The province of Quebec is facing an issue its counterpart in British Columbia is resolutely ignoring. Quebec is trying—through legislation—to fairly rationalize land use planning on public lands in the province. It’s important because public lands occupy about 92% of Quebec’s surface area. The province has received a rough ride with its initial proposal, but is working toward a solution. The Quebec government introduced a bill into the legislature earlier this year proposing the creation of three priority land use zones for the province: a conservation zone, multi-purpose zone and a forest development zone. …Reactions to the bill… led to demonstrations and blockades of sawmill millyards. The government subsequently agreed to make amendments to the proposed bill with further First Nations consultation. The sides have been talking, at least, and moving however tentatively toward what will hopefully be an equitable compromise solution.
Imagine that happening in the wild west of BC. …Eby’s tactics during at least the last three years has largely been to ignore industry pleas to improve access to timber on public lands. That is despite forest companies and their dependant communities continuing to suffer as a result. An exception being the appointment of a panel to review BC Timber Sales. …The BC Council of Forest Industries (COFI) has consistently plugged away to keep the industry on the provincial government’s radar, despite its apparent indifference, adding: “The best way to support forest workers is to keep mills operating and people working.” …Most of COFI’s recommendations involve internal reorganization and co-operation and of course, a government willingness to make it happen. But nothing positive had happened by early September. Sections of the BC forest industry have already forged mutually beneficial working relationships with First Nations in the province. But more opportunities await with the parallel provincial government.
FORT MILL, South Carolina and MONTRÉAL and RICHMOND, BC — Domtar is proud to celebrate its one-year anniversary of uniting under a single brand: Domtar – The Fiber for the Future. The year has been one of expansion, achievement and living Domtar’s new values. “Reflecting on the last 12 months, I’m deeply impressed by the extraordinary progress our teams have made,” said John Williams, Non-Executive Chairman, Management Board. “Their hard work and commitment have been essential to the success of this integration. While we can’t acknowledge every achievement today, it’s important to pause and recognize the milestones that define our first year as one company.” They include: Reaching a historic agreement with Tla’amin Nation…; Investing in Wisconsin and the Rothschild Dam…; Donating lands to the Nature Conservancy of Canada… ;Publishing our first unified sustainability report…; Expanding our network in point-of-sale receipt rolls… ; and Winning industry recognition.
WASHINGTON — The US Senate passed legislation Wednesday that would nullify US tariffs on Canada, just as US President Trump is engaged in trade talks in Asia as well as an increasingly bitter trade spat with US’s northern neighbour. The 50-46 tally was the latest in a series of votes this week to terminate the national emergencies that Trump has used to impose tariffs. While the resolutions won’t ultimately take effect, they have proven to be an effective way for Democrats to expose cracks between the president’s trade policy and Republican senators who have traditionally supported free trade arguments. …The Senate passed a similar resolution applying to Brazilian tariffs on Tuesday. …Vice-President JD Vance visited Republicans during a closed-door luncheon this week and also argued that they should steer clear of trade policy while the president negotiates deals.
The BCIT School of Construction and the Environment offers two Associate Certificate programs designed to support workforce development in the North American lumber and sawmill sector: 
SASKATCHEWAN — A massive pile of logs that caught fire Monday morning at the Meadow Lake Mechanical Pulp yard was continuing to burn Tuesday, and fire crews say the blaze won’t stop anytime soon. “It’s actually probably going to burn for at least a week, maybe longer, just due to the amount of material burning,” Meadow Lake fire department Chief Joe Grela said. …“We’re probably talking about 100,000 cubic meters of logs here, so quite an immense material,” Grela said. The company that owns the mill, Domtar, said the destruction of the wood is a huge loss. …”It’s always unfortunate when something like this happens, but it’s particularly unfortunate at a difficult time for the sector across the country.” The mill’s wood room was shut down as firefighters kept an eye on the smouldering logs. The fire department said the rest of the mill was running as usual.
Efforts are underway to diversify and strengthen British Columbia’s forestry sector with a new office in London, England. The office will be a hub for BC’s forestry sector to expand its market share across Europe and the United Kingdom. “British Columbia is the second largest exporter of softwood lumber in the world, and with US President Trump’s continued attacks on our forestry workers and economy, we are not sitting idly by,” said Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests. BC’s Crown corporation, Forestry Innovation Investment (FII), will be expanding its presence to the U.K. to work with the forestry industry there, around Europe, and eventually, select markets in the Middle East and northern Africa, to grow BC’s forestry sector footprint internationally. This new office will give B.C.’s forestry sector a representative to help expand growing wood markets in the UK and Europe. …This is the newest FII office, joining offices in China, India and Vietnam, and industry-led offices in Japan and South Korea.
