”

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Dockworkers in Western Canada plan strike July 1 as pay talks fail

By Atmos Marlyn Cobalt
BNN Bloomberg
June 29, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

The union representing about 7,200 dockworkers at Canada’s western ports said members plan to strike July 1 after negotiations with employers for a new contract failed. The ILWU and the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association — which represents about 49 waterfront companies and terminal operators — have been in talks since February to renew a collective agreement to replace the old one that expired March. A strike at ports in British Columbia would affect Vancouver, Canada’s biggest maritime hub. The union wants to “stop the erosion” of work through contracting out and wants to protect workers from the “devastating impacts of port automation,” it said. Despite Wednesday’s development, “we remain ready to re-engage with our labour partners through the federal mediation process, with the desire of reaching a fair and balanced deal at the table that keeps our ports stable and goods flowing for Canadians,” the BCMEA said in a statement.

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Canfor includes province in decision to replace mill

By Rod Link
Houston Today
June 28, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Canfor is including the provincial government in its detailed analysis of whether it will spend the money to replace its idled sawmill here or not. In a statement released last week, Canfor official Michelle Ward said the company needs to understand how much wood the province believes will be available. “Ensuring we will have access to an adequate supply of fibre to support an investment of this magnitude is a key requirement for the project to advance,” she said. An uncertain fibre supply and high logging costs were cited among the reasons the company gave in January when it announced the mill would close the end of April. At the time, Canfor said it wanted to replace the mill here with one producing “high value products”. Ward said Canfor was also speaking with local First Nations about their interest in what she described as “partnership opportunities.”

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The 2023 Top 100: B.C.’s biggest companies by industry

BC Business Magazine
June 27, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Inflation’s bite brought new corporate leaders to the fore in 2022, while taking the edge off the commodity boom. Here are the largest businesses in the province, organized by industry.

Top 10 Natural Resource Companies (Revenue by fiscal year, $000)

  1. Teck Resources – 2022: 17,316,000, 2021: 12,766,000
  2. Paper Excellence Canada – 2022: 14,184,170, 2021: 2,000,000
  3. First Quantum Minerals – 2022: 9,923,714, 2021: 9,040,242
  4. West Fraser Timber – 2022: 9,701,000, 2021: 10,518,000
  5. Canfor Corp. – 2022: 7,426,700, 2021: 7,684,900
  6. Interfor Corp. – 2022: 4,584,045, 2021: 3,289,146
  7. Mercer International – 2022: 2,968,183, 2021: 2,260,380
  8. B2Gold Corp. – 2022: 2,254,619, 2021: 2,208,998
  9. Taiga Building Products – 2022: 2,192,705, 2021: 2,219,674
  10. Pan American Silver – 2022: 1,945,077, 2021: 2,043,205

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Re-instating appurtenancy up for discussion: BC Forests Minister

By Caden Fanshaw
CKPG News Prince George
June 27, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Bruce Ralston

MACKENZIE , BC— After 20 years of appurtenancy provisions being thrown out by Gordon Campbell and his government of the day, calls have been renewed for it to be brought back. Among those calling for forestry policy to be tweaked is Mayor Joan Atkinson from the District of Mackenzie. …BC Minister of Forests Bruce Ralston didn’t commit to re-instating the policy but said he was open to discussing it. This comes on the heels of a major reduction in the annual allowable cut (AAC) for the Mackenzie Timber Supply Area. According to the Mayor, the reduction is acceptable if most of those logs can stay local, although trouble could be on the horizon if policy doesn’t change. The new AAC for the Mackenzie TSA is 2.39 million cubic metres. The allowable annual cut was previously 3 million cubic metres in 2010.

