Region Archives: Canada

Business & Politics

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Sustainable Forestry Initiative
September 30, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada

Truth and Reconciliation Week leads up to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day on September 30, a day dedicated to recognizing the dark history of residential schools and its survivors. This week is a time to reflect on the history and ongoing impacts of the residential school system, the assimilatory actions and mistreatment, and the intergenerational impacts. This week was officially recognized in 2021 due to the hard work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, who devoted their time to speak to survivors, inform and educate Canadians on the history of residential schools, and create a report with 94 Calls to Action to advance reconciliation. Everyone has a role in continually acknowledging the ongoing impact of residential schools, challenging colonial narratives, and working to better understand Indigenous lived experiences.  To make reparations for what was lost, we must continuously work to advance relationships with Indigenous Peoples…

Read More

U.S.-Canada trade deal could drag on to 2027, ambassador warns

By Falice Chin
The Hub
September 28, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Trade negotiations between Canada and the United States are set to drag on well past the initial hopes of an early resolution, with key players now calling mid-2026 an unlikely target and warning the process could slip into 2027. In an interview on The Hub’s Alberta Edge podcast, US Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith both acknowledged momentum around the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) review has slowed. Hoekstra pointed to the formal comment period now underway, during which businesses and the public in both countries are submitting feedback on how the accord is working. He said this essentially eliminates any chance of a quick, major deal. Trade departments will then have to sift through the submissions and approach what he called the “painstaking” next stage. …The timeline collides directly with US midterm elections in 2026, making Senate ratification anything but a guarantee.

Read More

Reimagining the future Canadian economy in a changing world

By Burgess Langshaw Power and Maral Niazi
Policy Options
September 29, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada

Canada urgently requires a bold, cohesive economic strategy to navigate an increasingly volatile global landscape. For decades, the country has functioned much like a resource-rich colony, exporting raw materials while lagging in value-added innovation and technological leadership. …Canada must shift from its historically risk-averse, fragmented investment model to a targeted, mission-oriented approach that concentrates on sectors where it holds inherent advantages: agriculture, forestry, energy and critical minerals. These sectors form a synergistic ecosystem. …Canada should prioritize innovative solutions, including next-generation mass timber products for sustainable construction – addressing the housing crisis while reducing emissions – and drone-assisted reforestation. The 2025 Woodrise Congress highlighted climate-resilient building – an area where Canadian advancements in cross-laminated timber position the sector for global leadership. By shifting from raw exports to value-added products, such as advanced wood products and low-emission heavy machinery, Canada can create jobs, cut emissions and export intellectual property, avoiding hype-driven distractions such as uneconomical hydrogen pursuits…

Read More

North Cowichan mayor addresses sawmill job curtailment with province

By Justin Baumgardner
My Cowichan Valley Now
September 29, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Rob Douglas

Sawmill closures and job losses were the top of mind for North Cowichan’s municipal council as they addressed senior levels of government during their visit to Victoria last week. Since June, access to viable logs has hindered production at the Chemainus and Cowichan Bay sawmills, and mayor Rob Douglas says that has affected as many as 200 workers. Douglas says talks with the Minister of Forestry Ravi Parmar regarding fibre access issues for the mills and how to resolve them to stimulate industry growth and get people back to work were very productive. …Douglas says while local mills in the Cowichan Valley are being hit hard by the tariffs imposed on softwood lumber, this is a much broader issue and needs to be addressed. …According to Douglas, the Chemainus sawmill is scheduled to be shut until the end of the year, and the Cowichan Bay sawmill could be down until Oct. 23.

Read More

BC Lumber Trade Council Statement on U.S. Section 232 Tariffs on Softwood Lumber

BC Lumber Trade Council
September 30, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Vancouver, B.C. – The British Columbia Lumber Trade Council (BCLTC) expressed deep disappointment today following the United States government’s decision to impose additional tariffs of 10 percent on Canadian softwood lumber under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act. This action comes despite the fact that Canadian lumber has never posed a national security risk to the United States. Canada is a trusted ally and a secure supplier, and U.S. producers already meet most of the domestic demand. Canadian exports simply fill the gap that U.S. production cannot cover, preventing supply shortages that would harm American consumers. “These tariffs will not improve U.S. national security — they will only drive-up lumber costs, making housing even less affordable for American families and undermining the integrated trade relationship that benefits both our countries.” – Kurt Niquidet, President, BC Lumber Trade Council. …This will impose needless strain on the North American market, threaten jobs on both sides of the border, and make it harder to address the housing supply crisis in the United States.