The federal government says its housing agenda can “drive transformation” in the forestry sector as it continues to feel the squeeze of U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war. That was among the messages relayed by Natural Resources Canada assistant deputy minister Glenn Hargrove to the House natural resources committee on Wednesday. Hargrove touted a $1.25 billion aid package for the sector unveiled by Prime Minister Mark Carney in August, noting $700 million of that, which will flow in loan guarantees through the Business Development Bank of Canada, will start to roll out this week. While there have been many pulp, paper, and sawmill closures across the country in recent years, Hargrove said the department sees a “huge opportunity” to “divert” Canadian products away from the U.S. and into the feds’ efforts to boost homebuilding. 
MONTREAL — CN Rail reported its financial and operating results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2025. Highlights include: Revenues of C$4,165 million, an increase of C$55 million, or 1%; Net income of C$1,139 million, an increase of C$54 million, or 5%. …Tracy Robinson, President and Chief Executive Officer said, “We are taking decisive actions to navigate a challenging macro environment including doubling down on productivity efforts, setting our 2026 capital spend at C$2.8 billion*, down nearly C$600 million from this year’s levels, driving increased free cash flow on a go-forward basis. We are positioning this business to benefit from higher future volumes and ensuring everything we do enhances our customers and shareholders long term value.”
Canadian Pacific Kansas City reported a big profit boost in its latest quarter despite US tariff disruption and fears over fallout from a potential merger of rivals down the line. The railway saw net income for the quarter ended Sept. 30 rise 10% year-over-year to $917 million. Revenues increased three per cent to $3.66 billion on the back of higher shipping volumes. Grain, potash and container volumes rose markedly year-over-year while forest products — struggling under a sectoral tariff imposed by US President Trump — and energy, chemicals and plastics sagged. …Cross-border steel shipments also dropped due to 50% US tariffs on imports of the metal, though CPKC helped make up the decline with domestic traffic and direct Canada-to-Mexico trade, said chief marketing officer John Brooks. A new item of concern crossed the CEO’s desk over the summer. Union Pacific announced in July it wants to buy Norfolk Southern, and potentially trigger a final wave of rail mergers.
Lumber futures tumbled toward $560 per thousand board feet, a seven-week low, as weakening demand, persistent oversupply, and trade-policy uncertainties converged. US tariffs are intensifying pressure on Canadian softwood, with existing antidumping and countervailing duties around 35%, plus new Section 232 levies of 10% on timber and 25% on wood products, lifting import costs above 45%. Weak demand compounds the decline, with US residential building permits at a seasonally adjusted 1.4 million units in July, the lowest since June 2020, and construction spending down 3.4% from May 2024. Housing starts remain near five-year lows, keeping retail price pass-through muted despite higher import costs. Export channels have narrowed, with Canadian softwood constrained by tariffs and hardwood exports to China dropping from 40% of volume in 2017 to 7% today. Temporary curtailments and mill closures are emerging, yet abundant inventories and sluggish construction sustain downward pressure. [END]
US tariffs on key Canadian goods and weakening global demand triggered a sharp pullback in exports in the second quarter of 2025, according to new data released by 
The Bank of Canada cut its interest rate by 25 basis points to 2.25 per cent on Wednesday, but signalled that it may end its easing cycle there if the economy operates in line with its latest forecast. …Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem said, “If the economy evolves roughly in line with the outlook in our Monetary Policy Report, governing council sees the current policy rate at about the right level to keep inflation close to 2% while.” …The central bank presented its first baseline forecast since January after trade war uncertainty prompted policymakers to instead assess multiple potential scenarios. After a contraction in the second quarter, the bank expects weak growth for the remainder of 2025, with 0.5% annualized GDP growth in the third quarter and 1% growth in the last quarter of this year. It projects GDP growth of 1.1% in 2026 and 1.6& in 2027.
Let’s keep this simple: lumber and steel are two of the biggest drivers of flatbed freight in this country. …So where are we right now, closing out 2025? Lumber futures are sliding off their highs and steel demand is soft with some pockets still running hot. That combination is sending a pretty clear message to flatbed haulers: expect mixed demand instead of broad “every lane is on fire” demand. Some regions will stay busy. Some will get quiet. …Lumber futures have fallen back into the $590–$610/mbf range, down double digits from that August spike, and recently touched the lowest levels in weeks. …There are two main reasons for that weakness: Housing affordability is still brutal. Inventory is sitting. So instead of steady flatbed freight — lumber from mill to yard, yard to jobsite, jobsite to next jobsite — you get pauses. …Lumber and steel tell the truth before the broader market does. 