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Q&A with Western Forest Products CEO Steven Hofer

By Maria Church
Wood Business – Canadian Forest Industries
June 22, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Steven Hofer

What are your goals? …At our core is a culture around safety. …We still have people touching lumber. So we’re mitigating those risks and ensuring that at every level they know that safety is critical. We’re also doing some unique work around diversity and inclusion. …The next piece is about environmental stewardship. This is a really unique piece of Western’s story – we’re taking a different approach to developing Integrated Resource Management Plans. …Another piece is looking at how we position our manufacturing business to become world-class in terms of its operating structure. We’re moving forward with a manufacturing optimization plan to address that, to extract higher-value building products. That ties to our growth in engineered wood and participating in the mass timber space. …Lasty, it’s arecognition around alternative revenue streams. We’re just getting started identifying how we can extract more revenue from our residuals.

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West Fraser Releases 2022 Sustainability Report

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd.
June 21, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

VANCOUVER, B.C. – West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. today released its 2022 Sustainability Report, providing a comprehensive disclosure on topics such as climate action, sustainable forestry and environmental performance as well as a newly developed social performance strategy outlining priorities in areas including safety, diversity, equity and inclusion and Indigenous relations. “As a company founded nearly 70 years ago, we understand the importance, and necessity, of doing the right thing for the environment, our communities and our employees while sustainably and profitably growing our business,” said Ray Ferris, President & CEO. “In 2022, we took important steps towards achieving our goal of being a sustainability leader,” said Ferris. “Building on our foundations, we continued the work to advance robust and credible environmental and social goals and targets to guide the Company’s next chapter.”

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Forest company granted request to appeal fine for wildfire

By Mark Neilson
The Prince George Citizen
June 21, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

The B.C. Court of Appeal has granted Tolko Industries its request to appeal more than $343,000 in cost-recovery fines for starting a wildfire. On June 6, Justice Susan Griffin found Tolko has “met the low merits threshold of showing there are substantial issues to argue on appeal.” The development stems from an April 2016 wildfire. …Tolko initially won an appeal through the Forest Appeals Commission… which concluded the company was exempt under the Wildfire Regulation because it didn’t intend to start the fire and it found the blaze was a result of forestry activity. But BC Supreme Court Justice Michael Brundrett upheld the fines, finding the commission made a mistake when it interpreted “fire” to mean “wildfire,” separating the intentional act of starting the burn pile from the wildfire that resulted from it. Griffin, in turn, found Tolko has “raised arguable questions” about how a section the Wildfire Regulation should be interpreted.

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

B.C. building towards mass-timber industry

By Frank Peebles
Quesnel Cariboo Observer
June 29, 2023
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

David Eby

When premier David Eby toured central B.C., including a long stop in each of Prince George, Quesnel and Williams Lake, mass-timber construction was a topic close to the surface everywhere he went. In Prince George, two of the topics he addressed were building homes for the homeless and building a surgical tower at the University Hospital of Northern BC. In Quesnel he toured various capital projects of the Lhtako Dene Nation. …Black Press asked Eby about this. He said, “The government has a specific strategy around mass-timber construction in the province. We have been prioritizing the use of wood, and engineered wood products, in government buildings. Our goal is to create that base economy for factories to be able to build up, to be able to provide those products to other projects across the province.”

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Quesnel advocate says mass-timber bottleneck is gov regs

By Frank Peebles
Quesnel Cariboo Observer
June 29, 2023
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

Bob Simpson

Quesnel is at the centre of the mass-timber conversation. At the recent forestry think tank he helped organize, former MLA/mayor Bob Simpson summed it up when he said it was the only mathematical way the desired structures of the province were going to be built either on time or on budget “because there is no workforce.” When premier David Eby came to Quesnel last week… Simpson urged his former caucus colleague on the issue. “Mass-timber is not optional anymore, it is necessary. We need to get there as fast as possible, if you’re going to realize any kind of building objectives.” Simpson said the government’s plan for mass-timber is “aspirational” but the regulatory framework is missing. If the red tape was cut, mass-timber factories could pump out buildings that would be transported by train or truck to the needed locations and get snapped into place in a fraction of the time of traditional homes.

