A two-year investigation by the Forest Practices Board has found outdated rules and unclear responsibilities are preventing forestry from becoming a powerful wildfire-defence tool. The board examined forestry operations from 2019 until 2022 in the wildland-urban interface — areas where communities and forests meet. …It begins with fire hazard assessments, a cornerstone of wildfire risk reduction. The investigation found that 70% of assessments met content requirements. However, fewer than one in four were completed on time. …Municipalities, the most populated areas of the province, are excluded from the legal interface. …Despite the challenges, the board observed strong examples of wildfire-conscious forestry. …The board is recommending five actions to the Province. … If adopted, these changes would help turn everyday forestry into a proactive wildfire prevention tool, supporting faster fuel cleanup, better co-ordination and more consistent protection for people and communities throughout B.C. “This is an opportunity to improve our policies and processes toward proactive, risk-reducing forestry,” Keith Atkinson said.
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With roughly 2,000 wildfires in B.C. each year, forestry workers are often operating in or near fire-affected areas. It’s up to employers to ensure their crews are properly trained and prepared to recognize the risks and respond safely. …Employers are responsible for identifying hazards, assessing risks, and ensuring effective controls are in place — along with providing training, supervision, and fit-for-use equipment.
The second Trump administration has come out swinging on trade. New tariffs have reignited uncertainty across global supply chains and forced America’s economic allies to find ways of placating the White House. For Canada and Mexico, Washington’s partners in Trump’s U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, this has been a stark reminder of how easily trust can erode, even in the most integrated trade relationship in the world. …In terms of trade, the stakes could not be higher: Mexico and Canada are the United States’ no.1 and no. 2 trading partners. But the partners don’t just trade enormous amounts with each other; they build things together. Therefore, the review process is also a chance to modernize North America’s trade architecture, reinforce strategic industries, and rebuild the foundations of regional trust and cooperation. America’s competitiveness depends heavily on the integrated North American manufacturing platform, and thus on the success of Mexico and Canada, its partners.
Lumber futures traded below $610 per thousand board feet, easing from two-month highs of $626 seen June 13th, driven by improving supply while demand slowed. This pullback reflects a temporary surge in supply as sawmills and wholesalers restocked early-season safety stocks, while builders delayed purchases after earlier buying . The decline also stems from softer demand: high mortgage rates continue to suppress new house builds and remodeling activity, with treaters and end-users scaling back orders. Although longer-term forecasts expect a pickup in Q3, driven by renewed tariff pressure and projected housing recovery, the current correction is supply-led, driven by modest restocking, seasonal slowdown, and rate-constrained construction spending. [END]›
As Ottawa bets big on EVs and batteries, core manufacturers in sectors like lumber, metal and machinery are left fighting uphill battles at home. Among his various and sometimes conflicting economic objectives, Donald Trump has identified revitalizing manufacturing as a priority. He has railed against the decline in factory jobs — a complaint that overlooks the jump in U.S. manufacturing employment since 2015 but does reflect the fact that manufacturing today accounts for a significantly smaller share of U.S. jobs than it did 30 years ago. Canadian policymakers have also been paying more attention to manufacturing, particularly since the 2020-21 COVID shock highlighted the country’s vulnerability to supply chain disruptions. Unfortunately, Ottawa’s preferred game-plan has been to dole out vast taxpayer-funded subsidies to politically favoured segments: Electric vehicles, batteries and clean-tech products.
Ash and chemicals from some of BC’s largest wildfires are winding up in the Fraser River, which could eventually lead to low oxygen levels and harm marine life, say UBC researchers. In a peer-reviewed study, published in the journal Science of The Total Environment, scientists linked increases in the concentrations of compounds like arsenic and lead, and nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, to wildfires that had burned near the 1,375 kilometre long river. These are all compounds that are found naturally in the water. However, researchers tracked a significant increase in compounds as wildfires were happening near the river. The researchers studied fires within 500 metres, 1,000 metres and 1,500 metres. Fires burning close to major waterways had immediate influence on water quality, said Emily Brown, a research scientist at UBC’s institute for the oceans and fisheries. The more distant wildfires had delayed influence on water quality.
Forest Products Association of Canada issued this statement to recognize the release of the Kananaskis Wildfire Charter at the G7 meetings: Canada’s forest sector welcomes the G7’s commitment to address the environmental, economic, health, and social challenges that come with the increase in catastrophic wildfires globally. Over 3.7 million hectares have already burned in Canada this year, putting us on pace for our second worst fire season on record. To put that in some context, more than five times the land base that Canada’s foresters would harvest in an entire year has already burned in 2025. And when Canada’s foresters do their work, they ensure the forest is regrown. Fires in some parts of Canada are now burning so hot that regeneration of these forests are challenged due to scorched soils. The time for action is now. Quite simply, fires will get worse if we are not more proactive in managing fuel loads and our aging forests. 
QUALICUM BEACH, BC — Alien invasive species like Scotch broom do not move into a void. They displace something that was originally present. Broom displaces grasses and native plants – but while grass is food, broom is toxic to grazing animals, wild and domestic. Broom provides flowers for bees in May – but wipes out the native flowers that bees rely on for the rest of the season. Farmers call broom the Scourge of Pastureland – and it affects our food security. Broom competing with young trees on forest land creates millions of dollars in losses to forest companies – and the loss to the future of our forests is beyond measure. Biodiversity? Researchers designate Scotch broom as THE invasive species doing the greatest harm to species at risk in all of B.C. Broom is the top offender of biodiversity. Wildfire? Broom’s high oil content, naturally occurring dry branches, and dense growth patterns make broom extremely flammable. FireSmart classifies broom in the highest risk category.