Read More

Kelowna’s Nortrans using natural gas powered Kenworth to move lumber

By Kirk Penton
Castanet
September 28, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

A Kelowna transport company has put one of the first natural gas trucks powered by the Cummins X15N engine into action. Nortrans is using a Kenworth T880 to transport shipments for Gorman Bros. Lumber between Revelstoke and Oroville, Wash., carrying the same heavy payloads as diesel-powered units while producing far fewer emissions. The Kenworth T880 was the result of a project featuring many participants, including Natural Resources Canada, Kenworth and Inland Kenworth, Cummins, Eaton Transmissions, Gorman Bros. Lumber, FortisBC and Clean Energy.“At FortisBC, we have been working to move away from diesel and toward lower carbon fuels such as compressed natural gas,” FortisBC manager Della Bond said. …FortisBC said natural gas vehicles, compared to those powered by diesel, produce up to 95% fewer nitrogen oxides, up to 30% fewer greenhouse gas and virtually no particulate matter.

Read More

Stella-Jones Expands its Utility Product Offering with an Agreement to Acquire Brooks Manufacturing Co

Stella-Jones Inc.
September 30, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

Montreal, Quebec – Stella-Jones Inc. announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of Brooks Manufacturing Co., a manufacturer of treated wood distribution crossarms and transmission framing components located in the United States. This transaction marks another significant step in the Company’s strategy to expand beyond its traditional product categories and leverage its extensive sales and distribution network to better support the needs of the utility sector. Founded in 1915, Brooks is a long-standing supplier to utilities with a proven track record of quality and customer service. It operates a facility located in Bellingham, Washington, supplying a wide array of treated crossarms and framing components that play a vital role in ensuring the strength and reliability of overhead electrical systems. …The definitive agreement provides for a purchase price of approximately US$140.0 million, subject to customary working capital adjustments. 

Read More

Kapuskasing mayor says hard work continues to keep Kap Paper open

By Lydia Chubak
CTV News
September 26, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

Kapuskasing Mayor Dave Plourde said that, after much lobbying, the federal government said it is willing to sit down with the province to discuss a solution for the northeastern forest industry. That means that Kap Paper remains open, at least for now. The company is facing a crisis because of tariffs imposed by the US as part of the trade war launched by President Trump. …Plourde said he felt some relief to hear the federal government has agreed to sit down with the province. …News of a working group that includes the federal and provincial governments, as well as representatives from the industry, is also good news. …“In a recent news release, Kap Paper indicated a couple of ways the federal government can help would be to provide proportional forestry funding to Ontario, equivalent to BC and Quebec, and to address duties and tariffs that unfairly penalize Canadian producers.

Read More

Ontario Investing An Additional $30 Million to Protect Forestry Workers

By Ministry of Natural Resources
The Government of Ontario
September 26, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

THUNDER BAY, Ontario — The Ontario government is investing a further $30 million to support businesses, workers and communities dependent on the province’s forest sector. This funding will build and maintain more forestry access roads and provide immediate support for Ontario sawmills to find new markets for their woodchips. These investments will strengthen Ontario’s forestry sector, create jobs and increase the sector’s competitiveness in the face of increased US softwood lumber duties and the threat of tariffs. …An additional $20 million is being invested through the Provincial Forest Access Roads Funding Program, bringing the government’s total funding for the program to over $79 million this year. …The government is also providing immediate support to sawmills by investing $10 million in the Ontario Sawmill Chip Support Program. The funding provides immediate support to sawmills while they find new, innovative markets for their wood chips such as energy production or alternatives for single-use plastics.

Related coverage by:

Read More

Finance & Economics

Trump’s new timber tariffs could drive up housing costs

By Catherine Baab
Quartz Media
September 30, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

President Trump ordered fresh tariffs on softwood timber, lumber, and wood furnishings, even as housing groups warn the move could drive up construction costs and furniture-industry advocates said the levies would lead to US job losses. The tariffs may, however, prove more legally durable than Trump’s reciprocal country-by-country penalties because they fall under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, the same legal tool the White House has used to justify duties on steel and aluminum. …The measures hit Canada especially hard because the country already faces duties of more than 35%, a result of recent but separate trade initiatives. Publicly traded lumber producers most directly exposed include Canada’s West Fraser Timber, Canfor, and Interfor. In the US, Weyerhaeuser, Boise Cascade, and Louisiana-Pacific are the closest listed peers, with stocks prices that often move in step with lumber tariffs and demand. US-based furniture retailers may also experience pain, with many dependent on foreign wood.

