In the face of significant challenges—from mill closures to tariffs and shifting global markets—one question we hear more than any other from people: “What can I actually do to help?” When the headlines are dominated by uncertainty, it can feel like the hurdles facing the forest industry are too large for any one person to influence. But there is a powerful way to make your voice heard and tell the provincial government it isn’t just an industry priority but a priority for every British Columbian that wants a resilient future.
That way is Forestry is a Solution. Forestry is a Solution is a province-wide initiative led by a broad coalition of workers, community leaders, and industry advocates. Every name added to the list strengthens our collective message of support for communities, workers and families who depend on BC forestry. It has never been easier:
- Visit forestryisasolution.com
- Sign the petition to show our collective strength.
- Send a letter using the simple, automated tool to tell your MLA why this sector matters to you.
PRINCE GEORGE – “Every day I get a phone call from an employer, and the first thing that comes to my mind is, ‘Oh, we’re going to lose another operation.’ And right now we’re probably down to about half the membership we were, a number of years ago.” That’s the sentiment of the president of the United Steelworkers – the union representing forestry workers in northern and central B.C, Brian O’Rourke. And the numbers are startling. Comparing data compiled from 2024 to 2026, the amount of money invested in forestry in British Columbia dropped from $15.8 billion to $14.4 billion, while the number of people employed in the sector dropped by 5,000. First Nations are acutely impacted, with 4,800 directly employed in forestry leading up to 2024. That dropped to 2,600. Meanwhile, the amount of money the industry generates for the provincial coffers dropped dramatically from $17.4 billion to just $12.8 billion. …But the Council of Forest Industries is infinitely optimistic because – in the words of Kim Haakstad – everyone uses forestry is some fashion.
An employee at a national non-profit is accused of fraud involving more than $6 million in public funds earmarked for Indigenous Guardians programming. The First Nations National Guardians Network, or NGN, provides funding, networking, training and education opportunities that support First Nations-led stewardship and sovereignty. In an email, the non-profit – which administers funds from the federal Department of Environment and Climate Change – told operators of Guardians programs it had found “evidence of a sustained pattern of unauthorized financial transactions that appear to have been made by a member of staff.” An investigation identified suspicious transactions over a period of months… 90 Indigenous Guardians projects were funded through NGN in the 2023-24 fiscal year. In the North Island, they include Campbell River-based Homalco First Nation, which received $100,000, and Nanwakolas Council Society, an alliance headquartered in Campbell River that represents First Nations on the South Central Coast and northern Vancouver Island, which received $150,000.
Professionals in the lumber and sawmilling sector who are ready to take the next step in their careers can elevate their business acumen and leadership potential through BCIT’s Associate Certificate in the Business of Sawmilling. Developed with guidance from industry leaders, this flexible, part-time program empowers learners to build the strategic insight, confidence, and applied skills needed to move into supervisory and management roles. Delivered fully online and taught by experts from across North America, the program equips students with a clear understanding of how economic trends, market forces, financial decisions, and operational strategies shape modern sawmill performance. Graduates leave with the practical knowledge and industry-relevant perspective to contribute at a higher level, drive improvements, and make meaningful business decisions within their organizations. What sets this program apart is the calibre of instructors behind it: professionals with decades of combined experience in economics, finance, manufacturing optimization, fibre strategy, and global wood products markets.