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Quesnel stands up for mass-timber

By Frank Peebles
Quesnel Cariboo Observer
June 28, 2023
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

Alex Boston

After working for years on the topic, Alex Boston crafted a resolution for the Union of BC Municipalities convention this autumn to kick the mass-timber game up a notch, in order to meet the construction needs of B.C. He knew from past experiences here that Quesnel was perhaps B.C.’s epicentre for wood manufacturing and would understand. The gist of the resolution was how these cutting-edge wood products should be a provincial government priority, since they could build bigger, stronger and faster than conventional lumber, much of it in a factory so components can be shipped to the building site and quickly assembled. …“We are only just starting to realize the gravity of this labour force construction constraint,” said Boston. “Over the next 10 years we have an estimated 38,000 retirees in the construction labour force, and we are only going to attract hopefully 20,000 at most. It will leave us with about a 20,000-person shortfall.”

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Forestry

Forest Practices Board calls for government action to reduce catastrophic wildfire risk

BC Forest Practices Board
June 29, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

VICTORIA – A new report by B.C.’s Forest Practices Board is calling for urgent action by the provincial government to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire in British Columbia. The report, Forest and Fire Management in BC Toward Landscape Resilience, highlights an urgent need to change how B.C.’s forests and landscapes are managed. “Fire prevention and suppression policies over the past century have led to a buildup of fuel in our forests, and have contributed to the loss of natural firebreaks in some areas,” said Keith Atkinson, chair, Forest Practices Board. “These shifts, combined with forestry policies and climate-change effects greatly increase the risk of catastrophic wildfire. We’re already seeing the consequences this year, with its unusually early start and record-setting wildfires.” Provincial government data indicates that 45% of public land in BC is at high or extreme threat of wildfire. 

Additional coverage in the Ladysmith Chronicle, by Wolf Depner: Wildfires threaten almost half of all public lands in B.C: report

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Reed Road forest logging sees reprieve for 2023

By Connie Jordison
The Coast Reporter
June 29, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

BRITISH COLUMBIA — Cutblock DL1313, locally known as the Reed Road Forest, won’t see any logging this year. …“It appears that we have a year’s reprieve from the logging of DL1313, but permanent protection of this valuable forest is yet to be secured,” Sunshine Coast Regional District Area E (Elphinstone) director Donna McMahon. “This parcel was part of a watershed reserve established in the 1940’s but was added to the BCTS Timber Supply Area in 2013 without public consultation. …Public input on the plan can be provided up to August 25. In the plan’s cover letter, it is stated that “site specific comments or concerns of potential impacts to your interests can help BCTS relate your comments to our operations so we are better able to assess them and, where appropriate, manage for these values in our final plans”.

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Long-term ecological corridors envisioned for Vancouver Island

By Darron Kloster
The Times Colonist
June 29, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

T’Sou-ke First Nation Chief Gordon Planes… has seen how industry and now climate change are affecting the animals, fish, marine life, trees and plants — and human beings. So his nation is supporting a new initiative by Parks Canada and an Indigenous-led partnership that will see local knowledge used to conserve ecological corridors on the coast from Victoria to Tofino that link up with parks and protected areas to stem the loss of biodiversity and key species at risk. …Steven Guilbeault announced $525,000 in funding to support a pilot project by the Indigenous-led Westcoast Stewardship Corridor, a group formed in 2020 to brainstorm the big picture of healthier ecosystems. …“We’ve seen the changes over the years and we know it’s going to be a big project to change a forest because of logging practices over the decades,” said Planes.

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Clearcuts and the forest industry downturn

By Paul Johnson
Global News
June 29, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

In part two of his series, Paul Johnson tours a huge clearcut near Prince George, and hears from an area MLA who is calling for the forest industry to pivot away from the practice amid worries the province is ‘logged out’.

