Region Archives: Canada

Breaking News

A trade deal with the US could include lumber quotas, Carney says

The Canadian Press in Global News
July 16, 2025
Category: Breaking News
Region: Canada, United States

Mark Carney

Prime Minister Carney says any future trade deal with the US could include “some element of managed trade,” including quotas, on softwood lumber exports. Carney’s comments come after B.C. Premier David Eby said that the federal government has been speaking with the provinces about quotas to resolve the softwood lumber dispute. Carney added that resolving the conflict is a “top priority” as the US prepares to double various duties to 34.45%. Canada and the US have been without a softwood lumber agreement since 2015, and Eby has previously said that resolving the dispute could “build momentum” for a larger trade deal. US President Trump’s latest threat is to impose 35% tariffs by Aug. 1 on Canadian goods currently not compliant with the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Carney says he agrees with Eby’s idea of resolving the lumber dispute as part of a larger trade deal, but notes that both issues are unfolding along different times lines.

Related coverage in: Business in Vancouver: Carney confirms possibility of lumber quotas in trade deal with US

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Business & Politics

Trump could crush Canada’s softwood exports. Here’s how a new crisis could play out

By Tracy Moran
The National Post
July 20, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

The Canada-US softwood lumber trade relationship has dealt with ups and downs for decades. …Canadian firms will soon receive word from the US Commerce Department… with the rate expected to jump from around 14% to 34%. …“Canfor’s rate will be ~45%,” said Andrew Miller, chair of the US Lumber Coalition. …Then there’s the threat of tariffs from President Donald Trump’s ongoing national security investigation of Canadian lumber imports under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act. …The US Lumber Coalition is playing for keeps. …Miller isn’t shy about the goals: “A countrywide quota with no exemptions and no carveouts, and a single-digit market share” for Canadian lumber. …The coalition is pushing for a tariff rate from the Section 232 investigation that starts at 15 to 20% and goes higher from there. That, Miller explained, will incentivize U.S. sawmill owners struggling with thin margins to hire more people and invest in upgrades, bolstering U.S. production.

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Trade top of mind as Canada’s premiers are set to hold three-day meeting in Ontario

By Allison Jones
The Canadian Press in CTV News
July 20, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Canada’s premiers’ summer gathering in Muskoka will also feature a meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney, as trade talks with the US are expected to intensify. Most of what the premiers are likely to discuss stems from President Trump’s tariffs: trade negotiations, the direct impact on industries such as steel and aluminum, the increased pushes to remove interprovincial trade barriers and speed up major infrastructure and natural resource projects. …“Canada is not open to us,” he said. “They need to open their market. Unless they’re willing to open their market, they’re going to pay a tariff. Lutnick also said Trump intends to renegotiate the Canada-U.S.-Mexico agreement next year, when the pact is slated to undergo a joint review. Carney has said Canada is trying to get an agreement on softwood lumber exports included in the current round of negotiations with the United States.

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Why the US and Canada Are at Loggerheads Over Lumber

By Ilena Peng
Bloomberg Economics
July 18, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

The US and Canada… have feuded over “softwood” lumber since the 1980s. …Canada has long resisted changing its trade practices on lumber. But as the Trump administration has become more bellicose about its trade relationship with Canada, the country’s stance may be softening. On July 16, BC Premier Eby said Canadian officials are now open to a quota. …Any added fees from the US would likely further hamper an already struggling Canadian industry and benefit the US South. But the US would likely struggle to offset the lumber it gets from Canada in the short-term, driving up housing prices. …Though the US has some spare capacity to turn more timber into construction materials, a fully domestic supply chain would likely still require the construction of new sawmills and additional trained workers to operate the facilities. …Another factor for US suppliers and buyers is that US and Canadian lumber are not a perfect swap. [to access the full story a Bloomberg subscription may be required]

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BC’s forests minister open to lumber quotas if it solves U.S. trade dispute

By Mark Page
Today in BC – Black Press
July 17, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Ravi Parmar

BC Forests Minister Ravi Parmar said that if lumber quotas are what is needed to end the decades-old softwood lumber dispute with the United States, then so be it. “It just may be able to address this issue once and for all,” Parmar said. Premier David Eby floated the possibility… and Prime Minister Mark Carney said it could be in the cards. …Parmar acknowledged BC lumber companies might have “differing views” on quotas, but he said it is just one tool. Kurt Niquidet, president of BC Lumber Trade Council did not rule out quotas. “Resolving this long-standing dispute is essential to protecting jobs, supporting communities, and ensuring a stable, competitive future for our forest sector,” Niquidet said. …Regardless of whether Canada puts quotas on the table as part of negotiations, Parmar said Trump could balk. “The president seems to really like tariffs,” Parmar said. “And so he may say, bugger off.”