VANCOUVER, BC — This week, the BC Council of Forest Industries (COFI) will convene its Annual Convention, bringing together more than 600 industry delegates, community and First Nations leaders, and government representatives. The gathering comes at a critical turning point as the sector navigates a perfect storm of mill closures, volatile global markets, and ongoing trade disputes. To weather the storm, focus must be on the factors within BC’s control. Action on critical policies has been too slow. As mills close and communities face the impact, the COFI Convention serves as a vital platform to align on practical solutions such as improving timber supply, streamlining regulations, and fixing the business environment to improve global competitiveness. This year’s convention theme, Forestry is a Solution, mirrors a province-wide initiative highlighting the deep-rooted support British Columbians have for the workers and families that depend on a vibrant forest economy. …COFI today released its updated study, 
West Kelowna family-owned forestry company – Gorman Group – has completed a $120 million deal to transfer harvesting tenures from Seattle-based Weyerhaeuser, with the move continuing the strategic partnership with the Osoyoos Indian Band’s Nk’Mip Forestry division. …Dan Macmaster, Head of Forestry at Nk’Mip Forestry, told the Times Chronicle that this agreement continues with the transfer of TFL 59 to Gorman and “We meet regularly to review and update all land use activity on the tenure. This agreement was put in motion with Weyerhaeuser last year and has improved and evolved since the transfer of the licence to Gorman.” …Nick Arkle, CEO, Gorman Group added, “We recognize that any Crown tenure transfer comes with important responsibilities and obligations to First Nations, communities and employees who depend on the long-term stewardship of the land and the careful use of the fibre.” …Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests said: “Gorman Group is investing in the future of forestry…”
Another suspicious fire has hit the Somass Lands on Port Alberni’s uptown waterfront, this time the remaining mill building. The call came in just before 9 a.m. on Tuesday, March 31. … Locked fire hydrants adjacent to the building presented another challenge, Port Alberni Fire Dept. Chief Mike Owens said. “It’s an old, historic industrial property; there are a number of places where the water main has been compromised,” he added. The city’s water works department arrived promptly and activated the hydrants. …Owens said crews immediately deemed the fire as suspicious because the sawmill is abandoned and there is no electricity run to the building. …The two mill buildings and a pair of silos were left standing after the city purchased the mill from Western Forest Products in 2021… When the city partnered with Matthews West developers, the thought was to possibly incorporate parts of the three buildings into a new master plan for the area.
The B.C. government says it’s making legislative changes to bolster access to wood fibre, including timber damaged by wildfires, insects and windstorms. The Forests Ministry says the changes will potentially increase the supply of fibre by as much as 17,700 truckloads and allow B.C. Timber Sales to auction off contracts for forestry thinning, wildfire risk reduction and damaged timber salvage. A statement from the ministry says these “fibre-generating activities” will be available to forestry contractors and value-added mills. …B.C.’s forestry industry has been facing a shortage of fibre as the Wood Pellet Association of Canada said in 2025 that the fibre supply has fallen more than 40 per cent since 2018… Kurt Niquidet with B.C. Council of Forest Industries said in 2024 that local and global demand for wood products to build more affordable housing is growing, but the forestry industry is also facing a “critical shortage” of timber for B.C. mills.
The Council of Forest Industries 2026 conventions welcomes veteran strategist 
Alberta’s government has tabled legislation to ease regulations and barriers to more easily enable the sale of some goods from other provinces. It’s part of a commitment Alberta made with its provincial and federal counterparts in signing an interprovincial free trade pact in November. That trade accord, which is supposed to take effect this summer, would see provinces recognize each other’s regulations for most consumer and capital products to avoid duplicative inspections and requirements. …Government officials told reporters before the bill was tabled that manufacturers in industries such as oil and gas, lumber and logging and fertilizer producers will likely see the most positive impact once the pact takes effect.
B.C.’s latest budget confirmed: One of the province’s foundational industries has lost more than half its public revenue base in a single economic cycle. Forestry revenues are projected at $521 million, down from $1.3 billion just a few years ago. …It is a structural failure. For decades, Canada built its forest economy around a single export market and a narrow set of commodity products. That strategy has now been exposed as dangerously fragile. …The issue is not a lack of fibre, skills, infrastructure or industrial heritage. …The issue is the absence of investment-grade data and intelligence that allow global firms to move quickly from site selection to financing and construction. …Canada already has a strong global investment attraction network through Invest in Canada and the trade commissioner service… What is missing is nationally consistent, standardized data sets on forest biomass availability, infrastructure capacity, workforce readiness, and permitting pathways that allow those teams to respond immediately when firms begin evaluating locations.