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Parks Canada to advance the Indigenous-led Westcoast Stewardship Corridor with First Nations on Vancouver Island

By Parks Canada
Cision Newswire
June 28, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

VICTORIA, BC – Ecological corridors are key in curbing biodiversity loss and helping species adapt to climate change. By properly linking protected and conserved areas, natural processes can take place and species can move, interact, and find habitat across vast landscapes and seascapes. The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, together with Chief Gordon Planes, T’Sou-ke First Nation, announced a shared commitment to support the Indigenous-led Westcoast Stewardship Corridor and to preserve the biodiversity of Vancouver Island, ensuring its longevity for future generations. The Indigenous-led Westcoast Stewardship Corridor is a collaborative initiative among local First Nations on Vancouver Island that is aimed at restoring healthy relationships with the land, waters, plants, animals, people, and Creator…

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Delays in logging season raise questions in Burns Lake

Burns Lake Lakes District News
June 28, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The logging season in Burns Lake is off to a delayed start this year, leaving many wondering about the reasons behind the unusual change in schedule. Lakes District News reached out to Steve Zika, CEO of Hampton Lumber, to shed light on the matter. In response, Zika provided insights into the factors influencing the delayed logging season, as well as Hampton Lumber’s business performance and plans for the year. According to Zika, the decision to commence logging later than usual is attributed to two primary factors. First, Hampton Lumber entered the year with higher log inventories than normal. This precautionary measure was taken to safeguard against potential log shortages caused by the decline in timber sales from the British Columbia Timber Sales (BCTS). The scarcity of available BCTS timber sales has prompted the need for strategic planning and careful management of resources.

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Arrested for logging road demonstration, West Kootenay protesters now stuck in legal limbo

By Bill Metcalfe
The Trail Times
June 28, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

When 17 members of the Last Stand West Kootenay filed into a Nelson courtroom in July 2022, along with supporters, they expected a judge to hear their case and make a decision. But they were wrong. They left the courtroom an hour later in a legal limbo that still exists to this day. In April of that year they had set up a camp at a logging road at Salisbury Creek near Argenta to protest timber company Cooper Creek Cedar’s commencement of logging of the area known as the Argenta-Johnsons Landing Face. The RCMP arrested them on May 17, 2022, for violating a two-year-old civil court injunction that directed them and “persons unknown” not to block the logging road. In court last summer, the group thought the blockaders would be able to state their case against the logging and RCMP arrest tactics. It was not that simple.

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‘A public relations strategy’: Critics slam B.C’s recent effort to boost transparency on logging

By Richelle Baker
The National Observer
June 28, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The B.C. government has announced changes to improve transparency around logging operations, but critics have more questions than answers. Due to recent changes to the Forest and Range Practices Act, forestry companies will be required to create a map of proposed logging operations available for public review as of April 1, 2024, according to B.C.’s Ministry of Forests. And the public will be able to offer input on what environmental values should be considered for future logging plans. In addition, the province is developing an online mapping system that companies can choose to use to display their map and get public feedback. The system will be fully launched sometime in 2024. …It’s pretty bold of the province to laud increasing public engagement in forestry but not require logging companies to post the maps online in this day and age so people can access them easily, said Jens Wieting with Sierra Club BC.

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B.C. community struggling with forest industry downturn

Global News
June 29, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

In the first part of a three-part series, Global’s Paul Johnson travels to Mackenzie, one of the towns hit hardest by the multi-decade collapse of B.C’s forest industry.

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Allowable annual cut level reduced in Port Alberni area

By Ministry of Forests
Government of British Columbia
June 28, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

British Columbia’s deputy chief forester has set a new allowable annual cut (AAC) level for Tree Farm Licence (TFL) 44, located in west-central Vancouver Island near the Alberni Inlet and Barkley Sound. The new AAC for this TFL is 642,800 cubic metres, a 19% decrease below the previous AAC. The lowered AAC reflects reductions related to buffers adjacent to parks and objectives for the recovery of marbled murrelet. The new AAC also accounts for harvest reductions associated with the culturally significant Thunder Mountain area and a ministerial mandate to allocate unharvested volume to new forest licences. The new AAC also includes a partition where no more than 484,600 cubic metres may be harvested from the economic land base, the area where it is more easily harvested economically. …The TFL 44 licence is held in partnership between Western Forest Products and the Huu-ay-aht First Nation. 