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Level of US tariffs Canada would accept in trade deal still up for negotiation, Carney says

By Steven Chase, Stephanie Levitz & Laura Stone
The Globe and Mail
July 16, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Prime Minister Carney says securing a truce in the long-running Canada-US lumber dispute is a top priority as Canadian producers brace for even heftier US levies as early as September. …Mr. Carney declined to say what level of baseline tariff Ottawa would accept in a new trade and security pact with Washington. …Mr. Carney was asked whether Canada would impose tariffs on US products if the US keeps a baseline levy on Canadian goods. “We’ll see what the final agreement is, if there is an agreement,” he said. …Historically, Mr. Carney said lumber deals with the US contain “some element of managed trade” such as quotas on Canadian shipments to the US. …Mr. Pellerin, a former Canadian government softwood litigator, said he thinks it would be unwise to strike a deal before litigation related to the softwood dispute plays out. There are several challenges of US duties on softwood proceeding under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement dispute mechanism. [This story is for Globe and Mail subscribers only]

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US Lumber Coalition Responds to Prime Minister Carney Statement

The US Lumber Coalition
July 16, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Zoltan van Heyningen

Prime Minister Carney and BC Premier Eby are advancing the idea of setting aside the enforcement of the US trade laws against unfairly traded Canadian lumber. …Canada does not voluntarily give up its remedies against unfairly traded imports from other countries but they are now asking the US to do precisely that. Canada is asking the US to do a favor for Canadian workers at the expense of US workers. “The US has collected over $7 billion dollars in duties and Canada’s request to terminate these cases and refund money would be the single biggest bailout of the Canadian lumber industry funded by US taxpayers and would come at the expense of US workers and loggers”, said Zoltan van Heyningen. …“It is also essential to implement additional measures under Section 232 to address the underlying cause of Canadian unfair trade practices,” added van Heyningen. “We must not yield to Canadian demands.”

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We’re Hiring: Executive Director, WoodWorks BC

Canadian Wood Council
July 22, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

The Canadian Wood Council is hiring a new leader to guide its WoodWorks BC program. Based in Vancouver (hybrid), this is a senior role focused on driving market growth, building strategic partnerships, and advancing wood use in construction across British Columbia. The Executive Director will lead a high-impact team, contribute to national market development efforts, and work closely with government, industry, and design professionals to promote innovation and sustainability in the built environment. This is a pivotal leadership role responsible for driving strategic growth, fostering stakeholder relationships, and championing the use of wood in construction. The Executive Director will serve as the principal representative of the program in BC and play a national role in mentoring and supporting Market development staff across Canada. WoodWorks is the market development program of the Canadian Wood Council that seeks to increase the use of wood in non-residential and multi-family building markets across Canada. 

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Remembering Ray Van Ingen

By Nick Arkle, Gorman Bros. Lumber Ltd
LinkedIn
July 19, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada West

Ray Van Ingen

On July 15, we said goodbye to one of the most loyal and beloved members of the Gorman Group family. Ray Van Ingen joined our Gorman Bros. West Kelowna operation in 1980 and spent his entire career with us in the Woodlands Department. What started as a job quickly became a lifelong passion. After a few years designing cut blocks and roads, Ray became our Silviculture Supervisor—caring for the land after harvest, overseeing seedling growth in nurseries, and guiding the planting and nurturing of new forests. Ray had a remarkable memory. He could recall who harvested a block, which seedlings were planted, how dense the stand was, and how the trees grew over the years, even decades later. He brought both science and heart to the work of reforestation—and his passion was infectious. …Ray retired at the end of 2016, after almost 36 years with us. …To Brenda, Ritchie, Andrew, and the entire Van Ingen family—our hearts are with you. We feel this loss deeply too.