With just 13 days to go, anticipation is building for the 
The economic headwinds facing B.C. are expected to have an even greater impact than originally expected, with accounting firm Deloitte Canada downgrading its economic forecast for the province in its most recent update. Originally projecting 1.6 per cent GDP growth in 2026 in its January report, the financial consulting giant now predicts B.C. will have “muted” growth of only 1.2 per cent. Dawn Desjardins, chief economist at Deloitte Canada, said some of the main culprits are the declining forestry sector, which continues to face mill closures and thousands of job losses due to a lack of fibre, as well as crippling U.S. duties, a population decrease, and uncertainty surrounding the future of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade agreement.
Kalesnikoff Mass Timber is launching a new line of modular timber classrooms today at the world’s largest mass timber conference in Portland, Oregon, showcasing its innovation to thousands of attendees. The company said that the classrooms are designed to address growing pressures on school infrastructure across North America. “Many communities are growing, leaving local schools at capacity,” said Chris Kalesnikoff, President and C.E.O. of Kalesnikoff. “These new modulars can be built and deployed rapidly, are cost effective, and create a warm and exceptional learning environment for students and staff.” The modular classrooms, constructed of cross-laminated timber (CLT) from Kalesnikoff’s mass timber facility in the West Kootenays using high-quality B.C. wood, are highly adaptable. They can function as a single classroom or be combined into larger expansions or entirely new schools. They can also be built in single-storey, or stacked configurations, and arrive with pre-installed heating, plumbing and digital systems.
If reviews could save old growth, British Columbia would have the healthiest forests on Earth. Instead, the province has produced a stack of reports as tall as an ancient Douglas fir. Their wording may differ, but their conclusion does not: BC’s forestry system is broken. Fixing it will not be easy or quick, but instead of acting, the government continues to produce new reports to delay tough decisions — especially when those decisions mean standing up to large logging companies that profit most from the status quo. Rather than using the reports to inspire action, the BC government is hiding behind them. …Nearly six years into BC’s OGSR commitment, we now have a sixth report by the Provincial Forest Advisory Council called From Conflict to Care. It again concluded that systemic reform is needed in the province’s forestry regime. Each report acknowledges the same truth: what we’re doing isn’t working.
A non-replaceable forest licence has been awarded to Box Lake Lumber Products, enhancing its operations and the sustainable use of local timber. The opportunity is targeted to boost B.C.’s value‑added wood sector, putting to work unlogged timber. “A stable supply of wood to small-town forestry companies is a win for everyone in the community,” said Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests. “This means more wood … for manufacturing companies, logging contracts for haulers and another boost to our value-added wood manufacturing sector. Our independent wood manufacturers put B.C. on the map as the global leader in high-quality wood products, and this licence is one more way to support that work.” A competitive opportunity provided specifically to value-added wood manufacturing companies, the non-replaceable forest licence will provide a consistent and stable supply of wood to Box Lake Lumber Products in the Kootenays.
Sarah Wayne Callies, from AMC’s The Walking Dead, has urged her fans to oppose a Nanaimo zoning change west of Cable Bay trail. On April 16, a hearing will be held in Nanaimo, for the possible rezoning of 74.71 hectares of the total 86-hectare property at from rural resource to industrial, with site-specific provisions over its use, allowed density and lot coverage. Included in the application for rezoning is a provision of an average 100-metre buffer zone around Cable Bay trail, about 13 per cent of the property. The zoning application was submitted by Harmac Pacific. During an information session in 2024, the company shared it would like to turn the land into a private industrial park. At the time, a representative with Harmac told the News Bulletin that the process to lease out the land would be phased over many years, and it would be marketed to businesses that “might have synergies” with Harmac’s existing business. 