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Nelson City Council to consider 33 recommendations in new wildfire resiliency plan

By Bill Metcalfe
The Nelson Daily
June 27, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

A new report to the City of Nelson on wildfire danger identifies several sections of nearby forest that present serious threats. They are loaded with dead and downed trees and other dry woody debris – perfect fuel for a wildfire. The hazardous areas include more than 200 hectares in the Giveout Creek drainage just south of Nelson, 27.5 hectares at Grohman Creek, 117 hectares in Blewett, and 2.5 hectares near the Nelson cemetery. Dealing with those hazards is one of 33 recommendations in the new draft wildfire resiliency plan presented to council by John Cathro of Cathro Consulting and Monica Nederend of Bruce Blackwell Associates along with the city’s fire chief Jeff Hebert on June 20. Because these forests are outside the city limits and mostly on Crown land, there is little city council can do on its own. Reducing the danger is the job of the Ministry of Forests.

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Logging reduction aims to save threatened B.C. seabird

By Stefan Labbé
Victoria Times Colonist
June 26, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The B.C. government has dropped the amount of wood that can be legally cut in a corner of Vancouver Island vital to the recovery of the marbled murrelet — a migratory seabird threatened under the federal Species at Risk Act.  On Monday, the Ministry of Forests said it was ordering a 19 per cent decrease in the annual allowable cut of Tree Farm Licence (TFL) 44, a swath of forest straddling the Alberni Inlet near Barkley Sound. The province said it adjusted the harvest licence as a buffer to help recover the marbled murrelet, a species that nests in coastal old-growth forests.  But Jens Wieting, the senior forest and climate campaigner for Sierra Club BC, said the reality on the ground does not square with a rationale provided by the province.  “There’s no certainty that marbled murrelet habitat will be protected,” said Wieting.

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New actions will improve forest management, transparency

By the Ministry of Forests
Government of British Columbia
June 26, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Immediate steps will help expand public engagement in forest planning and protect some of the most rare and unique forest habitats throughout the province.  Regulations are being amended to strengthen forest management, including new requirements for forest licence holders to publish forest operations maps, new legal protection for rare habitats called “ecological communities” and enhanced management for designated recreation sites and trails.  …A key feature of the new regulations is the requirement for forest companies to publish a Forest Operations Map. Companies will soon be required to make available maps of proposed cutblocks and roads for public feedback into how harvesting can account for environmental values while responding to economic opportunity.  The Province has developed a web-based tool that companies will have the option to use to display these maps and invite public feedback. 

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B.C. quietly paves way for logging, industrial development

By Greg Knox, ED, SkeenaWild Conservation Trust & Len Vanderstar
Terrace Standard
June 26, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Recent information obtained by SkeenaWild Conservation Trust shows that between 2019 and 2020, the B.C. government quietly cancelled 1.35 million acres of public recreation and conservation and land areas in northwestern B.C. The cancelled lands are almost double the size of Metro Vancouver, with many being popular recreational areas such as Klinger Lake, Tyee Mountain, Atlin and the Stewart estuaries.  The cancellations open up these areas to industrial development and logging.  After decades of land use planning between government, diverse community interests and dedicated government habitat biologists, the provincial government had designated these lands in the Skeena region for fish, wildlife, conservation, recreational use and potential protected areas under the Land Act.  But then, without due process, these land protections were cancelled quietly and without due process.

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New actions will improve BC forest management, transparency

By Ministry of Forests
Government of British Columbia
June 27, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Immediate steps will help expand public engagement in forest planning and protect some of the most rare and unique forest habitats throughout the province. Regulations are being amended to strengthen forest management, including new requirements for forest licence holders to publish forest operations maps, new legal protection for rare habitats called “ecological communities” and enhanced management for designated recreation sites and trails. …We are boosting forest conservation to better support ecosystem health, including rare and critical habitat,” said Bruce Ralston, Minister of Forests. …Companies will soon be required to make available maps of proposed cutblocks and roads for public feedback into how harvesting can account for environmental values while responding to economic opportunity. ..This new category establishes protections for rare habitats that are home to unique plants and support animals at risk.