EDMUNDSTON, New Brunswick – Acadian Timber reported financial and operating results1 for the three months ended September 27, 2025. Acadian generated sales of $23.0 million, compared to $26.0 million in the prior year period. …Operating costs and expenses decreased $2.0 million compared to the prior year period as a result of decreased timber sales volumes and timber services activity, partially offset by higher average operating costs and expenses per m
The world’s largest green timber label will vote next week on whether to begin work on new traceability rules, amid renewed scrutiny and accusations over whether the body is doing enough to prevent fraud within its supply chains. The Bonn-based Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) bills itself as “the world’s most trusted mark for sustainable forestry.” …But forestry experts and whistleblowers have alleged for years that the FSC lacks a proper control system, allowing bad actors to fraudulently pass off timber that was illegally or unsustainably logged as FSC-certified. Phil Guillery, who was the FSC’s integrity director from 2011-21, 
As wildfires continue to devastate communities across North America, it’s time we confront a hard truth: neglecting the forests that surround our towns is no longer an option. …Silviculture — the science of managing forest growth, composition, and health — is not just a tool for local timber production. It’s a vital strategy for climate resilience and community safety. Through practices like selective harvesting, thinning, and replanting, silviculture reduces fuel loads, promotes biodiversity, and maintains the ecological balance necessary to prevent catastrophic fires. Critics often question the ethics of cutting trees in the age of climate change. But when done responsibly, harvesting followed by replanting can actually enhance carbon sequestration. …Moreover, strong forest management isn’t just about trees — it’s about people. …Let’s stop treating forest management as a luxury or a controversial topic. It’s a necessity. Investing in silviculture is investing in the safety, sustainability, and future of our communities.
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QUESNEL, BC — Given what’s going on around the world, it’s easy to understand why more areas in BC are taking a closer look at the Community Forest form of log harvesting tenure. It returns the management and responsibility for small, designated areas of forest land back into the hands of appointed people who live, work and care about them. Some control of what happens to and on the forest land in their own back yard has a growing appeal to its residents. …A community forest attempts to better accommodate other land users. …Co-operating with others as one cohesive unit becomes the catalyst for achieving dynamic, site specific land use solutions. It’s challenging but exciting work. It requires administering a cocktail of flexibility and responsiveness. Nick Pickles understands all that. It’s part of the appeal to being manager of the Three Rivers Community Forest based in the Cariboo region. 
North Cowichan Mayor Rob Douglas has, again, sent a letter to Minister of Forests Ravi Parmar asking the province to help increase the amount of timber that the municipality’s saw and pulp mills have access to. Douglas said that three tree-farm licenses held by Western Forest Products supply much of the timber and fibre for local mills. He said that improving access to timber in these areas could help stabilize mill operations and reduce the impact of challenging market conditions and trade pressures. Douglas said Parmar’s mandate is to ensure a sustainable land base to enable the harvest of 45-million cubic metres of timber while the province is on track to harvest only 29-million cm this year. …The Domtar pulp mill in Crofton, along with Western Forest Products’ sawmills and remanufacturing plant in Chemainus and Cowichan Bay, collectively employ more than 670 workers and generate $7.7 million per year in property taxes for North Cowichan.
The TLA commends the Provincial Forest Advisory Council (PFAC) for its ongoing work to develop a long-term vision for BC’s forest sector, and 
The Province is making 187 amendments to 38 regulations across 10 ministries to reduce red tape, improve permitting timelines and make government services more efficient and accessible. This work is part of Better Regulations for British Columbians (BR4BC) amendment package… This year’s focus is on expediting permitting and approval timelines for people and businesses in British Columbia. By streamlining approval processes, such as removing construction permit requirements for very small private water systems, simplifying the level of authority needed for special-use forestry permits, and eliminating outdated provisions related to soil relocation and open burning activities, the Province is making it easier to do business in B.C.
DRYDEN — Wildland fire crews were kept “very busy” throughout the 2025 forest fire season as Northwestern Ontario saw over 560,000 hectares go up in flames. “It would be fair to call the 2025 wildland fire season a very busy one in the Northwest,” said Chris Marchand, a fire information officer with the Ministry of Natural Resources’s regional fire management centre in Dryden. “Often in the spring, you hear us speak of the volatility of spring fire hazard conditions,” he continued. “And this year, from about the second week of May, it really provided a good demonstration of how a few weeks of dry weather combined with high winds and low humidity can really produce extreme fire behaviour in forests that haven’t greened up yet.” Those early conditions were the spark for a season that saw 560,234.9 hectares burned by 435 fires in the Northwest region alone. Comparatively, the Northwest’s relatively slow 2024 season saw 69,938.3 hectares burned in 218 fires.