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Eby reshuffles BC cabinet, switching up heads of housing, public safety and jobs

CBC News
July 17, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

David Eby

VICTORIA — British Columbia’s cabinet has been reworked in what Premier David Eby says is a strategic shift in order to focus on jobs and the economy. “The world has changed since the election and since the swearing in of our first cabinet,” said Eby. …Former housing minister Ravi Kahlon takes over as minister responsible for jobs from Diana Gibson, who moves into the citizens’ services role previously held by George Chow. Garry Begg has been ousted as solicitor general and will be replaced by Nina Krieger. Christine Boyle will take over the housing portfolio and her Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation goes to Spencer Chandra-Herbert. The premier says his cabinet will work on the province’s biggest challenges: growing the economy, seizing investment opportunities and strengthening public services.

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WorkSafeBC surplus means big breaks in forestry premiums, but some labour groups cry foul

By Derrick Penner
Vancouver Sun
July 17, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada West

B.C.’s employers in forestry-related businesses, sawmilling, stone cutting and oil and gas field servicing could be seen as the biggest beneficiaries of WorkSafeBC’s $2 billion surplus as the corporation proposes cuts to their service premiums approaching 40 per cent or more. WorkSafeBC’s policy is to maintain enough of a surplus “to avoid rate volatility” during economically difficult times. The corporation’s 2024 surplus, however, is equivalent to 141 per cent of liabilities, far more than its 130 per cent target. The corporation says its strong financial position has been helped along by “higher than-required investment returns,” according to WorkSafe’s statement, which is similar to workers-compensation agencies across the country. Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board has used its 2024 surplus to issue $4 billion in rebates, over two rounds, to employers and in May, the Workers’ Compensation Board of Manitoba did likewise with $122 million in rebates, which is something the Canadian Federation of Business would like to see.

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How Nova Scotia fell short of getting a new $3.7-billion pulp mill in Liverpool

By Aaron Beswick
The Chronicle Herald
July 18, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

Nova Scotia fell three per cent short of the threshold for getting a $3.7-billion bioproducts hub in Liverpool.  The analysis of the potential profitability commissioned by Northern Pulp parent Paper Excellence found that a new mill could reach an 11 per cent rate of return on investment, short of the 14 per cent cut off set by the company.  …The study was commissioned last spring after the provincial government and Paper Excellence agreed to bury the hatchet in the long-running battle over Northern Pulp’s forced closure and efforts to get a new effluent treatment plant built. …It would have been the first new pulp mill built in North America in over 20 years, competing with larger mills in Central and South America that have lower costs due to lower environmental standards, lower wages and greater access to wood fibre. …The Liverpool mill would have consumed all the byproduct of this province’s sawmills along with 2,268,000 tonnes of low-grade pulp wood annually.

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Cascades invests more than $3.5 million in its Kingsey Falls tissue plant

Cascades Inc.
July 17, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

Hugues Simon & Jérôme Porlier

KINGSEY FALLS, Quebec — Cascades announced it has recently invested $3,560,000 to upgrade a strategic converting line at its Kingsey Falls tissue plant. The investment involved replacing a packager and bagger with higher-performance equipment, which will result in two major benefits, namely optimizing the bathroom tissue packaging process and increasing productivity. The project is expected to increase the converting line’s production rate at the packaging level by 8% compared to current performance levels, as well as improve overall line throughput, specifically through improved availability and a faster average speed. …This investment exceeding $3.5 million—part of our continuous improvement efforts—demonstrates our commitment to driving our growth,” said Hugues Simon, President and CEO of Cascades. …Opened in 1977, the Kingsey Falls tissue plant currently serves the residential hygiene solutions market. 

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Are we suckers for giving out ‘job creating’ loans like Northern Pulp too easily?

By John DeMont
The Chronicle Herald
July 17, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

Stop me if you have heard this one before. A company from away lands and makes loud noises about hiring hundreds of people in a job-hungry rural part of Nova Scotia. Government puts up millions of our dollars to bring in a new industry it really doesn’t understand. …Sometimes it works, other times the receivers move in or the multi-nationals move out. Then the recriminations begin. They already have in the 58-year-long saga of Northern Pulp and its predecessor companies which limps to a conclusion in Nova Scotia. This province has had a few successful commercial transplants. …But it is our high-profile failures, like this week’s announcement that Northern Pulp not only wouldn’t build a mill on the South Shore but has started selling off its assets, that seem to stick. …Enough companies have gone bust, sometimes spectacularly so, that they should serve as cautionary tales.