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Spray Lake Sawmills tree-planting shows extent of reforestation efforts

By Howard May
Cochrane Eagle
June 23, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Cochrane and area residents accustomed to seeing transport trucks loaded with logs coming in to town and piles of Spray Lake Sawmills lumber heading in the other direction may not be aware of what’s involved in the life cycle that sustains the harvest.  And while money doesn’t grow on trees, the 80-year-old company is keenly aware of the central role that growing trees plays in ensuring they may be around for another 80. Environmentalists and trail-users have been voicing concerns about the Cochrane-based company’s plans to log in the popular recreation area around West Bragg Creek, scheduled to start in 2026. That discussion will be taken up publicly again in 2024, when the next open house is held.  Philosophical differences aside, what may not be widely recognized is the fact that, purely from an economic standpoint, responsible environmental stewardship is in Spray Lake Sawmills’ interest.

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The fallout of Fairy Creek, activists contend with the echoes of their actions

By Kieran Oudshoorn
CBC News
June 21, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

VANCOUVER ISLAND, BC — The fall out from the protests has been mixed. The provincial government has enacted a series of temporary logging deferrals of key swaths of endangered old-growth forests and publicly crowed about a 42 per cent decrease in old-growth logging. But with all the active cut blocks the protestors tried to save, tens of millions of dollars of public money spent on police enforcement — the question of “was it worth it?” remains front and centre for many activists. “We believed that we would save these places,” Will O’Connell said. …But the cut blocks in the Caycuse were harvested. …However, for the Fairy Creek watershed itself, the province announced a two-year deferment of logging. …Crown prosecutors laid more than 400 charges. …If the protesters feel like they didn’t win — neither does Teal Jones. The long-term impact of the blockades on the logging company has been meaningful, said Conrad Browne, for the Teal Jones Group.

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Forest fires are a federal issue

By The Editorial Board
Black Press Media
June 21, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

…Across the country, provincial firefighting services rely on a mixture of local recruits, municipal firefighters, aid from overseas and the Canadian Armed Forces. We need a national response, and probably a national forest firefighting service. Unfortunately, things aren’t going to get better. Climate change means that temperatures will keep rising, and even when we get a damp year or two, the dry years will be drier, and more prone to fire. Plus, in a country as big as Canada, we are likely to see at least one region suffering a bad forest fire season every year, and in some years – like this one – it’ll be awful coast to coast. …The natural instinct in politics is to pass the buck, and firefighting has long been provincial jurisdiction. But fires don’t respect borders, including provincial borders. As they get worse, we’ll need to reconsider how we fight them.

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

First Regional Energy and Resource Tables Collaboration Framework for Accelerating a Low-Carbon Economy Released

Natural Resources Canada
June 27, 2023
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West

VANCOUVER, BC – The Government of Canada, the Government of British Columbia, and the First Nations Leadership Council are working together to build a net-zero economy and create good, middle-class jobs across British Columbia. The Canada–British Columbia Regional Energy and Resource Tables is the primary forum for this collaboration. The Regional Energy and Resource Tables are partnerships between the federal government and individual provinces and territories, in collaboration with Indigenous leaders, to align efforts and seize key economic opportunities enabled by the global shift to net zero. The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources; the Honourable Josie Osborne, B.C. Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation; Robert Phillips, Political Executive, First Nations Summit; and Chief Don Tom, Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, announced a groundbreaking Collaboration Framework outlining key areas of collaboration and a range of action items to be pursued. 