A private company is seeking exclusive rights to part of a coastal park near Victoria, sparking concerns about the B.C. government’s priorities for public wilderness areas. One With Nature Corp. aims to use 72 hectares of East Sooke Regional Park, …for an outdoor education and wilderness survival skills school. Five hectares near a hiking trail would be used for overnight accommodation and would be off limits to the public if approved. …The school would include an archery range, an outbuilding to process animals, a learning centre, a camping area, bathrooms, a boat dock and cabins built with trees the company would cut down in its exclusive use area, according to One With Nature’s application to the B.C. government. …A spokesperson for the B.C. Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship said the land is available because it was never transferred to the regional district or dedicated as park land when the East Sooke protected area was created in 1970.
LA RONGE, Saskatchewan — With Canada aiming to protect 30 per cent of land and water by 2030, a new study shows the federal government should pursue a conservation method which takes wildfires into account. That’s according to La Ronge’s Aaron Bell, who recently had a research paper published by the Ecological Society of America on March 30 as part of his PhD in Biology. The project, which includes experiments on 42 islands in the Lac La Ronge region, focused on testing competing ideas on how government’s design protected areas such as nature reserves, or provincial and national parks. …Bell proposing government’s use a pyrodiversity-biodiversity method, which promotes and maintains diverse plants and fauna and thereby generating diversity. …“I’m hoping it enables people in the North to say we’re not managing fires at all for biodiversity and maybe this is something we should think about moving forward,” he said. 
A years-long investigation into a special RCMP unit that polices protests against resource extraction in BC is finished but can’t be finalized because the RCMP’s oversight body has been without a chairperson for more than a year. The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission (CRCC) receives and oversees public complaints against the Mounties. It recently announced the completion of a systemic investigation into the Community-Industry Response Group (C-IRG), which drew national attention in 2019. …It’s unclear why the CRCC has been without a chairperson since January 2025. …At the top level of the agency there is meant to be a chairperson and up to four other members. According to the CRCC, all of those positions are currently vacant. …The majority of complaints against C-IRG came in response to civil court injunction enforcements and arrests in relation to Wet’suwet’en-led opposition to Coastal GasLink pipeline and protests against old-growth logging in the Fairy Creek area.
The widely discussed West Fraser forest management plan for West Bragg Creek and Moose Mountain has been updated to incorporate a new provincial wildfire mitigation program. West Fraser outlined the changes during its annual spring open house April 1 at the Cochrane RancheHouse, including a new supplementary harvest area in West Bragg Creek and a delayed timeline for Moose Mountain operations. The updates align with Alberta’s Community Hazardous Fuels Reduction (CHFR) program, introduced last year to reduce wildfire risk near vulnerable communities. “Working with forest companies, the program prioritizes the harvest of hazardous fuels within five kilometres of surrounding vulnerable communities,” the province said in an information package. “The CHFR program leverages existing forest tenure holders to adjust harvesting plans to make an immediate impact.” …“They’ve asked us as industry to prioritize our operations in that area,” said Tyler Steneker, woodlands manager for West Fraser Cochrane. 
Do you know the Okanagan is home to some of the very last remnants of interior old growth fir and spruce forests, specifically Peachland’s watershed, near Glen Lake? Do you know Glen Lake is a major source of our community drinking water, as it joins Peachland Creek before supplying our brand-new $35M water treatment plant? …Tell your government, Peachland’s trees are not destined for mills, ships to Asia or a flailing forestry industry safety-net. Peachland watershed’s forests are worth more standing, they store 83 per cent more carbon than pine plantations and mono-culture conifer farms. Most importantly we rely on their free infrastructure services and natural ecosystem benefits. …Act now before your back country is compromised. Four ways to make a stand! Write, call, online submissions and a petition…
After roughly 100 sawmills, pulp mills, and engineered wood plants closed down or cut shifts since 2000, and thousands of loggers lost their jobs, the trade union representing those workers has its hands full. The consensus is: this is do-or-die time to stabilize the forest industry in British Columbia. USW Canada – District 3 represents workers across Western Canada, including BC’s unionized forestry workforce. Recently, District 3 Director Scott Lunny offered a forward-looking view of the industry on a podcast, despite the challenges it faces. Jeff Bromley, the union’s Wood Council Chair, put it this way: “What’s the alternative—giving up on rural communities throughout the province? We accept the responsibility to manage a transition in the best interest of our members.” …The Provincial Forest Advisory Council’s report, From Conflict to Care, has tabled a set of recommendations — and the Steelworkers Union agrees with its main thrust.