Read More

US Lumber Market in Chaos

By Russ Taylor, Russ Taylor Global
Truck LoggerBC Magazine
September 29, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

Occasionally, market chaos happens, and in August and September 2025 it was happening. BC and Canadian sawmills were facing weak lumber market demand, increased US import duties and plunging prices, with little upside evident in the short term. And it happened quickly. …One of the ongoing problems is that US lumber demand has been very flat since 2016 when it was 48.3 billion bf. The average US lumber consumption between 2016 and 2024 has been just 50 billion bf as compared to 50.5 billion bf in 2024. So, simply no growth .This is despite some 8 billion bf of new capacity constructed in the US South over that same period. …Going forward, sawmill curtailments in high-cost or negative margin regions will be the next phase of the current market cycle. As a result of these low lumber prices, I expect to see a lengthy list of sawmill curtailments, especially in the US South, Quebec and BC. 

Read More

Canada’s GDP grew for 1st time in 4 months in July

By Ari Rabinovitch
Global News
September 26, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada

Canada’s GDP managed to grow for the first time in four months in July, even as the economic impacts of American tariffs began settling in, according to Statistics Canada. On Friday, the agency reported that the gross domestic product increased by 0.2% in July compared with the month prior. In addition, Statistics Canada gave a preliminary estimate for August’s reading to show that the economy was “essentially unchanged in the month.” July’s figure was slightly higher than the 0.1% increase most analysts polled were expecting. …“Canada’s economy is tracking very soft growth in Q3. While not a recession, it’s still an economy that’s bumbling along,” said Derek Holt at the Bank of Nova Scotia. “The combined effect leaves us tracking growth of only about 0.7 per cent at a seasonally adjusted and annualized rate in Q3 — that’s hardly much of any rebound from Q2.”

Read More

Lumber Futures Holds Strong on Demand Expectations

Trading Economics
September 25, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

Lumber futures traded above $580 per thousand board feet in September, holding above earlier month lows as supply tightened and housing demand showed signs of renewal. Major producers such as Interfor reduced output through maintenance and shift cuts and mill idling while Canadian softwood flows remained constrained by tariff uncertainty which compressed prompt availability. Expectations of Fed further rate cuts later in 2025 encouraged forward looking builders to replenish inventories. New single family sales rose 20.5% to an 800k seasonally adjusted annualized rate in August which was the largest monthly rise since August 2022. Existing home sales held at a 4.00m SAAR in August and housing inventory stood at 1.53m units equivalent to 4.6 months of supply.

Read More

Wood, Paper & Green Building

Bringing Truth and Reconciliation to life – The Centre for Indigenous Laws honours traditions and the land

By Cheryl Mah
The REMI Network
September 29, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

The Centre for Indigenous Laws at the University of Victoria is a groundbreaking project. Opened in September 2025, the building – formerly known as the National Centre for Indigenous Laws – sets a benchmark for how thoughtful design and construction can bring the truth and legacies of Indigenous peoples to life. Spanning 26,000 square feet, the new wing of the Fraser Building is culturally significant – built in the spirit of truth and reconciliation principles to house the world’s first joint degree in Indigenous legal orders and Canadian common law. …The building incorporates mass timber construction, including exposed cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels and Douglas-fir glue-laminated timber beams. Trees felled were blessed by local Elders to honour their significance and connection to the land before being reused. Yellow cedar, western red cedar and Douglas-fir are used extensively. …It has already been recognized with an industry award, earning a 2023 Canadian Architect Award of Excellence.

Read More

Kalesnikoff wins construction association award

Castlegar News
September 29, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada West

Kalesnikoff has been recognized with a 2025 Manufacturer and Supplier Award from the Vancouver Regional Construction Association (VRCA). The recognition was presented for Kalesnikoff’s work on the Oceanfront Squamish Presentation Centre and Public House. Kalesnikoff says this project showcases the potential of mass timber in creating welcoming, community-centred spaces. Kalesnikoff offered special thanks to their project partners including SLA (architect), Matthew West (owner), Naikoon (general contractor) and RJC (engineer of record). “We’re proud to see our work recognized alongside so many outstanding projects in B.C. – and even prouder of the people and partnerships that make achievements like this possible,” said Kalesnikoff in an online statement.