Elphinstone and West Howe Sound community associations’ efforts to have B.C. Timber Sales (BCTS) defer the 35.2 hectare Elphinstone Highlands cutblock (TA0519) from its current Q1 sales schedule received support from the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) board. Provision of a letter of support for the deferral requests was endorsed at the board’s June 12 meeting. According to the BCTS Chinook area sales schedule released April 17, TA0519 was slated to go to auction by June 30. In a June 18 email response to Coast Reporter, the Ministry of Forests stated that “Sales schedules are issued to notify of upcoming proposed timber sales auctions. BC Timber Sales starts accepting bids when a licence is placed on BC Bid for auction… TA0519 is a partial harvest/commercial thin sale and was pulled from BC Bid due to an administrative error. It is anticipated that TA0519 will be reposted this fiscal year.”
An insolvent BC forestry company’s attempt to sell off a forest licence to pay back creditors has triggered a dispute with several First Nations, who allege the company is attempting an “end run” around their rights. This spring, three Indigenous groups challenged the Teal-Jones Group before a BC Supreme Court judge for attempting to complete an interim transfer of forest licence A19201 to Western Canadian Timber Products (WCTP). The move came before the B.C. Minister of Forests could consult with 39 First Nations who have territory in the area. …The legal dispute hinged on whether the proposed interim agreement triggered a duty to consult with First Nations. But Fitzpatrick ruled Teal Jones’ agreement with WCTP remained “the highest and best offer presently available for consideration and approval after all that time.” The judge concluded that the sales process had been conducted in a “fair and reasonable manner”.
Looking over the 40-acre waterfront Somass property, Port Alberni’s Chief Administrative Officer Mike Fox sees an area that is key to shaping the city’s future. “I believe this project will be one of those defining moments where people will look back years from now and comment on how the community rallied and how we enabled the development of this key waterfront area,” he says. The land that once housed Western Forest Products Somass Division was purchased from the timber giant after the mill was shuttered in 2017 and the land sat vacant for more than a decade… While there was early discussion about trying to incorporate some of the structures used in the operation of the mill, geotechnical and structural analysis work is being done to see if any meet building standards. One of the buildings included in initial discussions burned down last summer.
Whistler’s mayor and council advanced a pair of sweeping environmental bylaws that will introduce stricter rules for tree removal and land disturbance across the resort community. At its regular meeting, council gave first three readings to new environmental and tree protection bylaws, with 87 letters submitted in support and a wave of speakers appearing in council chambers to back the regulations. The bylaws were introduced to address long-standing gaps in how Whistler protects its natural areas, following community concern over clear-cut lots, unregulated vegetation removal and heightened wildfire risk. In addition to creating a new permit process for tree removal, the rules prohibit land clearing in sensitive areas and carry steep penalties for infractions—up to $50,000 for unauthorized tree-cutting.
Several aircraft used to fight forest fires in Ontario are sitting in airport hangars and on tarmacs due to a pilot shortage. JP Hornick, president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), said the province is now short three water bomber pilots and six helicopter pilots due to low pay and poor working conditions. “The Ontario pilots are the lowest paid in the country, and what the government has put on the table would bring them up to a whopping second lowest paid position across the country,” Hornick said. That pilot shortage has meant one of Ontario’s nine Canadair CL-415 water bombers has been grounded. Three of the province’s eight helicopters used for firefighting have also been grounded. Hornick said two of the five bush planes used by the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) have also been grounded because only three pilots are available to fly them.
A new study suggests small, consistent amounts of exposure to the herbicide glyphosate can lead to higher incidents of cancer – a finding that has Green party Leader David Coon calling on the province to take the issue seriously. The study, by the Italian-based non-profit Ramazzini Institute, involved exposing rats to small levels of the herbicide and two other products for 2+ years. It found that “statistically significant dose-related (amounts of glyphosate) increased incidences of benign and malignant tumors.”…Bayer, which uses glyphosate in its Roundup herbicide, denounced the study. “It is clear this study has serious methodological flaws, which is consistent with the Ramazzini Institute’s long history of making misleading claims about the safety of various products,” the company said. …A government spokesperson initially told Brunswick News that the study’s findings weren’t applicable in New Brunswick because two products studied aren’t used in Canada.
Chris Watson of Lorneville, a rural community in southwest Saint John, recently saw what he believed to be a centuries-old red spruce near Spruce Lake. He drilled a small hole into the trunk by hand and took a pencil-sized sample to have it tested. Ben Phillips, environmental lecturer at Mount Allison University, began a process known as dendochronology on the sample — a study that measures the age of trees by counting small lines otherwise known as tree rings. “This tree, I can confidently say, is over 400 years old,” Phillips, who runs the Acadian Forest Dendochronology Lab on campus, said about the sample he got from Watson. “It is probably in the top 10 oldest trees in the province that I know of.” …Both Phillips and Ilana Urquhart, Nature Trust of New Brunswick conservation co-ordinator, want to see legislation put in place in New Brunswick that would protect areas with old growth, specifically.
It has only been in the past few years that wildfire smoke from Canada has become a persistent risk to the air we all breathe. Why is this? …A vast swath across northern Canada has a subarctic climate. The types of vegetation best adapted to these conditions are conifer forests dominated by black and white spruce with some pine, balsam fir, larch, aspen and birch. Fire has always been an element of this biome. Historically, about 7.3 million acres have burned annually but in 2023, an astonishing 67 million acres burned. This year’s acreage is on pace to meet or exceed the record-breaking year of 2023. …The fire season is changing in Canada because the climate of Canada is changing. …What this means is that large, long-duration wildfires in Canada’s boreal forest and the smoke plumes they produce are likely to be a new and persistent phenomenon going forward. 
In the recent WorkSafeBC Health and Safety News, you’ll find these stories and more:
