Region Archives: Canada

Special Feature

Summary Wrap-UP: International Pulp Week 2025

Kelly McCloskey, Editor
The Tree Frog Forestry News
June 11, 2025
Category: Special Feature
Region: Canada, United States, International

The Tree Frog News featured the panels and speakers from last week’s International Pulp Week. In today’s Tree Frog News are links to all of the conference sessions in chronological order. 

Day One – June 1, 2025

  • Registration and Wecome Cocktail

Day Two – June 2, 2025

Day Two – June 3, 2025

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B.C. is Burning – Wildfire Documentary Premieres in Kelowna June 24 and Vernon on June 26

By Murray Wilson
BC is Burning
June 13, 2025
Category: Special Feature
Region: Canada West

New film reveals the roots of B.C.’s wildfire crisis—and what we must do to stop it. A powerful new documentary exploring the causes and consequences of British Columbia’s escalating wildfire crisis will premiere to the public at the Mary Irwin Theatre in Kelowna on Tuesday, June 24 at 7:00 pm and at the Vernon Performing Arts Centre Thursday June 26 at 7:00 pm. Titled B.C. is Burning, the 45-minute film delivers a sobering but hopeful look at what’s fueling today’s megafires—and the science-based solutions that could protect our forests, our communities, and our future. B.C. is Burning was independently produced and funded through community support, with Homestead Foods generously contributing half of the total budget. We also gratefully acknowledge major support from Skyline Helicopters, Padoin Reforestation, and Kalesnikoff.

The film was produced and written by retired forester Murray Wilson and initiated by Associate Producer Rick Maddison, who played a key role in fundraising.

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Opinion / EdiTOADial

Out of the Box Idea for Wildfire Resiliency

David Elstone, Managing Director
The Spar Tree Group
June 17, 2025
Category: Opinion / EdiTOADial
Region: Canada, Canada West

David Elstone

Forestry in BC is more than harvesting trees, it is also becoming about wildfire resiliency. …As a broad generalization, the future of wildfire management is more than putting fires out but increasingly it is learning how to live with fire. …That happens with active forest management work such as stand thinning and fuel reduction treatments. Specifics of such depend on the ecological characteristics of the areas to receive treatments. Another reality is that forestry is no longer practiced without First Nations consultation and input. In fact, due to growing forest tenure ownership and now with leadership in forest landscape planning, forestry in BC is fast becoming synonymous with Indigenous forestry. …To effectively and urgently treat millions of hectares of forests for resiliency to wildfire, the amount of required funding is magnitudes greater than what is being applied today. …So here is an idea that does not need government funds, just motivation that brings together the three sides of the triangle as described above:

Create large scale temporary stewardship areas, in the thousands of hectares where there are homogenous forests of an age range – say between 20 years to 40 years old – where qualified operators could thin stands from below, following a broad stand management prescription for the area. Planning work with First Nations should be done in advance for the entire area. …No tenure, no conventional cutting permit, just an application/timber mark. No appraisal – just say $1/m3 stumpage. Make it so there are no negative repercussions to AAC cut control so existing forest tenure licensees should have no concern. …Doing this work at scale will drive investment in more efficient equipment. Mills receive steady and reliable fibre to keep operating and maintain jobs. Government and First Nations get more wildfire resilient forested landscapes, raising the quality of forests increases other values like moose, and carbon management etc.

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Business & Politics

Canadian Institute of Forestry seeks Executive Director

The Canadian Institute of Forestry
June 16, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada

The Institute is seeking an enthusiastic individual to provide strategic and operational leadership as Executive Director. The Executive Director leads the Canadian Institute of Forestry / Institut forestier du Canada (CIF-IFC), guiding the organization through strategic growth and operational excellence. This role ensures the long-term sustainability of the Institute through sound governance, financial stewardship, and stakeholder engagement. The Executive Director works closely with a small team, the Executive Committee, and a broad national network of members, volunteers and partners. They are accountable to the Board of Directors and collaborate with committees, staff, members, sponsors, and regions across Canada. This is a full-time, remote position. Individuals with the requisite qualifications are invited to apply by July 21, 2025.

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United Steelworkers members at Galloway Sawmill deprived of severance payments for closure

By Grant Farquhar, President USW Local 1-405
United Steelworkers
June 6, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada West

Cranbrook, BC – United Steelworkers (USW) Local 1-405 members at Galloway Sawmill have had enough and are going public with their frustration with Peak Renewables and Galloway Sawmill owner Brian Fehr and the violation of their collective agreement rights and severance owed to the 20 workers of the Galloway Sawmill. “Workers left at the Galloway Sawmill are entitled and deserve their severance from Peak Renewables and owner Brian Fehr at Galloway Sawmill. The company is reneging on a negotiated closure agreement and the workers are the only ones that get hurt,” said USW Local 1-405 President Grant Farquhar. “That site was closed officially by the employer in December of 2024. Five months later and two months after the commitment was made by the employer to pay the severance was made, the members still haven’t received it.” Brian Fehr, owner of Peak Renewables, bought the Galloway Sawmill from Bud Nelson in 2017. The mill hadn’t run since December of 2022. 

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Court fight continues years after fires destroy Surrey mill

By Tom Zytaruk
BC Local News in Peace Arch News
June 13, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

SURREY, BC — Mackenzie Sawmill is back in the courts, a little more than a decade after the sum of three fires ruined a large mill built in 1938. The first of three fires was on Nov. 12, 2010, followed by a second on Jan. 25, 2011 and the third on Oct. 31, 2014 essentially destroyed what was left of it. …Judge Rory Krentz, presided over a hearing in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver, where the defendants applied for a dismissal for want of prosecution. Mackenzie ceased operations in early 2011 after the second fire, with two groups of employees entitled to severance pay. The court heard Mackenzie told the union the company intended to build another mill on site, enabling the union employees to keep their jobs. …This was before the third fire, after which Mackenzie indicated it still planned to rebuild the mill. But the union alleges MacKenzie decided before the last fire happened that it wouldn’t rebuild.

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University of Norther BC recognizes distinguished Professors Emeriti

Education News Canada
June 13, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Kathy Lewis & Kerry Reimer

The University of Northern British Columbia celebrated three distinguished Professors Emeriti at a Faculty Recognition Event. Dr. Kerry Reimer (Chemistry); Dr. Elie Korkmaz (Physics); and Dr. Kathy Lewis (Ecosystem Science and Management) were awarded the honorary title “Professor Emeritus/Emerita” during the special gathering and will join the platform party for the 2025 Convocation ceremony at UNBC’s Prince George Campus on May 30. …Dr. Kathy Lewis’ career is defined by her transformative leadership in forestry education. As the first faculty member hired in the Forestry Program, she was instrumental in building the program from the ground up, guiding it to become a nationally accredited program. …As Chair of the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, Dr. Lewis guided the department through periods of significant growth. Dr. Lewis’ expertise as a forest pathologist earned her national recognition, with her research on forest health, tree diseases and climate change.

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Ontario Launches Plan to Secure Energy for Generations

By Ministry of Energy and Mines
Government of Ontario
June 12, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

TORONTO – The Ontario government released Energy for Generations, the province’s first-ever integrated energy plan – a comprehensive roadmap to meet future energy needs, support new housing and power the most competitive economy in the G7. This plan is an important part of the government’s work to protect Ontario by bringing together electricity, natural gas, hydrogen and other energy sources under a single coordinated strategy to ensure the province has affordable, secure, reliable and clean energy. …”Ontario’s forest biomass resource is an entirely domestic source of secure, dispatchable. low-carbon heating and electrical energy. Over 80% of bioenergy expenditures remain within a region, providing an essential avenue for northern, rural, and Indigenous communities to participate in Ontario’s energy transformation. Ontario is on a path to become a more globally competitive forest product jurisdiction, and the Ontario Forest Industries Association commends Minister Lecce and Premier Doug Ford for today’s announcement.”

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Curtailment at Chemainus sawmill set to start next week; 150 workers to be laid off

By Darron Kloster
The Times Colonist
June 13, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Western Forest Products says it will curtail all operations at its Chemainus sawmill next week, sidelining 150 employees for an indefinite period. The company said the curtailment, set to start June 18, is due to market challenges that include weaker lumber demand and higher US softwood lumber duties, as well as a lack of available viable log supplies. The company also blamed market conditions and a lack of log supplies for a similar shutdown in the spring of last year. Western Forest Products’ other mills at Duke Point, Ladysmith, Saltair and Cowichan Bay, and a value-added remanufacturing plant in Chemainus, will continue to operate, said Babita Khunkhun, senior director of communications for Western Forest Products. She said there is no end date for the curtailment at the Chemainus mill at this point, as the company monitors conditions. The mayor of North Cowichan said he was initially told 55 workers were facing layoffs.

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New Brunswick removes more interprovincial trade exceptions. The ability to cut and process Crown wood is not included

By Brad Perry
Country94.ca
June 12, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

Susan Holt

The New Brunswick government is taking more steps to try and improve trade between other provinces. The province announced that it was removing five more procurement-related interprovincial trade exceptions. …Premier Susan Holt said this is in addition to 10 other exceptions they have already removed or modified. …“Removing the exception means that their procurement will be open to competition from bidders from all over the place,” she added. With 15 trade exceptions now being removed or modified, the province still has 17 party-specific exceptions still in place. Holt said many of those are “sticky ones” that involve resource-related items such as Crown wood and the crab fishery. …“Where it’s natural resources that are critical to New Brunswick’s economy and identity, we’re not yet sure whether we want to remove the requirements to process and add value to those primary products in our province.”

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Ontario Primary Forestry Council meets to build sector-wide solidarity

Unifor Canada
June 12, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada East

Forestry workers from across Northern Ontario gathered in Dryden, Ontario to discuss opportunities for the sector, challenges in their workplaces, hear from legal and pension experts, and from Unifor leadership on how the union is fighting for forestry jobs. Ontario Regional Director Samia Hashi and Quebec Director Daniel Cloutier opened the meeting with a review of the work the union is doing to push all levels of government for an industrial strategy for forestry, and to advocate using Canadian lumber and lumber products to help build us out of the housing crisis. “Unifor has been front and centre in Canada’s response to U.S. tariffs—demanding that governments defend working people and hold corporations accountable,” said Hashi. “Forestry needs to be at the heart of Canada’s industrial strategy. And that strategy must be bold, forward-looking, and rooted in justice for workers.”

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Finance & Economics

Canadian housing starts largely flat from April to May

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
June 16, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada

The six-month trend in housing starts was flat (0.8%) in May (243,407 units), according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The trend measure is a six-month moving average of the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of total housing starts for all areas in Canada. The total monthly SAAR of housing starts for all areas in Canada was also flat (-0.2%) in May (279,510 units) compared to April (280,181 units). Actual housing starts were up 9% year-over-year in centres with a population of 10,000 or greater, with 23,745 units recorded in May, compared to 21,814 units in May 2024. The year-to-date total was 90,767 up 1% from the same period in 2024. “Growth in actual starts activity in May was once again driven by increases of single-detached homes and purpose-built rentals in Québec. By contrast, weak condominium market conditions in Toronto and Vancouver have contributed to declines in overall housing starts in these regions,” said Tania Bourassa-Ochoa, CMHC’s Deputy Chief Economist.

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Lumber Reaches 10-Week Highs

Trading View
June 12, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

Lumber futures rose past $610 per thousand board feet, a ten-week high, as steady construction activity met tightening supply and mounting trade barriers. US homebuilding remains steady with single-family starts flat at 1.36 million units in April and permits edging lower, while Canadian multi-unit starts jumped 34%, keeping mill orders firm. Canadian harvests are constrained by pine-beetle infestations, prairie wildfires that have burned more than 200,000 hectares this spring and strict cut limits that left British Columbia nearly 42% below its allowable quota in 2023. In the US, sawmill utilization stalled in the mid-70% range despite recent capacity additions. Tariffs of roughly 14.5% on Canadian softwood, along with threats of higher levies, have discouraged cross-border shipments, while major exporters divert supply to Asian and European markets. Elevated fuel and transportation costs further raise delivered prices.

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Forestry

We don’t have to tear down nature to ‘Build Canada’

By World Wildlife Fund Canada
Cision Newswire
June 16, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

TORONTO – The federal government’s proposed Build Canada Act, a plan to fast-track “nation-building” development projects, from critical minerals mines and oil and gas pipelines to habitat-fragmenting highways and Arctic deep-water ports, risks damaging the nature that is at the core of Canada’s economy and identity — threatening the wealth of the nation it is supposed to defend. World Wildlife Fund Canada is deeply concerned about the bill, which would allow Cabinet to override key environmental protections, such as the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, the Fisheries Act, the Species at Risk Act, and the Migratory Birds Convention Act, for projects deemed in the national interest. We are also concerned that this legislation could undermine the federal government’s obligations under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), including the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent. Development decisions that bypass Indigenous consultation risk perpetuating the very harms that reconciliation is meant to address.

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Canada’s forests may be burning faster than they can grow back

By Ruby Mellen
The Washington Post
June 16, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

Scientists say wildfire could transform parts of the Canadian landscape, as more intense and more frequent fires push forests to adapt and prevent certain common Canadian trees from regrowing…. Canada’s native plants are hardwired to endure the effects of wildfire — to an extent. But … drier conditions and warmer weather due to climate change are making these fires more frequent and hotter. …What could happen is a shift from tall forests to grassland or savanna in some parts of the country… This would in some ways be a return to the past, said Marc-André Parisien, a scientist with the Canadian Forest Service — and not necessarily a bad thing. …“We’re moving to a place that has no historical analogue,” said Mike Flannigan, the science director of the Canadian Partnership for Wildland Fire Science at the University of Alberta. “We’re in new uncharted territory,” as climate change has exacerbated wildfires’ pace and scale. [Full story access requires a subscription to the Washington Post]

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The 2025 wildfire season is on track to be Canada’s 2nd-worst on record

By Nick Murray
The Canadian Press
June 12, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

OTTAWA – This year’s wildfire season in Canada is shaping up to be the second-worst on record and federal officials are warning of a dangerous summer in parts of British Columbia. Officials … held a technical briefing Thursday in Ottawa with an update on the state of multiple wildfires and its forecast for the coming months. “We are expecting a hot and dry summer, and definitely leading to a forecast of increased fire danger conditions for much of western and northern Canada,” said Michael Norton, director general of the Northern Forestry Centre with Natural Resources Canada. Wildfires have scorched 3.7 million hectares across the country so far… Modelling by Environment and Climate Change Canada suggests temperatures will be about a degree or two above normal across the country through August, though the risk of wildfires remains highest in central and western provinces and territories.

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Canada Announces Major Investments to Improve Resilience Against Wildfires

By Natural Resources Canada
Cision Newswire
June 12, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

OTTAWA – Wildfire season is in full effect across much of Canada, with many Canadians currently facing severe wildfire conditions. …The Governments of Canada, British Columbia, Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Manitoba, together with the CIFFC, announced a total investment of $104 million through the Government of Canada’s Resilient Communities through FireSmart (RCF) Program. …The funding announced today will help enhance FireSmart™ programming and support the provinces and territories in increasing capacity and assisting community-based projects to help prevent wildfires and mitigate their impacts, including Indigenous communities that are disproportionately threatened by wildfires. These investments are strengthening the federal government’s actions and efforts to enhance and expand wildfire prevention and mitigation across all levels of government. 

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Ministers present 2025 Wildfire Season Forecast

By Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada
Cision Newswire
June 12, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

OTTAWA, ON – Canadians are coming together to confront a severe wildfire season, driven by rising temperatures and dry conditions. It has already had devastating impacts in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario. The Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience and Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada and others delivered the latest assessment of the 2025 wildfire season. …Wildfires are causing widespread damage to communities, ecosystems, infrastructure and air quality, posing serious risks to public health and safety. As climate change continues to influence weather patterns, preparation and public awareness have never been so important. Canadians can access information through the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System and learn how to protect themselves by visiting Get Prepared. Looking ahead, forecasts point to above-normal temperatures from June through August this year, with potential drought intensifying across many areas in the coming weeks, especially in the northern Prairies and northwestern Ontario.

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Nakusp open house welcomes public into wildfire fuel break work

By Evert Lindquist
Revelstoke Review
June 17, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Residents curious for an update and behind-the-scenes on local forest fuel mitigation this wildfire season are invited to attend a free open house in Nakusp this Wednesday, June 17. Hosted by the Nakusp & Area Community Forest (NACFOR), the event unites voices from forestry, conservation, wildfire management and FireSmart to educate participants on work happening northeast of Nakusp at the Wensley Creek Cross Country Ski Trails to minimize fire-spreading foliage. “NACFOR contractors have been working on both the commercial harvesting patches that were planned for the Wensley Creek area, and continuing hand treatment of understory and ground fuel in other areas,” communications specialist Skye Cunningham shared by email.

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Wildfire risk reduction project near Merritt a model for community-led forest management

By Jeff Andreas
RadioNL
June 16, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

A wildfire risk reduction initiative led by the Lower Nicola Indian Band Development Corporation (LNIBDC) has significantly decreased wildfire hazards in the Steffens Estates area, just north of Merritt, while setting an example for Indigenous-led land stewardship in British Columbia. The multi-phase project, which began in 2022 and was completed in March 2024, combined strategic timber harvesting with intensive fuel mitigation efforts to create safer forest conditions near the Steffens Estates subdivision—land bordering private residences and Crown forests. With more work planned near Steffens Estates and around critical communications infrastructure on Iron Mountain, the project is part of a broader effort to proactively manage wildfire risk in British Columbia. B.C. Minister of Forests Ravi Parmar also praised the initiative: “Wildfire risk reduction is one of the most important ways we can protect people, homes, and vital infrastructure – especially as our province faces the growing impacts of climate change.”

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Flourish or flounder: How wildfires affect Boreal forest wildlife

By Jeremy Warren
CBC News
June 17, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

There’s an entire cycle of life that helps some wildlife thrive when the boreal forest burns, but experts say climate change and human activity have led to larger, more intense wildfires, exacerbating the negative effects on some species. While it’s too early to know exactly how one of the worst wildfire seasons in Saskatchewan history is affecting wildlife, research shows some species have evolved over millennia to take advantage of forest fire cycles. “It’s almost essential, particularly in the boreal forest, to have some degree of fire on the landscape, because it is important to create that sort of regenerative habitat for species that depend on it,” said Jean-Michele DeVink, an environmental consultant and adjunct professor at the University of Saskatchewan. “The challenge, is that for other species that do require more mature forest, the extent of fires that we’re seeing throughout the boreal forest is a bit of a problem.”

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Wildfire recovery equipment repeatedly vandalized, says Okanagan Indian Band

By Chelsey Mutter
Castanet
June 13, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Wildfire recovery work on the Okanagan Indian Band is being subjected to acts of vandalism. According to a post on the OKIB website, equipment used in the Bradley Creek Wildfire Salvage Project is being repeatedly vandalized. “These illegal actions are putting a stop to critical recovery work and placing our community and lands at further risk,” said the OKIB in a community notice. The salvage project is working with Tolko Industries to remove dead standing (fire-killed) timber to support ecological recovery and reduce wildfire risks in the Bradley Creek area which was impacted by the 2021 White Rock Lake Wildfire. …OKIB said the project is essential to reduce wildfire risk, and restore watershed through erosion control and soil stabilization. The project also supports the return of traditional plants and medicines, creates local employment opportunities and generates revenue through the OKIB forest license.

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More than 80,000 seedlings to be planted for Downton Lake wildfire recovery

By Luke Faulks
Pique News Magazine
June 13, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

In 2023, a wildfire ripped through the Downton Lake area of the Upper Bridge River Valley (BRV), destroying more than 40 homes, threatening some 270 properties and consuming an area of about 9,600 hectares before being put out. Now, a partnership between the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (SLRD), Cariboo Carbon Solutions (CCS) and Tree Canada is looking to plant 80,000 seedlings on private lands in Electoral Area A in 2026 at no cost to participating landowners. …The replanting initiative is part of a broader recovery effort led by the Land-Based Recovery Table, which ensures local representation as ecological restoration in the BRV moves forward. The group includes community leaders, Indigenous partners, the SLRD, provincial ministries, industry partners like CCS and local organizations including the Gun Lake Ratepayers Association. …The seedlings, currently being cultivated at Arbutus Grove Nursery, are a mix of Douglas fir, lodgepole pine, ponderosa pine, hybrid spruce and western larch.

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B.C. is Burning: Wildfire documentary screenings in Kelowna, Vernon

By Cindy White
Castanet
June 15, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

A wildfire documentary funded in part by community donations and Okanagan businesses will be screened in Kelowna and Vernon later this month. B.C. is Burning is a 45-minute film that explores the causes and consequences of the megafires that have devastated communities in the province in recent years. It also looks at science-based solutions that could protect communities, forests and B.C.’s future. The documentary was produced and written by retired forester Murray Wilson, initiated by association producer Rick Maddison and directed/edited with production support from Ryan Tebbutt of Edge Digital Media in Kelowna. It combines expert interviews, government data, and powerful footage from both British Columbia and California. …We know how to stop this,” says Wilson. “B.C. can lead — if we stop solely reacting and start managing our forests to protect lives, cut emissions, and reduce wildfire risk.”

 

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Fire danger alert issued for North Saanich, residents urged to be cautious

Victoria News
June 12, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

With dry conditions persisting, the Fire Danger Rating in North Saanich remains at ‘high’ since it was first raised on June 10, prompting fire and emergency services to urge residents to prioritize fire safety. “Forest fuels are extremely dry and the fire risk is serious,” the district warns. “Fires can start easily, spread quickly and be difficult to control. Use extreme caution in forested areas and during outdoor activities.” “We’re hoping the rating will encourage residents to take a proactive approach to keep their homes and properties safe in the event of a fire,” Deputy Fire Chief Aaron Kary emphasized. The fire department is offering residents valuable tools to enhance their preparedness. Wildfire automated sprinkler systems protection kits are available for purchase through the department, offering an easy-to-install solution for home protection. …While the forecast offers a glimmer of hope with potential rain … the rating will “remain high until significant precipitation occurs.”

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New housing starts, for coastal bears

By Connie Jordison
The Coast Reporter
June 12, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Along with a tight housing market for humans, the lower Sunshine Coast is also experiencing a crunch in denning sites for bears. According to the website of Duncan based Artemis Wildlife Consultants, “the large, old trees that black bears need to survive the wet, cool conditions in coastal BC are often lost during forest harvest operations, sometimes because field staff cannot easily tell which trees are dens”. Helen Davis, a registered professional biologist with that firm visited our area in late May and working with Elphinstone Logging Focus (ELF) restored four potential denning sites in two days. In addition, she guided an ELF team of six through the process of taking legacy old-growth stumps and making a few alterations to hopefully provide a safe, dry den for mainly female black bears to hibernate within. …The full report on the project can be viewed online.

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Edmonton keeping eye out for ‘relentless killer’ in tree canopy

By Brittany Ekelund
CTV News
June 16, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

The City of Edmonton is keeping an eye out for what it calls a “deceptively attractive” and “tremendously damaging” invasive pest that has been spreading in Canada. The emerald ash borer is a bright metallic green beetle the city said has proven to be a “relentless killer” of ash trees in North America – with 99 per cent of trees in an infested area dying within 6 years of the beetle’s arrival. The insect, which is native to eastern Asia, lays its eggs in ash trees. The larvae then chew through the cambium layer of the bark and create tunnels that stop the flow of nutrients in damaged areas and eventually kill the tree. Mike Jenkins, senior scientist with the City of Edmonton, said the beetles were first found in North America in the 1990s.

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Tent caterpillars are back

By Julianna Balsamo
CTV News
June 16, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

They slither in silence, drape trees in silk and chew through lively leaves. This year, the forests of Ontario are full of a very distinctive, creepy crawler – the tent caterpillar. Eastern tent caterpillars are appearing in large numbers across the province marking what experts describe as an ‘outbreak year’ for the species. While noticeable, the current outbreak is not as severe as previous ones, according to Dan Rowlinson, forest health field coordinator with Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources. According to the Government of Ontario, periodic outbreaks occur roughly every 10 to 12 years and typically last three to six years in a particular areas. The tent caterpillar, often mistaken for their close relatives; the spongy moth, is known for having a similar looking larvae.

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3 Ontario water bombers grounded due to pilot shortage, union calls for better wages

By Kris Ketonen
CBC News
June 12, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada East

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) is calling on the province to increase wages for water bomber pilots, as a shortage of pilots has led to the grounding of some aircraft. OPSEU said in a news release that pilots it represents have “resoundingly rejected an offer that would have made Ontario second to last in terms of wages for these dangerous and critical jobs.” OPSEU president JP Hornick told CBC that Ontario water bomber pilots are leaving for other provinces because they can earn better wages. “We have a government that is touting the fact that they’re purchasing six new water bomber planes, but they can’t even actually address the staffing needs that they have on the existing planes,” Hornick said. “This isn’t somebody taking off of a regular tarmac, right? They’re flying planes into the worst possible conditions, active wildfires, dipping down into lakes, filling it with water.”

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Could Canada’s carbon capture ambitions catch a chill from Iceland’s struggling Mammoth project?

By Darius Snieckus
The National Observer
June 16, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, International

Iceland and Canada lie over 4,500 kilometres apart on a world map, yet news that a pioneering carbon removal project near Reykjavik is falling well short of expectations a year after its launch has hit home with some North American sector skeptics closely watching the climate technology’s progress. Switzerland’s Climeworks, which has raised US $800 million, opened the world’s largest operational direct air capture (DAC) plant, known as Mammoth. But the facility, which uses what look like walls of giant fans to capture CO2 directly from the air and then pumps it deep underground, has not measured up to expectations. …The slow start has sparked discussion in clean energy circles over the wisdom. …Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada could be a leader in carbon capture and storage as part of a controversial effort to decarbonize oil and gas, including extending tax credits and setting carbon dioxide removal targets.

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From ‘greenwashing’ to ‘green hushing’ — companies complain new law stifles environmental efforts

By Brandie Weikle
CBC Radio News
June 17, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada

Michael McCain

Some corporate leaders say new anti-greenwashing legislation has had the unintended effect of dissuading companies from taking climate action. But environmental organizations and others say that’s a cop out. Bill C-59’s changes to the Competition Act were meant to prevent companies from misrepresenting the environmental benefits of their products or practices.” The bill also gave the Competition Bureau more power to penalize companies that can’t back up their claims. But critics say requiring all such claims conform to “internationally recognized methodology” leaves too much room for interpretation and makes companies vulnerable to legal action. Michael McCain, the executive chair of Maple Leaf Foods, calls this “green hushing.” …The changes create so many “obstacles and consequences” to touting a company’s environmental efforts, that the companies stop doing them. Royal Bank has “retired” its commitment to facilitate $500 billion in sustainable finance by this year, pointing to changes in the Competition Act.

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Rhetoric–not evidence–continues to dominate climate debate and policy

By Kenneth P. Green, Senior Fellow, The Fraser Institute
Cision Newswire
June 17, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West

VANCOUVER, BC – …The study published by the Fraser Institute, Four Climate Fallacies, dispels several myths about climate change and popular—but ineffective—emission reduction policies, specifically:

  • Capitalism causes climate change: …the more economically free a country is, the more effective it is at protecting its environment and combatting climate change.
  • Even small-emitting countries can do their part to fight climate change: Even if Canada reduced its greenhouse gas emissions to zero, there would be little to no measurable impact in global emissions, …the main drivers of emissions, which are ChinaIndia and the developing world.
  • Vehicle electrification will reduce climate risk and clean the air: …they often are not, and further, have offsetting environmental harms, reducing net environmental/climate benefits.
  • Carbon capture and storage is a viable strategy to combat climate change: While effective at a small scale, the benefits of carbon capture and storage … on a massive scale are limited and questionable.

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The Carbon Tax’s Last Stand – and What Comes After

By Stuart Muir
Resource Works
June 12, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West

For years, Canada’s political class sold us on the idea that carbon taxes were clever policy. Not just a tool to cut emissions, but a fair one – tax the polluters, then cycle the money back to regular folks, especially those with thinner wallets. It wasn’t a perfect system. The focus-group-tested line embraced for years by the Trudeau Liberals made no sense at all: we’re taxing you so we can put more money back in your pocketbooks. …That whole model has been thrown overboard, by the very parties had long defended it. …The betrayal is worse in BC …Instead of returning the money, the provincial government slowly transformed the tax into a $2 billion annual cash cow. But here’s the thing: maybe the carbon tax model deserved a rethink. Maybe it’s time for a grown-up look at what actually works. With B.C. now reviewing its CleanBC policies: what’s working, and what’s not?

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Health & Safety

Water at Rose Valley reservoir harder to treat due to damage from 2023 wildfire

By Wayne Moore
Castanet
June 12, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada West

The 2023 McDougall Creek wildfire caused serious damage to the Rose Valley reservoir, which provides source water to more than half of West Kelowna residents through the Rose Valley Water Treatment Plant. During a presentation to city council this week, Interior Health medical health officer Dr. Fatameh Sabet said that damage makes it harder to treat water coming from the reservoir. “We know the land surrounding the Rose Valley reservoir has been contaminated because of the wildfire in 2023 and it means the contaminated source of water can be harder to treat because of the sediment, nutrients, metals and organic matter as a result of burned material,” said Dr. Sabet. “Fortunately, the Rose Valley Water Treatment Plant was not damaged from the fire and it has been very helpful to compensate for damage to the watershed.” The plant ensures water is safe by not only controlling levels of manganese and disinfection byproduct, but other perspectives as well.

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Forest Fires

Wildfire in B.C. central Interior triggers evacuation alert, fire crews on scene

The Canadian Press in Castanet
June 17, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada West

Cariboo Regional District has issued an evacuation alert for properties near a wildfire that is burning out of control in British Columbia’s central Interior. The Martin Lake fire was discovered Sunday and is burning about 220 kilometres west of Williams Lake. The district says the purpose of the alert is to allow people to prepare to evacuate should it be necessary as conditions could change quickly. The BC Wildfire Service says the blaze has grown to about 290 hectares in size, and crews and aviation resources are on site, working to limit its spread. It is one of about 100 wildfires burning in B.C., many of which are situated in the province’s northeast. The service says most of those fires — including the Martin Lake blaze — are believed to have been set off by lightning, while 21 per cent are suspected to be caused by humans.

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Squamish wildfire being held, crews working toward full containment

By Jan Schuermann
CityNews Everywhere
June 16, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

The wildfire on the northern edge of Squamish is classified as being held on Monday after a weekend of favourable weather conditions. BC Wildfire Service Fire Information Officer Sarah Budd says dozens of ground crews are working to get the Dryden Creek wildfire fully under control. “We also have three helicopters actioning this fire,” Budd told 1130 NewsRadio, adding the fire now sits at just under 60 hectares. An evacuation alert for properties near the fire, issued by the Squamish Fire Department, has been downsized. Because the Dryden Creek Fire is in difficult terrain, it could take crews another week or so to wrap things up. “This fire has been burning in sort of really difficult terrain,” explained Budd.

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More Manitoba fire evacuees to head home

By Steve Lambert
Canadian Press in the Brandon Sun
June 17, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

WINNIPEG — Rain and cooler temperatures brought relief to fire-ravaged Manitoba and Saskatchewan Monday, allowing fire bans to be reduced and more evacuees to go home. The weather helped fire crews get an upper hand in parts of northern Manitoba to clear the way for some of the 21,000 or more evacuees to start returning home. David Monias, chief of Pimicikamak Cree Nation, reposted video of heavy rainfall on social media along with video of small planes leaving Winnipeg with evacuees who were forced out almost three weeks earlier. “Our people are coming home,” Monias wrote on Facebook, adding the community’s infrastructure is intact and water systems have been tested by health officials. …There were 18 fires still burning across Manitoba, with seven of them listed as out of control.

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Wildfire near Squamish being held, no longer burning out of control

The Canadian Press in CTV News
June 15, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

Officials say a wildfire near Squamish, B.C., which forced the evacuation of the nearby Alice Lake Provincial Park and triggered a local state of emergency earlier this week, is now classified as being held after help from cool, cloudy weather. The BC Wildfire Service announced the fire was being held, meaning the fire is expected to remain within its current perimeter based on fuel and weather conditions and resource availability, on Saturday afternoon. The District of Squamish says the Dryden Creek wildfire has held steady at 0.6 square kilometres in size since Friday. The district says 65 B.C. wildland firefighters, five helicopters and one piece of heavy equipment are on scene to work alongside Squamish Fire Rescue staff to contain the fire. Although weather conditions seem favourable for firefighting efforts, the district says a state of local emergency remains in place.

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Wildfire burning near Badger, Churchill Falls fire being held

By Elizabeth Whitten and Alex Kennedy
CBC News
June 17, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada East

A wildfire has started near the Newfoundland community of Badger following a lightning storm in the area Tuesday afternoon. Craig Coady, the director of Newfoundland and Labrador’s wildfire program, told CBC News Tuesday evening the fire is burning about six kilometres from the community, and is burning east from the south side of the Exploits River. Crews received word of the fire just after 4 p.m. NT, Grand Falls-Windsor Fire Chief Vince MacKenzie said Tuesday. Torrential rain and lightning was reported in the area around the time, which prompted a short power outage for more than 8,500 people in the region. …It wasn’t the only fire crews were fighting on Tuesday. A wildfire burning near Churchill Falls, Labrador is now being held. The fire broke out on Monday but is being managed on Tuesday. It was considered out of control until Tuesday morning when the status changed to being held.

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As 2 dozen wildfires burn across northwestern Ontario, 3 First Nations still under evacuation

By Sarah Law
CBC News
June 15, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada East

©Ontario.ca

While burn bans have been lifted across much of northwestern Ontario, provincial authorities warn people to remain cautious while crews contend with two dozen fires in the region. Meanwhile the First Nations communities of Deer Lake, Webequie and Sandy Lake remain under evacuation orders. As of Friday, all evacuation and restricted access orders had been removed from the Kenora district, with implementation orders also lifted in areas near two wildfires known as Kenora 20 and Kenora 32. “Wildland fire suppression activities are ongoing on Kenora 20 and Kenora 32 but public safety relating to these fires is no longer a concern,” Ontario Forest Fires said Saturday night. …The region’s largest wildfire — Red Lake 12 — saw more activity on Saturday due to clear skies and north/northwest winds. The fire, described as a ‘sleeping giant,’ is more 175,000 hectares, and triggered evacuations from Deer Lake First Nation and more than 2,000 people from Sandy Lake First Nation.

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