Read More

Mass timber applications include multi-family and schools, says expert

By Jami Makan
Business in Vancouver
September 25, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada West

©FPInnovations

Mass timber construction can help address the shortage of housing and schools in B.C., said one speaker at a wood conference in Vancouver this week. Multi-family residential is one particular area where the mass timber industry can quickly deliver new homes on a large scale, said Andrew Stiffman, vice-president of construction services with Castlegar, B.C.-based Kalesnikoff Mass Timber Inc. His Wednesday remarks at the Woodrise 2025 5th International Congress come as Canada’s federal government pledges billions in housing investment. “The need, especially here in Canada, is to deliver housing units fast,” Stiffman said. “We cannot deliver on those using conventional construction. It’s going to take too long, it’s too risky, it’s too costly, so we’re really excited to bring these [technologies] forward as a solution.” Mass timber construction involves the prefabrication of panels and “modules” that can be swiftly assembled on construction sites. 

Read More

Inside an office building that mirrors its mission with construction

By David Israelson
The Globe and Mail
September 30, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada East

The design and construction of the new headquarters of the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) is a nod to the agency’s environmental work. The $56-million structure, which took nine years to complete – partly delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic – officially opened in April. It’s an airy, open-concept, four-storey building that’s 86,000 square feet and made with mass timber – a low-carbon, fire-resistant construction material. …Mass-timber construction is on the uptick in Canada, with a recent report revealing that nearly 700 projects have been completed across the country, while more than 140 are either under construction or in the planning stages. Nature Resources Canada says mass-timber buildings can meet or exceed fire code safety requirements and they are capable of lasting hundreds of years, proving their resilience and longevity. …At a time when many workers are being ordered to return to office, an attractive, eco- and user-friendly building can be motivating for them to show up…

Read More

Forestry

Indigenous-owned Forestry Services Company Receives National Award

Forest Products Association of Canada
September 29, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

Dale Levesque

Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC), in partnership with the Canadian Council for Indigenous Business (CCIB), announces Dallan LP as the recipient of the 2025 Indigenous Business Leadership Award. This honour celebrates exceptional Indigenous entrepreneurs and businesses making significant contributions to Canada’s forest sector and local communities. “From operator to owner, Dale has built a 100% Indigenous-owned business that champions inclusive employment, partnerships between First Nations, continuous improvement, environmental responsibility, and providing the customer with an exceptional service—setting a powerful example for the broader forest sector,” said Derek Nighbor, President and CEO of FPAC. …In 2014, under Dale’s leadership, efforts were made to expand and Dallan LP was formed which is a partnership between Dale Levesque, Lac des Mille Lacs First Nations and Nigigoonsiminikaaning First Nations. Dallan LP expanded its reach into the Pulp and Paper mill yard services and the addition of Atikokan and Ignace sawmills.

Read More

UBC Researcher Rosalia Jaffray is awarded Christopher Lee Memorial Scholarship

By Sandra Bishop
Canadian Forest Owners
September 30, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

Rosalia Jaffray

Canadian Forest Owners (CFO) is proud to announce it has awarded University of British Columbia (UBC) Faculty of Forestry master’s student Rosalia Jaffray its $2,000 Christopher Lee Memorial Scholarship for her outstanding academic and leadership achievements. With an undergraduate degree in Harvest Planning and Engineering, Jaffray’s graduate studies focus on optimizing sustainable forest management practices using a novel open-source modeling framework for forest operational planning. Jaffray is registered both as a Forester-in-Training and an Engineer-in-Training, and plans to complete these professional designations after graduating. “I am delighted that my research aligns with Christopher Lee’s legacy advocating for sound forest policy, sustainability, and the welfare of forest-dependent communities, and will help to ensure private forest landowners have the tools they need to better respond to dynamic changes in operational environments,” remarks Rosalia Jaffray, UBC Faculty of Forestry Master’s Student.

Read More

Take the Canadian Forestry Sector Council Workforce Training Needs Survey

Forestry Sector Council
September 29, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

The Forestry Sector Council is gathering input to shape training programs that build opportunities, improve accessibility, and keep the sector resilient, sustainable, and future-ready. Completing the survey takes 10 – 15 minutes. It is open to all forestry roles — harvesting, silviculture, forest management, trucking, road building, milling, non-profits, and more. The results will help us to:

  • Promote and improve access to existing training
  • Schedule training opportunities closer to communities that need it
  • Inform the development of new programs for emerging needs and technologies
  • Strengthen entry-level supports so workers stay and grow their careers.

We appreciate your leadership in this effort. Take the survey today, encourage your staff to do the same, and help us build the training supports our sector needs for the future. Survey delivered in partnership with the Nova Scotia Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration.

Read More

Leaders Recognized for Innovation and Supporting Inclusion

Forest Products Association of Canada
September 25, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

Trout

Watts

Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) announces Laura Trout and Marie-Noëlle Watts as the recipients of the 2025 Women in Forestry Award, which honours women making exceptional contributions to Canada’s forest sector. This award celebrates individuals who are helping to shape a more inclusive and sustainable future for forestry through leadership in operations, environmental stewardship, community engagement, and workplace culture. Trout is a strong advocate for good, objective science to inform decisions. She leads many research initiatives related to ecosystem-based management, caribou recovery, fisheries conservation and biodiversity all within the context of sustainable forest management. Watts has consistently distinguished herself by reliably and effectively maximizing the output of mill production: it is said that wherever she goes, the efficiency of the mills improve. A proponent of intrapreneurship, Watts coaches her team to be assertive and creative and to propose projects and other initiatives, instilling a sense of ownership and pride in their work.

Read More

Morehouse Recognized as a Rising Star in Forestry

Forest Products Association of Canada
September 26, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

Karah Morehouse

Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) announces  Karah Morehouse as the recipient of the 2025 Rising Star Award, an honour celebrating emerging leaders who are making early and meaningful contributions to the forest sector. Karah is a Fiberline Process Engineer at AV Group’s dissolving pulp mill in Nackawic, New Brunswick—her hometown. This award recognizes individuals who bring fresh perspectives, energy, and innovation to their work. Rising Stars are helping to shape the future of forestry in Canada through their leadership, creativity, and commitment to positive change. Morehouse consistently uses data-driven problem solving to identify inefficiencies and drive meaningful change. She is a forward-thinking leader in a traditionally resource-heavy industry; her mix of technical acumen, leadership, innovation, and commitment to improvement make her a true Rising Star in the pulp and paper industry.

Read More

BC Indigenous Youth Receive National Recognition

Forest Products Association of Canada
September 29, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

Oester

Currie

Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) announces Amy Oester of Nazko First Nation and Grace Currie of the Métis Nation of British Columbia as recipients of the 2025 Skills Awards for Indigenous Youth. This honour celebrates young Indigenous leaders who are interested in careers in the forest sector and demonstrating a strong commitment to their communities. Presented in partnership with the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers (CCFM), this award recognizes Indigenous youth between the ages of 18 and 30 who are enrolled in post-secondary programs and actively contributing to the future of sustainable forest management in Canada. Winners are determined based on leadership skills, community involvement, and their interest in forestry. Both recipients have begun their career in forestry with West Fraser. 

Read More

U.S. funding cuts threaten wildlife on both sides of the Canadian border

By Olivia Gieger
The Narwhal
September 25, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, United States

In many places, moose, bear, wolves and other wildlife can simply walk between the two nations. There are barriers — roads, development and a lack of protected habitat on either side — but for more than a century, relatively relaxed border policy and a shared sense of purpose saw conservationists in both countries working together to overcome them. Now, US President Trump has ratcheted up the challenges to cross-border conservation. …Many of Trump’s actions have explicit implications for cross-border conservation — in North America and globally. …Canadian conservation organizations have reported losing co-funding as a result of Trump’s cuts to foreign aid. As his administration has stretched staffing thin and proposed deep budget cuts at the US National Park Service, it ended funding many found crucial to habitat conservation work across the border. Trump has also withdrawn from the Green Climate Fund and the Paris Agreement.

Read More

BC First Nations Forest Council September Newsletter

By Lennard Joe – Suxʷsxʷwels
BC First Nations Forestry Council
September 29, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

As we move through September, a month that holds the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we are reminded that reconciliation is not a single day of recognition, but a daily responsibility and a collective path forward. For First Nations, truth is not new; it is the lived experience of our people. What reconciliation requires is that truth leads to action, and that commitments translate into real changes on the ground. At the Forestry Council, we see this reflected across each of our program areas. In Policy and Forest Transformation, the recent recommendations from the BCTS review mark an important step in reforming systems that have long excluded First Nation voices. It was an important responsibility for me to contribute to the taskforce and speak to the importance of Nation-led governance and stewardship. …In Business and Workforce Development, we are proud to share a joint publication with FESBC.

Read More

Forest Enhancement Society of BC project updates from around the province

The Forest Enhancement Society of B.C.
September 30, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Jason Fisher

The Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC), in collaboration with the BC First Nations Forestry Council (Forestry Council), released a Special Report to commemorate National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30, 2025. This report shines a light on exceptional forestry projects led by Indigenous proponents that reflect a deep commitment to the land and a powerful vision for more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable forest management in British Columbia. At FESBC, we recognize that Reconciliation in forestry goes beyond an acknowledgement. It requires action, partnership, and respect for Indigenous Peoples’ traditional knowledge….We are proud to feature Indigenous-led organizations such as Ntityix Resources LP, Central Chilcotin Rehabilitation Ltd., Taan Forest, Kenpesq’t Forestry, and many others who are leading meaningful change on the ground and serving as role models for others to continue this work.

Read More

Roots of BC forestry decline is home-grown

By Jock Finlayson, Independent Contractors and Businesses Association
Truck LoggerBC Magazine
September 29, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Jock Finlayson

For several years, British Columbias forest products sector has been struggling, weighed down by a mix of dwindling fibre supplies, high operating costs, steep (and recently increased) US duties on southbound lumber exports, and cumbersome regulatory and permitting systems designed and administered by the provincial government. An industry that long ranked as BC’s number one source of export earnings and served as a mainstay of jobs and business activity in every region of the province has fallen on exceptionally hard times. However, even in its diminished state, the combined logging, wood products manufacturing, and pulp/paper industries continue to make outsized contributions to the province’s economy. 

Since 2021, apart from what every forest industry executive I have consulted describes as a punishingly uncompetitive regulatory environment, the biggest problem for the BC industry is the vertiginous decline in access to fibre. Without an adequate supply of raw material, industry has had no alternative but to shrink; a gradual vanishing act that is still underway. …This explains why BC’s biggest forest companies have been directing their capital, management attention, and growth ambitions elsewhere. British Columbia has become a high cost producing jurisdiction, with a shrinking and unstable fibre supply base, a uniquely difficult day-to-day operating environment for logging contractors and lumber manufacturers, and a “land-lord” that exhibits almost no understanding of what it takes to succeed in business. No wonder independent equity analysts now describe forestry in BC as essentially “uninvestable”.

Read More

Old logging roads pose landslide risk along Highway 99 where five died: Internal report

By Gordon Hoekstra
Vancouver Sun
September 29, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

A hazard assessment commissioned by the B.C. government has identified 45 kilometres of old logging roads at high risk of landslides reaching Highway 99 — in the same area where a rain-triggered slide killed five people south of Lillooet in 2021. The hazard assessment, completed in 2023, was obtained through a freedom of information request by Postmedia News after the B.C. Forests Ministry refused to release the report. The report produced by Westrek Geotechnical Services Ltd., recommended further inspection to determine the best way to deactivate the roads and reduce landslide risk… They assessed Hwy. 99 between Duffey Lake and Lillooet — is about 100 kilometres northeast by road from Whistler. …It’s important to determine whether these old logging roads are diverting water out of its natural path and if this poses a landslide threat, and straighten it out from top to bottom, said Calvin VanBuskirk, an engineer with decades of experience in how logging and roads alter water flow. [This story may require a Vancouver Sun subscription for full access]

Read More

Memo to Fairy Creek protesters: Respect Indigenous choices, ditch ecocolonial tactics

By John Desjarlais, executive director, Indigenous Resource Network
Victoria Times Colonist
September 30, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

John Desjarlais

First Nations in the Fairy Creek watershed again demanded that protesters leave their lands after a judge granted an injunction barring blockades on logging roads in the Upper Walbran Valley, where a forestry company holds harvesting rights. The Dididaht, the Pacheedaht, and the Huuayaht Nations signed partnership agreements with industry to harvest old-growth forest. Indigenous communities across the region developed sustainability plans to balance economic livelihoods with environmental stewardship, and they insist they do not need outside interference. Despite that, non-Indigenous protesters resumed blockades in old-growth areas on Indigenous territory. …Indigenous leaders have tracked a decade-long pattern of non-Indigenous protesters arriving, overstaying, and fomenting division within communities. They call this trend “ecocolonialism,” arguing that outside environmental activists intervene in Indigenous internal affairs and oppose resource development pursued by Indigenous groups. They equate that behavior with a modern version of the colonial “divide and conquer” strategy.

Read More

‘If there’s demand, we can build it,’ says forests minister — but can we?

By James Steidle
Prince George Citizen
September 26, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

James Steidle

Forest Minister Ravi Parmar was seen recently at a trade show in Whistler with Premier David Eby, sitting in solid spruce and western red cedar furniture, by designer Brent Comber.  …“If there’s demand for it, BC can build it,” his twitter account states. But can we? As a value-added wood products producer, I’ve spent years trying to chase down logs to make cutting boards here in Prince George. The little guys are welcome to spend a fortune buying lumber at the stores. But I’m not welcome to the cheap unprocessed logs like the majors. Not easily, anyway. …Anyone without tenure trying to do value-added wood manufacturing in this province does so at the mercy of private landowners and the major licensees. They have no regulatory right to a scrap of wood, if the private sector so determines.  Parmar may claim otherwise, from his wooden throne, but the emperor has no clothes. 

Read More

Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Region celebrates 25-year milestone

By Nora O’Malley
Tofino-Ucluelet Westerly News
September 25, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

A group of people came together in Clayoquot Sound last weekend to celebrate 25 years of conservation and community building. For decades, Clayoquot Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island was a region in conflict as hundreds of people stood on logging roads to save a temperate coastal rainforest from being clearcut. …Around the same time in the early ‘90s, a small but passionate group of individuals began considering the UNESCO Biosphere model as a way to bring the region together (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). Clayoquot Sound, a region that includes the traditional territories of the Hesquiaht, Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations, was officially designated as the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Region in 2000. To mark this designation, in May 2000, the federal government entrusted a $12 million grant to Clayoquot Sound communities through the creation of the Canada Fund.

Read More

‘A conversation worth continuing’ in the Cariboo

By Andie Mollins
The Williams Lake Tribune
September 27, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Jason Brown

Alex Fraser Research Forest invited participants to reflect on their relationship with resource management and consider the potential of contemplative forestry at a workshop on September 20. The Cariboo Wood Innovation Training Hub (CWITH) hosted the event. Eight participants from the ‘spiritual’ to the ‘traditional’ side of forestry management took part in workshops facilitated by Jason Brown, an affiliate forestry professional with the Forest Professionals of British Columbia. The purpose of the workshops was to explore the idea of contemplative forestry, which meets two opposing views of how to manage forests in the middle. Brown has piloted a program at Simon Fraser University which uses contemplative practice to build resilience in the face of climate anxiety and ecological grief. …CWITH’s next workshop will be on value-added wood products in October, headed by Jason Fisher, executive director of the Forest Enhancement Society of BC.

Read More

Save What’s Left rejects B.C. Timber Sales task force report as “more logging, less accountability”

By Timothy Schafer
Castanet
September 29, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

The Save What’s Left Conservation Society has rejected recommendations in the B.C. government’s B.C. Timber Sales (BCTS) task force report, describing the proposal for privatization and “fire-sale forestry” as “more logging, less accountability.” …“Far from charting a sustainable future, the recommendations double down on an industrial forestry model that is failing communities, taxpayers and ecosystems,” said Joe Karthein, spokesperson for the Kootenay-based Save What’s Left Conservation Society (SWLCS). According to Karthein, the first recommendation in the report to “Develop a model for BCTS to operate at arm’s length from government” would result in higher costs, less accountability and an even greater emphasis on revenue generation over the public interest in sustainable land stewardship. …As an alternative, SWLCS is calling on the premier and minister of Forests to halt old-growth logging in BCTS-managed lands, end the failed auction system, legislate a true public-interest mandate, and redirect subsidies toward restoration and watershed security

Read More

Special Report Highlights the Connection of B.C. Forestry’s Past to its Indigenous Future

The Forest Enhancement Society of B.C.
September 29, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

The Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC) has released a Special Report in collaboration with the BC First Nations Forestry Council (Forestry Council), published to commemorate National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30, 2025. The 32-page report, titled ‘Connecting B.C. Forestry’s Indigenous Past to its Indigenous Future’ highlights several Indigenous-led projects throughout the province of British Columbia focused on wildfire risk reduction, fibre utilization, and wildlife habitat enhancement with investments from FESBC to enhance forest health and resilience for generations. FESBC invited the Forestry Council to collaborate on this special report to share and celebrate the progress being made toward more inclusive, sustainable forest stewardship in B.C. The report features ten projects, led by Indigenous organizations, that have delivered benefits to communities, the economy, and the environment, plus special features on the work of Indigenous youth at the heart of wildfire resilience, unlocking the value of forests through fibre utilization, and more.

Read More

Nova Scotia Crown lands bill would criminalize peaceful protests, critics say

By Keith Doucette
Canadian Press in CityNews Everywhere
September 29, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada East

The Nova Scotia government’s proposed move to make it illegal to block forest access roads on Crown lands is being dismissed as heavy-handed and an attempt to ignore Mi’kmaq rights. Several presenters spoke out in opposition Monday during an appearance before the legislature’s public bills committee hearing on the Protecting Nova Scotians Act. The omnibus bill includes one new piece of legislation and amends seven other acts, including the Crown Lands Act. The changes to the act would impose a $50,000 fine and/or six months in jail for protests or individuals who ignore protest camp removal orders. Michelle Paul, a Mi’kmaq water protector and land defender, said the bill was written without consultation or consideration of treaty rights and should be withdrawn. “It’s not lost upon us that this bill is being rushed through on the eve of Treaty Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation,” said Paul. 