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‘We want to see softwood on the table in these trade talks’: Premier Holt

By Adam Huras
The Telegraph-Journal
July 17, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East, United States

Susan Holt

New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt says she’s part of a push to see a nearly decade-long softwood lumber standoff end as part of a larger new trade deal with the US. But the premier stopped short of saying whether her government supports the idea of a quota limit,” if that’s what it takes to finally reach a deal. …“The tariffs that are currently in place on softwood lumber are damaging to New Brunswick and the forecast that those tariffs are going to increase significantly has put a real chilling effect on a critical industry for our province.” …New Brunswick’s largest forestry company J.D. Irving, Limited currently pays a duty of 11.68%, while the province’s other softwood producers, including Arbec, H.J. Crabbe & Sons Ltd., Marwood, and Twin Rivers have been assessed a combined rate of 14.54%. The preliminary plans for higher duty rates are set to take effect by September.

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Province promises more wood heat, wood buildings in wake of Northern Pulp selling off assets

By Taryn Grant
CBC News
July 17, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

Days after Nova Scotia’s forestry sector was dealt a major blow, the province is promising to use more wood to heat and construct public buildings — although officials deny any connection between the two developments. Two cabinet ministers made the announcement Thursday at Ledwidge Lumber, a sawmill in Enfield, N.S. Public Works Minister Fred Tilley said every government department is being directed to look for opportunities to use wood products that are leftover after trees have been harvested and milled for lumber. The products could include mass timber, wood pellets, biomass and biofuels. Tilley said the move was driven by the province’s desire to become more self-reliant, reduce fossil fuel use and produce more locally-made construction materials. …Meanwhile, lawyers for Northern Pulp were in a British Columbia courtroom on Thursday where they received approval for a plan to extend creditor protection while preparations continue to auction off the outfit’s Nova Scotia assets.

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Fire at Tatamagouche, N.S., lumber yard under control

By Natalie Lombard
CTV News
July 17, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada East

©Truro&Colchester FB

A fire broke out at a lumber yard in Tatamagouche, N.S., Wednesday afternoon. It reportedly started after a piece of equipment malfunctioned and overheated, sparking the blaze. The fire then appeared to spread to some stacked wood and burned through some inventory. Conditions for firefighters were challenging with very warm temperatures. About a dozen fire departments responded, as well as a Department of Natural Resources helicopter, and managed to get the fire under control.

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

Trends shaping the future of wood flooring

Floor Covering News
July 16, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada

As we’re now well into 2025, the hardwood flooring industry continues to evolve in response to broader shifts in how people design and inhabit their spaces. From residential builds to commercial interiors, there’s a growing appetite for natural materials that offer both durability and design versatility—and wood remains a standout. With its timeless appeal and ability to suit a wide range of design aesthetics, it continues to be a foundational material in interior architecture. A key trend gaining traction is the use of tactile, textured finishes. Glossy surfaces are making way for more organic aesthetics, like wire-brushed, matte or hand-scraped textures that bring warmth and visual depth to a room. These finishes complement today’s more relaxed and natural design styles and offer practical benefits, like helping to conceal everyday wear in high-traffic environments.

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New mass-timber fire hall taking shape in Saanich’s Royal Oak

Saanich News
July 18, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

The redevelopment of Saanich Fire Station No. 2 has reached a key milestone with the installation of its final roof panel. The new station, located in the Royal Oak neighbourhood, will replace the aging facility at Elk Lake and Royal Oak drives. The 23,000-square-foot, mass-timber building will accommodate up to 10 firefighters – double the current capacity – and house eight vehicles instead of two. …“This one-of-a-kind facility not only supports the expansion of our emergency response services… but also reinforces the district’s commitment to sustainable practices,” says Fire Chief Michael Kaye. Designed to meet LEED Gold and Energy Step Code level two standards, the building is intended to be net-zero carbon, helping Saanich meet its 2050 emissions targets. The district received $500,000 from the provincial Mass Timber Demonstration Program, which supports the growth of B.C.’s mass timber industry.

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PNE Amphitheatre / Freedom Mobile Arch in Vancouver

By Isabelle Lomholt
e-architect
July 18, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada West

@PNE

Revery Architecture’s PNE Amphitheatre / Freedom Mobile Arch will showcase mass timber in a precedent-setting starburst arch roof. The project leverages mass timber’s unique acoustic potential and biophilic character to deliver an unforgettable experience for performers and audiences as large as 10,000 people… The Amphitheatre’s defining feature is a starburst mass timber roof with 105-metre spans and 25-metre-high arcs, which provides weather protection and improved acoustics… The structure consists of 60 arches arranged in a series of 6 barrel vaults that intersect at diagonal planes. It will be the largest free-span mass timber roof in the world. …The massive starburst roof is the first of its kind to be realized in mass timber, showcasing innovation in the use of this material. The precedent-setting structure features both glulam and cross-laminated timber (CLT); the elegant arches leverage the superior strength-to-weight ratio of Douglas Fir glulam, while a Spruce-Pine-Fir CLT deck provides a structural diaphragm for stability.

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Is B.C. the leader in mass timber?

By Tanya Martins
Construction Canada
July 16, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

British Columbia remains at the forefront of mass timber design and implementation globally. The province has the highest number of mass timber buildings per capita of any other place in North America, and leads the country with more than 285 mass timber buildings. B.C.’s Mass Timber Action Plan has driven the expansion of mass timber construction, manufacturing, and workforce development across the province. This has increased the number of mass timber buildings and positioned B.C. as a critical exporter of knowledge and products to international markets. Metrics such as overall building count, advancements in carbon reduction, and the adoption of encapsulated mass timber construction (EMTC) standards in other regions all reflect our sustained leadership. Eric Andreasen, the vice-president of marketing and sales at Adera Development, spoke to Tanya Martins of Construction Canada and shed light on how B.C. is on its way to becoming the leader in mass timber development globally.

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Forestry

Canada Invests in Wildfire Innovation and Resilience Through New Centre of Excellence

By Natural Resources Canada
Cision Newswire
July 18, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

OTTAWA, ON – With wildfires impacting Canadians across the country, the federal government is taking action to prevent wildfires, mitigate their effects and boost resilience. …The Government of Canada announced an investment of $11.7 million;over four years to establish the Wildfire Resilience Consortium of Canada (WRCC). Funded through the Wildfire Resilient Futures Initiative, the WRCC will serve as a national centre of excellence and virtual hub for wildland fire innovation and knowledge exchange. The WRCC will advance many of the actions in the Kananaskis Wildfire Charter, agreed to by the leaders of the G7 this spring in Canada and endorsed by the leaders of Australia, India, Mexico, the Republic of Korea and South Africa. It will bring together domestic and international governments, communities impacted by wildfires, the private sector and individual experts to share knowledge, facilitate collaboration and accelerate the use of cutting-edge science and technology in wildfire prevention, mitigation, preparedness and response.

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It’s time to fight fire with fire in Canada

By the Editorial Board
The Globe and Mail
July 18, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

Canada’s premiers met June to talk infrastructure but were distracted by the small matter of the forest fires raging across the West at the time. …Six weeks later, the country is well into one of its worst wildfire seasons ever. …“Suppression alone is no longer adequate to address the growing challenges from wildland fire,“ the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers said in a report last year. ”Wildland fire management in Canada needs to be transformed.” That means creating a national regime of prescribed burns – the deliberate setting of fires under controlled circumstances to reduce the number and intensity of forest fires, and to limit damage to property. It’s a practice that Indigenous peoples in Canada and elsewhere used for millennia to manage their lands. But its use is sharply limited in Canada, mostly because politicians are scared to the point of paralysis by the off-chance that a government-sanctioned burn could get out of control.

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Woodlots BC to Lead Province-Wide Wildfire Risk Reduction Efforts on Woodlots

Forest Enhancement Society of BC
July 22, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Kamloops, B.C.– The Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC) recently approved up to $1.7 million to the Woodlot Product Development Council (Woodlots BC) to carry out wildfire risk reduction treatments over a 2-year fiscal period. Treatments will be conducted on woodlots throughout British Columbia, each located within a Wildland Urban Interface, endorsed by the local Forestry District and following BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) wildfire risk reduction standards. Through this work, Woodlots BC looks forward to building capacity across the forest sector and helping promote innovative ways to complete treatment of wildfire risk reduction projects to reduce combustible forest fuel loading, thereby better protecting communities. “Woodlots are vital to B.C.’s forestry sector as they support local jobs, keep our forests healthy, and help reduce wildfire risk where it matters most: right where people live,” said Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests. 