Textbook disaster capitalism. That’s how a forest advocacy group describes the Ministry of Forests’ Forest Statutes Amendment Act, a set of legislative changes to the Forests and Range Practices Act. “As social license for continuing to log primary forests dries up, the Ministry of Forests doubles down, accelerating logging while claiming that BC is a global leader in sustainable forest practices,” said Jenn Matthews, in a Conservation North news release. …The proposed changes would also expand ‘salvage’ logging, a controversial practice where trees are harvested following a natural disturbance. “Salvage logging – especially in forests that have never been logged – damages soils, wildlife habitat, and water flows,” said Conservation North’s director, ecologist Michelle Connolly. “Moreover, when you log after natural disturbance, you’re robbing the forest of key building blocks (including still-living trees) for the forest that will follow. The Ministry’s claim that this is forest stewardship is garbage.”
High in a tree in Vancouver’s Stanley Park, an arborist dangles from a climbing harness with a chainsaw… The work is part of a significant – and, to some, distressing – intervention to address the Hemlock looper moth outbreak that killed almost a third of the public park’s 600,000 trees between 2020 and 2023. …what’s happening in the park underscores the broader challenges of managing city green spaces in the era of climate change. …The city says those dead trees pose many risks, and the only way to deal with them is with saws. Joe McLeod, the city’s associate director of urban forestry, called it a “risk mitigation project for public safety.” …To better understand the twin risks of wildfire and falling trees, the city hired veteran wildfire ecologist and forester Bruce Blackwell. …None of this has sat well with Stanley Park Preservation Society founder, Michael Robert Caditz. …But fuel mitigation isn’t about preventing the most common fires; it’s about protecting against the worst possible ones, the kind of fires that occur on the most extreme weather days, when high temperatures, low humidity and strong winds combine to drive the wildfire risk into the red. [A Globe and Mail subscription is required for full story access]
The B.C. government is recommending a fine against those responsible for the deaths of more than a dozen cattle last fall, but the Ministry of Environment and Parks won’t say who, exactly, investigators believe is to blame for poisoning in the Quesnel area. The October incident prompted public outcry… The cattle … were believed to have been poisoned when they consumed nitrogen fertilizer meant to accelerate timber growth. B.C.’s Ministry of Forests said that laboratory analyses of the fertilizer and animal tissues are still being completed. …Meanwhile, the investigation under the Environmental Management Act has concluded with investigators recommending an administrative penalty — a fine imposed on a person or business alleged to have violated a regulatory requirement. …James Steidle, of Stop the Spray BC, worries that the poisonings did not result from a mishap but from standard forestry practices.
The Ministry of Forests has responded to residents’ concerns about a proposed logging project in the north BX area of Vernon. Area residents launched a petition last month in an effort to halt the 24-hectare logging operation near Hartnell Road and Brookside Creek. “Forestry plans to clear a significant amount of very old cedar and fir trees along the steep Brookside Creek catchment area. It will be highly visible from the many communities in Vernon,” the petition stated. In an email, the MOF said the area will not be clear cut. “BC Timber Sales is in the early stages of developing a wildfire risk-reduction project in the Brookside Creek area to increase forest resiliency against wildfire. Suggestions that the area will be clear cut are incorrect,” the MOF said. …The ministry said wildfire risk reduction projects are guided by a fuel management prescription … typically resulting in relatively high levels of tree retention.
