BC Premier Eby and COFI CEO Linda Coady wrap up the 2023 Council of Forest Industries Conference with the following Q&A [lightly edited for clarity]:
COADY: In your remarks, you talked about your government’s work with and priorities for the forest sector in BC. A sector currently in the midst of a lot of change – and arguably having an “Everything, Everywhere All at Once” kind of moment. …If there is one takeaway from this convention that we would like to leave you with… it involves development of an economic strategy linked to a sustainable long-term future for the sector – and capable of addressing what needs to happen between now and 2030 to get us to that future. What do you think? Is government contemplating this type of thing? If not, do you think we could persuade you and Minister Ralston to do so?
EBY: The ‘everything, everywhere all at once’ comment resonated for me because there is a challenge with government, as governments can only do so many things at once, and without clear direction to government officials from the political level, we run the risk of getting a bunch of things done halfway. …The goals that Minister Ralston and I have been working on in the Ministry of Forests are around permitting times and the pace of BC Timber Sales to get allotted supply out — which is chronic for a number of reasons. …And we have to accelerate the predictability around where companies are able to operate through land use planning. …I’m also happy to do additional work with COFI and with others but making sure these issues are addressed is the priority for the ministry and thus the focus of government. Our longer terms economic plans for the forest industry are not dissimilar from our goals provincially.
COADY: Okay, I’m taking that as a yes…
BC Minister of Forests Bruce Ralston, spoke on the need to transition to more resilient forests and to increase the value and values generated from them. In addition to more value-added manufactured products, Rolston said this includes the value of increased forest health, climate change, biodiversity, and wildfire resilience. Key to achieving this are the many government initiatives introduced over the past two years. Examples include increasing fibre recovery, forest rehabilitation after wildfires, sustainable logging practices, fibre distribution to small value-added producers, and the introduction of land use tables. In support of the latter, the Minister announced that the province is investing $38 million for province-wide LiDAR mapping over six years to develop high-resolution data critical to forestry, wildfire and fuels, surface hydrology, agriculture, ecology, wildlife, habitat management and restoration, geology and geomorphology. Although it may take a while to complete, Rolston said he was confident the forest landscape plans will provide more certainty on harvest levels, which in turn will generate more industry investments in the future.
BC Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship Nathan Cullen, joined COFI president and CEO Linda Coady for an armchair dialogue on approaches to land use planning in BC. Coady introduced the session with an overview of the three key transitions underway: i) DRIPA implementation, ii) How We Plan – more comprehensive, inclusive, and area-based plans; and iii) What We Plan – ecosystem resilience and sustainable management. Coady noted industry’s support for the direction but uncertainty on “how we get there from here”. Minister Ralston noted that his ministry “was created to plan” and has done much of the heavy lifting upfront. DRIPA and the landscape level plans are key, and if done right, Cullen believes the desired certainty is achievable. Questioned on the concern of potential incremental AAC impacts of BC signing onto the recent Biodiversity Summit’s 30×30 goal (30% effective protection by 2030), Cullen said he believes it could be covered within the landscaped plans, adding it’s a “people up process, not a benevolent top down one”.
The BC Council of Forest Industries (COFI) kicked-off their annual forestry conference in Prince George, BC—after a five year Covid-enhanced absence — with a sold-out Ice Breaker. The two-day conference promises to be an outstanding event given the expected attendance and high profile speakers such the Hon. David Eby, Premier of BC, Regional Chief Terry Teegee, BC Assembly of First Nations, and BC Minister of Forests, Hon. Bruce Ralston. Linda Coady, President and CEO of COFI opened the conference noting her delight to be in a room connecting with so many provincial, municipal and First Nation leaders as well as the many firms and individuals that service and supply our mills. The event sponsor, Shawn Ellsworth, Partner in KPMG’s forest certification, ESG and Climate Change practice shared the stage, emphasizing the importance of the event for networking and dialog on the many issues facing the industry. And the import to KPMG—as auditors, tax advisors, forest certifiers, GHG and climate risk assessors, ESG and forest carbon consultants.
PRINCE GEORGE, BC – One of the panels at the COFI Convention was all about the future of the industry and figuring out how to recruit people to work in the sector. “We’re competing against Google and Amazon,” said Tricianne Kasabuchi, Director of Talent Development for Canfor. Those are the sexy jobs, but I think we have a sexy job too, and the story of sustainability I think is one that we need to shine a brighter light on so that people understand that there is a future in forestry.” You don’t hear the words sexy and forestry in a sentence together often. This downturn in the sector makes hiring harder. Adding the top priority for the company is retaining top talent, and developing their employees as best as possible. …Trying to convince the next generation to consider a career in trades part of the mission for Rod Bianchini for SkilledTrades BC.
There has been a change of plans when it comes to a curtailment at Cariboo Pulp & Paper in Quesnel. West Fraser announced in early February that there would be two one month shutdowns with the first one scheduled for mid-April to mid-May. Joyce Wagenaar, Director of Communications with West Fraser, said… “our plan for the mill is now to stop production for May and use that time for our annual maintenance outage. Due to the current fibre supply challenge, it will be a slightly longer outage than in previous years.” Wagenaar says this will reduce the impact on employees. “Maintenance work will be performed by a combination of contractors and mill employees.” …As for a planned one month shutdown in the third quarter of this year, Wagenaar says they will continue to assess the fibre supply outlook and provide an update in the fall.