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“Fires, Closures, and Loss” with Kim Haakstad + Jess Ketchum

Hotel Pacifico
YouTube
July 16, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Mike McDonald and Geoff Meggs welcome Kim Haakstad, president and CEO of the Council of Forest Industries, to Hotel Pacifico. They discuss the troubling state of the industry, impacts of government policy, low harvest levels, and other factors leading to job losses and mill closures. Haakstad prescribes measures that will help get forestry on the comeback trail. In the Strategy Suite, Mike and Geoff are joined by longtime public affairs advisor and media commentator Jess Ketchum. The trio touch on forestry, summer to do list for Premier Eby and John Rustad, crime and addiction, the politics of measles, and how one industry association is leaving no Stone unturned.

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Vancouver Islanders call for better access and environmental oversight of private forest lands

By Claire Palmer
CBC News
July 19, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Dave Weaver

A survey by a private forest management company on Vancouver Island shows thousands of outdoor enthusiasts want better access to forest land — but an alliance of wilderness advocates is also raising concerns about environmental accountability. Mosaic Forest Management, which oversees roughly 550,000 hectares of privately owned forest land between Victoria, Sooke and Campbell River, reports that the survey received over 7,600 responses and the feedback was clear: open the gates. …Steve Mjaaland, Mosaic’s manager of forest protection, says the company would like to enhance recreational access, but gate closures are often necessary for safety and to prevent wildfires. “It’s a working forest. There are a lot of high-risk hazards, especially hauling on the roads, which would probably be the biggest risk with traffic,” he said. …Jenn Holland, who chairs the Vancouver Island Private Managed Forest Land Action Alliance says, “It’s not just access for recreation, but it’s access for accountability that’s missing.”

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Alberta Premier Smith demands apology from fire-stricken Jasper for critical report

By Jack Farrell
The Canadian Press in the Coast Reporter
July 18, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith demanded Friday the fire-stricken town of Jasper apologize and retract a report criticizing her government for its role in last summer’s devastating blaze. Smith, speaking at an unrelated press conference in Edmonton, instead blamed the federal government for failing in the fire response by not asking sooner for provincial help and for not clearing out dead trees that provided fuel for the flames. …Smith also criticized the report for not accurately conveying Alberta’s contributions to the ordeal, including, she said, timely deployment of firefighters and equipment and $181 million worth of support in disaster recovery funding. …Bill Given, Jasper’s chief administrator, said in an interview before Smith’s news conference that the report wasn’t to lay blame. It should be considered a chapter in an overall look at the fire response — a chapter that focuses solely on municipal improvements, he said.

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Wildfire, tornado researchers look for answers in Jasper’s charred forest

By Matthew Scace
The Canadian Press in the Prince George Citizen
July 21, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Lori Daniels

ALBERTA — Lori Daniels and a team of researchers plan to let a hand-held GPS guide them to more than 100 spots in the charred forest around Jasper, Alberta. At each location… they’ll be asking: how bad was the fire? …”I’ve seen a lot of devastating fires across BC in the last decade. I’ve spent a lot of time in burnt forest,” said Daniels, a professor and co-director at the University of BC’s Centre for Wildfire Coexistence. “And I have to say, there are parts of the Jasper fire that were absolutely shocking.” …The researchers want to know whether more than 20 years of forest management affected the fire’s behaviour as it barrelled toward the townsite. Parks Canada had done extensive work to thin the overgrown forest surrounding the town during that two-decade period, said Daniels. She said she believes much of Jasper is still standing because of Parks Canada’s efforts, including prescribed burns and trimming trees.

Related coverage in The Albertan: Jasper, Parks Canada officials giving tours, remarks ahead of wildfire anniversary 

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Vancouver Park Board staff seeks approval to advance Stanley Park tree removal

By Akshay Kulkarni
CBC News
July 21, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Vancouver Park Board staff are seeking commissioners’ approval to proceed with the next phase of a tree removal project in Stanley Park due to an extensive looper moth infestation. Work has been underway to cut down thousands of trees in Vancouver’s biggest park since the summer of 2023, due to fire and public safety risks posed by dead and dying trees. …While the tree removal plan has faced sharp criticism staff say they have a plan that will see the least number of trees removed. “This aims to balance key public safety risks resulting from the hemlock looper outbreak while leaving a moderate extent of internal forest areas to undergo natural forest stand regeneration,” the staff motion says of its preferred approach. If commissioners approve of the staff plan, planning for tree removal and mitigation work would begin later this year and conclude in the first quarter of 2027.