PRINCE GEORGE – Canada’s forests are burning faster than they can be replanted, and the Canadian Tree Nursery Association is calling it a crisis, though not everyone agrees on the scale of the problem. The association says more than 7.3 billion seedlings would be needed just to replant 15 percent of the areas burned in the last three years of record wildfires. In B.C., the situation is worsening: seedling production is expected to decline from 300 million in 2024 to 226 million by 2026. Dr. Phil Burton, Professor Emeritus in Forest Ecology and Management at the University of Northern BC, agrees there’s a genuine problem but says the numbers need context. Millions of hectares that burned in places like the Northwest Territories were never part of the managed forest, he notes, and many forests are capable of recovering on their own. …The central debate isn’t whether any replanting is needed most agree some is. The question is how much, and who pays for it. 
…Wildfires scorched 2.9 million hectares of Saskatchewan forest last year, forcing thousands of people from their homes and destroying more than 450 dwellings across the province, according to the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA). Some experts are warning this year could be just as bad. A relatively dry fall and unusual winter conditions are setting the stage, said Colin Laroque, a professor of environmental science at the University of Saskatchewan. …Finance Minister Jim Reiter called this year’s provincial budget “essentially” the status quo for wildfire preparation and response. The province announced a $20-million increase for the SPSA earlier this month, bringing its total budget to $140 million. The increase includes an additional water bomber. …Eric Lamb, a professor at U of S, said extreme weather conditions are no longer rare and require a different approach focused more on preventative measures, like prescribed burns, before a wildfire season begins.
The Okanagan Screen Awards, a two-day celebration of film, creativity, and community, took place March 28–29, 2026 in the sunny paradise of Kelowna, BC. The Okanagan Screen Awards are proudly presented by the Okanagan Society of Independent Filmmaking (OSIF), a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting, educating, and advocating for independent filmmakers in the Okanagan region. Congratulations to “BC is Burning” for winning 1st Place in the Feature Docs category! 
The BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) will be jointly working on two fuel reduction measures near Lytton, one in Botanie Valley and the other near Highway 1 north of the town, and one in the Hat Creek Valley. The Hat Creek cultural burn will cover an area of up to 40 hectares, approximately 15 kilometres west of Cache Creek in the Upper Hat Creek Valley. The project, known as the Harry Lake Grasslands cultural burn, is in partnership with the Thompson Rivers Natural Resource District and Bonaparte First Nation. The burn is part of a multi-year project meant to introduce fire into the Upper Hat Creek Valley. Key goals of the burn include revitalization of cultural burning practices by St’uxwtéws (Bonaparte) First Nation; reintroduction of fire to a fire deficit ecosystem; and ecological maintenance and improvement of grasslands. It is also part of a research initiative being undertaken by the University of British Columbia into prescribed fire in the area.
Recovery operations are ongoing after 19 log bundles ended up on beaches in the PQB area after rough weather caused a log boom to break open at Mosaic Forest Management’s Northwest Bay waterfront facility two weekends ago. Mosaic said more than half of the bundles have been retrieved, but crews need favourable tides and calm weather to safely recover the remaining logs. “We’re hoping to have suitable conditions in the next few days to complete the recovery as quickly and safely as possible,” Mosaic told the PQB News on March 24. Mosaic notified the provincial regulator and is in direct contact with Rathtrevor Provincial Park representatives about its plans and timeline. The province has declared the area where the logs went astray as a “closed area in so far as the marine salvage of logs is concerned”. END
Drax, the U.K. company that operates the world’s largest wood-fired power plant, recently made headlines when it said that it will stop using trees cut down in Canada as part of its feedstock. But the move, which has been hailed by some in the environmental community as a huge milestone, won’t make an iota of difference on the ground in Canada — or anywhere else for that matter. That’s because Drax is both a major consumer and producer of wood pellets, which are burned like coal, natural gas and oil in thermal power plants around the world to produce electricity. …The company will shift to sourcing those pellets from elsewhere. …One consequential but almost completely ignored aspect of the Drax story is that “switching” from coal to wood hasn’t made so much as a dent in global demand for coal — or greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, worldwide use of both wood and coal continues to rise.