VANCOUVER, BC — Conifex Timber announced that it has filed a petition in the Supreme Court of British Columbia seeking judicial review of the Lieutenant Governor In Council of British Columbia’s recent Order In Council 692/2022 (OIC). The OIC directed the British Columbia Utilities Commission to issue orders relieving BC Hydro of its obligation to supply service respecting cryptocurrency mining projects for a period of 18 months. Conifex alleges that the OIC exceeds the statutory powers granted to the LGIC under the Utilities Commission Act, is discriminatory and breaches statutory and common law restraints on the LGIC’s delegated powers. Conifex is seeking an order quashing and setting aside the OIC as unauthorized or otherwise invalid. As a result of the OIC, two of Conifex’s proposed high performance computing projects have effectively been paused.
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K’Alii Aks Timber Corporation (KATC) is a wholly owned Nisga’a Nation company that holds a Nisga’a Public Land License to conduct forestry activities on Nisga’a Lands. The Nisga’a Nation received the first modern-day treaty in 2000, the Nisga’a Final Agreement. As such, the Forest and Range Practices Act does not apply; instead, forestry is governed by the Nisga’a Forest Act and Nisga’a Land Use Plan. In this seminar, we discuss a unique approach to logging a block to fulfill multiple objectives on Nisga’a Lands. Given that KATC is a relatively new company, forest harvesting is required to provide revenue to support the company and staff. 
OSOYOOS, BC
Scams: Two reports of attempted email fraud of forestry firms have crossed our desk recently. One scam involved a fake internal email asking the target to fetch an email from the internet. …In the second scam, the scammer posed as a client company the contractor had worked with. It was a solicitation for a select invitation reforestation bid on a large project requiring a bid deposit consistent with this firm’s practices… Deactivated Logging Road Hazardous for Planters: The results of a recent poll of planting supervisors, workers, and other silviculture crews make it clear the problems with road deactivation and worksite access risks for forestry work are not an isolated set of anecdotes… Climate: As we wait for the ocean-warming El Niño climate pattern to set up, possibly later this year, climatologists are expecting climate change signals to then come through even stronger. 
B.C. communities can look forward to high-quality data to support effective and informed decision-making on the planning and management of wildfires, landslides, floods and other natural events. The Province is investing more than $38 million in a new program over the next six years to collect light distance and ranging (LiDAR) elevation data. LiDAR delivers highly detailed and accurate three-dimensional mappings of landscapes. Unlike the Province’s current digital models of landscapes that are based on aerial imagery taken 30 years ago, LiDAR-based mapping includes detailed representations of forests, bodies of water, and buildings, as well as other infrastructure. “Investing in better data means investing in better decisions for climate resiliency,” said Nathan Cullen, Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship. “Generating this invaluable data and making it freely available will keep people safe, and ensure communities are protected, productive and economically competitive.”
British Columbia – The Government of BC is providing $50 million in new funding to the Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC) to assist with the delivery of uneconomic forest fibre and to assist communities to reduce their wildfire risk. FESBC is now accepting funding applications. “Receiving $50 million in funding from the Province of British Columbia is a significant boost for reducing smoke and greenhouse gas emissions, and will also better protect communities from the devastating impacts of extreme wildfires. This investment will also create and maintain jobs for workers, provide stability in communities, and accelerate Indigenous participation in the forest bioeconomy,” said Steve Kozuki, Executive Director, FESBC. A document with details on the application process, eligibility criteria and a step-by-step guide on the next steps is now available on the FESBC website. FESBC will be hosting a virtual information session on successful applications.
VANCOUVER, B.C. – West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. announced today that the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has validated its scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions reduction targets. This validation further supports West Fraser’s plan to achieve near-term greenhouse gas reductions across all its operations located in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Europe. SBTi helps companies to set and validate emission reduction targets in line with climate science and Paris Agreement goals. It promotes best practice in science-based target setting and independently assesses companies’ targets. To accelerate corporate climate action, SBTi is focused on significant reductions in global emissions before 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions before 2050.
Our Policy, Regulation and Research Department is requesting feedback on proposed amendments to Part 6, Substance Specific Requirements, sections 6.133 to 6.167 — Combustible Dusts, of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. The consultation phase provides stakeholders an opportunity to provide feedback before the proposed amendments are taken to public hearing. All stakeholder feedback is carefully considered and analyzed, and provided to WorkSafeBC’s Board of Directors as part of their decision-making process. 
Earlier this year, The Tyee published an analysis noting… the best and easiest to access trees are gone. The article noted that logging truck drivers who started work at daybreak are on the highway past midnight… questioning how long such drivers must work each day. In response, [several] logging truck driver contacted say… many drivers routinely work brutal hours and there is a tacit agreement between drivers and their employers that records must be falsified sometimes so that drivers appear to be at or below the maximum number of hours they are allowed to be behind the wheel… [which is] 13 hours each day. …This summer, all commercial truck drivers… will be required to drive in vehicles equipped with electronic logging devices. Dave Earle CEO of the BC Trucking Association says the introduction of the electronic monitors is a welcome development. …He added that such technology, if widely deployed, would improve working conditions for drivers themselves and for those who share the road with them.