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‘BC is Burning’ documentary looks to spur conversations around forest management

By Michael Reeve
CFJC Today Everything Kamloops
July 18, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Murray Wilson

KAMLOOPS — A new documentary is debuting across British Columbia this month looking into devastating wildfires in the province, while advocating for change. Called BC is Burning, the 45-minute long film investigates how forest management and policy reforms can help reduce the fire risk in our province. It debuts in Kamloops next Tuesday (July 22) at Thompson Rivers University. The documentary features 16 area experts, including four from Kamloops as well as its producer from Vernon. “I’m hoping that the film will untimely drive some change because there are solutions to wildfires and one of our best opportunities is to increase forest management in the province so we can address the fires before they start, reduce the chances of the fires happening,” said Murray Wilson. “We will always have fires, but we can reduce them by active forest management.”

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Woodlots BC is seeking board members

Woodlots BC
July 18, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Woodlots BC is looking for people who are passionate about the woodlot program in BC, and have a keen interest in guiding it into the future as a Woodlots BC Board Director. The Board consists of: Seven voting Directors who are all woodlot licence holders and one government appointed non-voting representative (from BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food). Who qualifies: Any woodlot licensee in BC, or in the case of a woodlot licence that is held by a corporation or group (ie: First Nation Bands, communities, school district, non-profit society), a single person approved/appointed by the group representing that woodlot. This person can only represent one woodlot at a time. The WPDC Board aims to: advocate for and ensure the woodlots of BC have a voice and are able to promote themselves … and, guide and govern the WPDC operations team to work for the needs of woodlots in BC.

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Clear-cutting linked to 18-fold rise in extreme floods, UBC study finds

EurekAlert!
July 17, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Clear-cutting can make catastrophic floods 18 times more frequent with effects lasting more than 40 years, according to a new UBC study. In one watershed, these extreme floods also became more than twice as large, turning a once-in-70-years event into something that now happens every nine. “This research challenges conventional thinking about forest management’s impact on flooding,” said senior author Dr. Younes Alila, a hydrologist in the UBC faculty of forestry. “We hope the industry and policymakers will take note of the findings, which show that it matters not only how much forest you remove but also where, how and under what conditions.” The UBC-led study draws on one of the world’s longest-running forest experiments at the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory in North Carolina and is published in the Journal of Hydrology. The research team analyzed two adjacent watersheds, one north-facing, the other south-facing, that were both clear-cut in the late 1950s.

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University of Saskatchewan researcher studies impact of wildfire smoke on songbirds

CBC News
July 16, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Catherine Ivy is an assistant professor of biology at University of Saskatchewan. Her new research project is examining the impact of wildfire smoke on the songbird population.

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Why are forest fires getting more frequent, intense in northern Ontario?

By Faith Greco
CBC News
July 21, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

As wildfires become more frequent and intense across Canada, fire officials are seeing stark differences between northwestern and northeastern Ontario. They say it all comes down to what’s burning, how it burns, and where. More than 2.2 million hectares have burned in Ontario’s northwest since 2015, compared with around 287,000 hectares in the northeast. “The three things that we need to consider are the weather, the fuels and the topography,” said Chelene Hanes, a wildland fire research scientist at the Great Lakes Forestry Centre in Sault Ste. Marie. Northwestern Ontario typically gets a minimal amount of rain, whereas the northeast has a wetter climate and vast peatlands, she explained. …”On the [northwest] side of the province, and moving into the prairies, they’ve experienced a bit more drought, which is influencing the moisture of the fuels. So that is causing more ignitions to happen as well, because it’s drier,” Hanes said.

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Canada Partners With Trees For Life to Grow Southern Ontario’s Urban and Suburban Canopy

Natural Resources Canada
July 17, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

WHITBY, Ontario — Ryan Turnbull, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance… highlighted a $4-million federal investment for tree-planting projects in urban and suburban areas in southern Ontario. Trees For Life will collaborate with planting partners to plant an average of 24,000 trees annually over five years, for a total of 120,000 trees in communities across southern Ontario. The collaboration with Trees For Life is already ahead of target, supporting the planting of 83,000 trees in southern Ontario with 35,000 trees planted in 2024 and 48,000 trees planted across 40 projects in 2025 to date. This project builds on a successful regional model piloted in the Durham Region. 