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BC Centre for Innovation and FortisBC Announce Call for Forestry Residue Management

By BC Centre for Innovation and Clean Energy
Cision Newswire
June 27, 2023
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West

VANCOUVER, BC – The BC Centre for Innovation and Clean Energy (CICE) and FortisBC, through its Clean Growth Innovation Fund (CGIF), are pleased to announce a call for innovation focused on Forestry Residue Management. Innovators are invited to submit proposals that outline clear commercial pathways to increase resilience in British Columbia’s forests by strengthening supply chains, diversifying utilization opportunities, and managing carbon. “Forestry residue management is a long-standing challenge in British Columbia,” said Dr. Ged McLean, Executive Director at CICE. “Broad consultations across communities, public, and private sectors have confirmed the need to accelerate the commercialization of innovative solutions focused on the collection, transport, and processing of forestry residues – especially in BC’s remote and rural locations. Non-dilutive funding from CICE and the CGIF will help companies advance high impact solutions and unlock the untapped potential that lies within our forests.”

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Canada Invests $10 Million in State-of-the-art Biorefinery Conversion in Saskatchewan

By Natural Resources Canada
Cision Newswire
June 28, 2023
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West

CARROT RIVER, SK – As we move toward a prosperous, low-carbon economy, Canada is supporting sustainable and innovative tools and technologies that make the best possible use of our resources. By leveraging existing strengths and deploying state-of-the-art technologies in our forest sector, we can lower emissions while simultaneously increasing efficiency, enhancing competitiveness and creating sustainable jobs.Natural Resources Canada announced a $10 million contribution to BioLesna Carbon Technologies LP, a joint venture between BC Biocarbon and Dunkley Lumber Ltd., for a new biorefinery in Carrot River, Saskatchewan. …The Carrot River Biorefinery will utilize BC Biocarbon’s proprietary processes to convert residual biomass from forest operations to produce four initial products: biochar, bio-oil, wood vinegar and pyrolysis gas. 

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Wildfires have damaged a forest carbon offset project

Bloomberg News
June 26, 2023
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West

Canada’s explosive wildfire season has already pumped millions of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Some of that carbon is coming from vegetation burned at a carbon offset project, highlighting the fragility of a tool the world is relying on to fight catastrophic climate change. …On June 3, British Columbia fire officials spotted a blaze that has impacted the BigCoast Forest Climate Initiative project, according to Domenico Iannidinardo at Mosaic Forest Management, which runs the project. “About 100 hectares of our 40,000 hectare project was involved in this fire,” Iannidinardo said. …Werner Kurz, at the Canadian Forest Service, said its emissions could be up to 32,250 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, depending on the fire’s severity. …The project has already issued 1.4 million credits, an amount equivalent to the total emissions of Sierra Leone in 2021. They’ve been bought by UK-based AI company Dataiku, global insurance firm Aspen and the American Institute for Foreign Study, among others.

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BC Centre for Innovation and Clean Energy and FortisBC Announce Innovation Call for Forestry Residue Management

BC Centre for Innovation and Clean Energy
Cision Newswire
June 27, 2023
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West

VANCOUVER, BC — The BC Centre for Innovation and Clean Energy (CICE) and FortisBC, through its Clean Growth Innovation Fund (CGIF), are pleased to announce a call for innovation focused on Forestry Residue Management. Innovators are invited to submit proposals that outline clear commercial pathways to increase resilience in British Columbia’s forests by strengthening supply chains, diversifying utilization opportunities, and managing carbon. “Forestry residue management is a long-standing challenge in British Columbia,” said Dr. Ged McLean, Executive Director at CICE. Through this call for innovation, CICE and the CGIF will award up to six million dollars in non-dilutive funding available to BC-based innovators with high impact proposals.