BC has quietly eliminated its Climate Action Secretariat, the long-running agency that produced and implemented climate policy across government ministries. In an email to staff, Peter Pokorny, deputy minister of energy and climate solutions, said that “to align with key priorities” some secretariat staff would move to new subject matter, including supporting LNG, pipelines and gas fracking. …Other staff will be moved to a newly formed “climate solutions” division, which will also bring in staff from the now-folded “energy decarbonization division.” The new division will focus on some of the secretariat’s previous responsibilities, including emissions accounting and efforts to reduce emissions in sectors like buildings, transportation and industry. …Stand.earth, described the move as part of the “slow-motion death” of the province’s climate plan, CleanBC. …The Ministry of Energy and Climate Solutions pushed back on the idea that it had eliminated the secretariat, instead referring to the cuts as a “reconfiguration.”
Save the Date: June 9-10, 2026, Prince George, BC. Join industry leaders, safety professionals, and regulators at the 2026 Wood Pellet and Bioenergy Safety Summit, hosted by the Wood Pellet Association of Canada (WPAC) Safety Committee, in partnership with the BC Forest Safety Council, WorkSafeBC, and media partner Canadian Biomass. The Summit gathers experts from the pellet and bioenergy sectors for two days of practical learning, discussion and collaboration focused on enhancing workplace safety.
WorkSafeBC is holding a virtual public hearing on proposed amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. The virtual public hearing will be streamed live on April 21, 2026, in two sessions. The first will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and the second from 3 to 5 p.m. Further information on how to view or participate in the virtual public hearing will be provided closer to the hearing date. These details will be posted on 
Brian Bruce Welch passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on January 5, 2026. His loss is felt by all who knew him, and he will be remembered for his dedication to career, family, and friends. …Brian worked for years as a commercial fisherman… When terra firma called, Brian was welcomed by father Bruce E. Welch to formally join the family business, thus becoming the fourth generation to help carry forward the legacy of Olympic Forest Products Ltd, which operated continuously between 1932 and 2026 and was at one point amongst the top BC coastal forestry industry operators. Brian’s long career in the forest industry reflected both pride in family history and commitment to strengthening business for the future, often despite significant industry wide challenges and hurdles. …In 1988 Bruce Welch appointed Brian President of Olympic Forest Products Ltd, Bruce assuming the role of Chair for what had become a group of companies. Following family tradition, Brian served on the TLA board in 2002 and 2003, chairing the Industrial Committee and serving on the Worker Health & Safety Committee.
Ross Hay-Roe left this world on March 24, 2026, with his two children by his side, after three long years of living each day without the love of his life, Lee, as his constant companion. …After graduating high school, Ross studied Aeronautics at Cal Tech in Calgary and moved to Toronto where Ross worked on the Avro Arrow. His career as an Aeronautical Engineer ended abruptly the day the Canadian Government shut down the program in 1957. Ross made his way back to Edmonton where he studied commerce at the University of Alberta, later achieving the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) designation. Moving back to Toronto, Ross began working as a sell-side equity analyst focusing on the Forest Products industry. Moving around to various firms, Ross developed a great reputation in the industry… Ross and Lee helped to start an independent investment research shop called Equity Research Associates. Given the level of insight and critical thinking Ross brought to his analysis, his viewpoints were highly sought after. Ross expanded the firm’s forest products coverage and eventually sold the business, which now operates as ERA Forest Products Research.
Health officials and advocates are raising concerns about gaps in air quality monitoring across rural BC, saying some communities may be exposed to dangerous wildfire smoke levels if they don’t have access to accurate local data. It comes as the health impacts of wildfire smoke are becoming clearer, and as new monitoring stations are being installed in parts of the province to address the gaps. Air quality is typically monitored by federal and provincial governments and according to Environment Canada, 286 sites across every province and territory make up the National Air Pollution Surveillance program. “Even with nearly 300 sites, there are enormous gaps in geography — often at the expense of rural and remote communities,” said Christopher Lam, of the BC Lung Foundation. …Smoke from the record-breaking Canadian wildfires in 2023 caused an estimated 5,400 acute deaths and about 82,100 premature deaths worldwide.