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What Nova Scotians are on the hook for as Northern Pulp winds down

By Aaron Beswick
The Chronicle Herald
July 16, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

With the announcement that there won’t be a new kraft pulp mill being built in Liverpool, the long and expensive Northern Pulp saga begins winding down. Here’s the little we know about what Northern Pulp and its associated companies are worth, who’s likely to get paid and what the taxpayer might be on the hook for. When it filed for creditor protection in 2020, Northern Pulp estimated it had $254 million in assets and $311,019,464 in liabilities. But half of those assets – what it estimated as $130 million worth of equipment and land associated with a cold-idled pulp mill at Abercrombie Point – comes with a large and undetermined liability for whoever gets stuck with the cleanup costs. How much the taxpayer ends up on the hook both for unpaid loans to Northern Pulp and cleanup of the mill site will rely on how much gets paid for the companies’ assets.

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Forest Fires

Slew of wildfires now ‘being held’ amid rainfall and cool temperatures

By Steve Berard
Energetic City
July 21, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada West

©BC Wildfire Service

FORT NELSON, B.C. — The wildfire situation in the northeast has de-escalated significantly over the weekend amid cooler temperatures and increased precipitation. According to the latest update from the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS), a slew of fires have had their designation changed from ‘out of control’ to ‘being held,’ meaning they’re no longer expected to keep expanding past their current perimeters. … BCWS says it expects dryer weather to return to southern parts of the province while a cold front carries cooler temperatures and precipitation to the north. …Meanwhile, the largest wildfire in the province, located in the Etcho Creek region, remains out of control.

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After 2011 wildfire, Slave Lake better prepared amid current evacuation alert

By Karen Bartko
Global News
July 21, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada West

A northern Alberta community that’s no stranger to the devastation of a wildfire is on standby to flee if needed. After lightning from a thunderstorm sparked a fire on Sunday in the Municipal District of Lesser Slave River, an evacuation alert was issued both for the rural area surrounding the blaze, as well as for the town of Slave Lake — which was razed by one of Alberta’s costliest wildfires in 2011. At the time, nearly 400 homes and businesses, including an apartment complex and town hall, were reduced to ash and rubble when fierce winds whipped flames through the town north of Edmonton with little warning. Damages were pegged at $700 million …In the nearly 15 years since the Slave Lake wildfire, the community has made changes from lessons observed at home and elsewhere. One such change: modifying fire trucks so they can be more responsive to wildfires, not just structure fires in town.

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Firefighters knock down Sooke brush fire as danger rating soars to extreme

District of Sooke
July 17, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada West

On July 16, 2025, Sooke Fire Rescue responded to a brush fire near Glinz Lake Road and Highway 14. Thanks to the quick action of residents who reported the fire and the coordinated response from Sooke Fire Rescue and mutual aid partners from Metchosin, the blaze was swiftly contained to an area of about 170 square metres – roughly half the size of a 25-metre public swimming pool, like the one at SEAPARC. “We are grateful for the community’s alertness and the dedication of all responding crews,” says Deputy Fire Chief Chris McCrea. “This incident is a clear reminder of the current heightened wildfire hazard. Community awareness and teamwork are critical to keeping Sooke safe.” The fire is believed to be human caused, and the situation highlights the importance of adhering to fire restrictions and practicing extreme caution during the ongoing dry period. The District of Sooke’s fire danger rating is EXTREME.

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Hundreds ordered to evacuate Newfoundland town of Musgrave Harbour as wildfire closes in

By Eric Andrew-Gee
The Globe and Mail
July 20, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada East

A town in northeastern Newfoundland has been ordered to evacuate as an out-of-control wildfire closes in and officials declare a state of emergency, sending hundreds of residents fleeing and fearing for their homes. Justice and Public Safety Minister John Haggie told reporters later Sunday that the fire was “a significant and serious issue.” Jamie Chippett, the deputy minister of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture, said that when the fire was first detected Saturday night, it was about eight kilometres from Musgrave Harbour. By noon Sunday, Mr. Chippett said, the blaze was just one kilometre from the community’s homes and “at a very high rank, a Rank 5 in technical terms.” He added that gusty conditions, including wind blowing south and southwest, put the community “directly in the line of the fire.” …Meanwhile, residents of two communities roughly 110 kilometres south of Musgrave Harbour are still on edge as another wildfire roars nearby.

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