Read More

Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Statement from the Wood Pellet Association of Canada on the BC Timber Sales Task Force Report

By Gordon Murray, Executive Director, Wood Pellet Association of Canada
The Wood Pellet Association of Canada
September 25, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West

The Wood Pellet Association of Canada acknowledges the release of the BC Timber Sales (BCTS) Task Force report and the government’s commitment to strengthening fibre access across the province. British Columbia’s forest sector is facing a crisis on many fronts, and central to that crisis is the severe challenge of accessing enough fibre to keep mills operating. For the pellet sector, this issue is especially acute: our industry relies on sawmill residuals, and when sawmills struggle, so do we. Stable and predictable fibre supply is the foundation for a healthy, resilient and diversified forest sector. While we welcome the report’s recognition of the need for improved fibre access, we remain concerned that the proposed fibre targets may not be ambitious enough to match the urgency of the situation. Without timely and effective action to improve access and accountability, the whole value chain — including pellets — will remain at risk.

Read More

Proposed wood waste-to-energy facility is licensed by province

Northern Ontario Business
September 26, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada East

ONTARIO — Toronto’s CHAR Technologies and joint venture partner Lake Nipigon Forest Management Inc. (LNFMI) have secured a provincial forest resource processing facility licence for a proposed renewable energy facility. CHAR and LNFMI are the co-developers in a proposed wood waste-to-renewable energy facility, near Hurkett, Ontario. CHAR is an innovative clean technology specializing in the production of renewable natural gas and a bio-coal (biochar) product from residual wood waste. LNFMI is the Sustainable Forest License holder to the Lake Nipigon Forest. CHAR’s partnership with LNFMI secures the woody feedstock supply. CHAR calls receipt of the licence a “historic achievement”. It clears the path to greenlight construction for a “biohub” forestry processing operation, expected to commence sometime in 2026. Initial civil works at a greenfield site have been completed. …“LNFMI and CHAR are putting forest biomass to work and creating new opportunities in forestry,” said Kevin Holland, associate minister of forestry.

Read More

Health & Safety

Fall WorkSafe Magazine I Easier online injury reporting

WorkSafeBC
September 25, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada West

Fall issue of WorkSafe Magazine

The latest issue of WorkSafe Magazine includes stories that show how employers across B.C. are finding practical ways to protect workers and strengthen safety culture.

  • Find out how commercial bakeries are tackling ergonomic risks and industry-wide hazards.
  • Build skills for trainee tower crane operators with insights from a safety officer.
  • Learn about steps crews and employers are taking to prevent serious injuries when working near traffic.

Read the Fall 2025 issue of WorkSafe Magazine »

Read More

Forest Fires

Up to 20 millimetres of rain possible over Munro Lake fire, Peachland

By Nicholas Johansen
Castanet
September 28, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada West

©BCWildfireService

Some showers in the forecast could bring relief to firefighters on the line at the Munro Lake wildfire. Environment Canada meteorologist Philippe-Alain Bergeron said there is the potential for 10 to 20 millimetres of rain in the vicinity of the fire Monday evening and into Tuesday. Central Okanagan Emergency Operations has issued an evacuation order for an additional property near the fire. 5875 Brenda Mines Road, Zipzone Adventure Park, joins a handful of other non-residential addresses affected by the order. All evacuation alerts previously issued will remain in place overnight. Residents who were previously ordered out were allowed to return to their homes on Saturday. Unless conditions change, no further updates from the Emergency Operations Centre will be issued tonight. The Munro Lake wildfire remains out of control but has not grown in size. It remains at 310 hectares.

Read More

Out-of-control wildfire in Nova Scotia threatens homes in Annapolis Valley

Canadian Press in CityNews Everywhere
September 29, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada East

AYLESFORD — Nova Scotia officials say more evacuation orders are possible as a wildfire in the Annapolis Valley remains out of control. In a social media post, the Department of Natural Resources said a helicopter had been dispatched to gauge the area of the Lake George fire, which at last estimate was roughly 300 hectares in size. The fire broke out Sunday and was declared out of control late Monday, prompting officials to announce an evacuation of nearby campgrounds and homes. Officials said Tuesday residents on Birch Lane, Spruce Drive and Blue Lane at Aylesford Lake’s southwest end should be prepared to evacuated. Dry and windy conditions have helped push the fire from the northern end of Lake George eastward toward the northern end of Aylesford Lake. Evacuees are asked to register at the Louis Millett Community Complex in New Minas, N.S., where services are being offered.

Read More