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Forest Fires

‘Not unusual’: Alberta records 56 new wildfires over Canada Day long weekend

By Trevor Robb
Edmonton Journal
July 3, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

Alberta saw 56 new wildfires spark across the province over the Canada Day long weekend but wildfire officials say that’s normal for this time of year. Lightning was said to be the known cause of the majority of the new wildfire starts as rain and thunderstorms blanketed much of central Alberta over the weekend. Of the 56 new wildfires, 19 have been confirmed to be started by lightning and 35 remain under investigation. …Widespread smoke emanating from wildfires burning in northern Alberta and B.C prompted Environment Canada to issue a special air quality statement for the city of Edmonton, and much of central Alberta, Monday with forecasters calling for poor air quality and reduced visibility throughout the day. …As of Monday, 107 active wildfires are being reported on the Alberta Wildfire dashboard, 58 of which are listed as being under control, 36 are being held and 13 remain out of control.

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Donnie Creek wildfire now larger than P.E.I.

CBC News
June 28, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

The Donnie Creek wildfire burning in northeastern British Columbia continues to grow and is now larger than the size of Prince Edward Island, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service.   Ignited by a suspected lightning strike on May 12, it now covers 5,745 square kilometres with a perimeter of 800 kilometres. Its status remains a wildfire of note, meaning it is highly visible and poses a potential threat to public safety.  The immense size means crews have to be practical about what can be accomplished, selecting to focus on the most critical fronts in the south and northwest corner that could pose a risk to people and structures.  …Twelve helicopters and around 225 personnel — including 166 firefighters and 13 structure protection experts — are currently working the fire.  …The Donnie Creek wildfire is easily the largest ever recorded in B.C. It is expected to burn through the fall and into winter.

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Glenlion Fire near Port Hardy prompts warning from wildfire service

By Darren Kloster
Victoria Times Colonist
June 27, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

The B.C. Wildfire Service is throwing significant resources into a fire burning about four kilometres west of Port Hardy — and is warning the public to be cautious on roads and not to fly drones in the area. The Glenlion River Fire has spread to about four hectares since being reported Monday afternoon, and heavy smoke is visible from the town and surrounding area. An air tanker from Campbell River has been hitting the blaze with water loads since late Monday afternoon and helicopters may be brought in to help contain the fire, said Jade Richardson, spokesperson for the Coastal Fire Region. …The Glenlion fire is the only active fire on the Island (of six in total) that was listed as out of control as of Tuesday afternoon. There are no structures in danger in the immediate area of the fire and the cause is under investigation.

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Donnie Creek now larger than Prince Edward Island – expected to increase ahead of warm weather

By Rajpreet Sahota
CJDC TV
June 23, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

FORT ST. JOHN — B.C. Wildfire Information Officer Marg Drysdale says the Donnie Creek fire is expected to increase with the warmer temperatures next week. “Right now would probably be the province of Prince Edward Island. So that’s 566,000 hectares and this fire is 553,947 hectares. As the days heat up over the coming week, we expect that will increase.” The wildfire service is expecting severe thunderstorms and wind shifts starting this afternoon that may lead to dangerous conditions for crews. Erratic wind gusts in the vicinity of these cells may approach 60 km/h. Crews are focusing on the southern flank south of Trutch where they are building containment lines and planning ignitions to manage the fire. Crews continue to work along the Alaska Highway. …the little rain has helped the fire decrease activity to a moderate fire. Cooler temperatures have decreased the fire from a rank five to a rank three.

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Forest fires force evacuations in Cree communities

By Patrick Quinn
The Nation in Yahoo News
June 21, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

As forest fires ravaged large areas of southern Eeyou Istchee in early June, Ouje-Bougoumou was completely evacuated and Waswanipi was relocating its most vulnerable people. As of June 8, 137 fires were active across the province, most out of control, down from 149 the previous day as cooler weather and firefighting reinforcements began taming some of the blazes. After fires breached a preventative barrier and was just 17 km away, Ouje-Bougoumou and Chibougamau residents were ordered to evacuate June 6. Buses transported people 400 km southeast to the Cégep de Chicoutimi, while vehicles lined the only highway towards Lac Saint-Jean. Some headed instead to Mistissini. Forest fire protection organization SOPFEU was using aerial tankers to fight the fire, which was moving west of the community. He said forecasts that winds were expected to shift to come from the south would be helpful to their efforts.

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