Region Archives: Canada

Business & Politics

Canadian Pacific Kansas City: Further rail consolidation not necessary

By Canadian Pacific Kansas City
Cision Newswire
August 26, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

CALGARY, AB – Canadian Pacific Kansas City said that the company is not interested in participating in immediate rail industry consolidation, despite the suggestions by some that it take part. CPKC does not believe that further rail consolidation is necessary for the industry as currently structured. The company remains focused on delivering more of the benefits and unique value-creating opportunities of its three-nation network, which connects shippers in all parts of North America via effective interline service options. CPKC strongly feels… any major rail merger poses unique and unprecedented risks to customers, rail employees and the broader supply chain. Those risks would be exacerbated by the inevitable follow-on consolidation. …The public’s interest is best served by the nation’s railroads focused on delivering reliable, “truck-like” service while investing in their networks to increase U.S. rail network capacity required for sustainable growth, rather than pursuing additional rail consolidation in an industry already greatly consolidated.

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What’s happening in the Canada-US trade dispute and what comes next

By Marc Lee and Struat Trew
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
August 25, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

International political discourse in 2025 has been haunted by the spectre of Donald Trump and his brute force reshaping of global trade relationships to the (perceived) advantage of the US. Canadians have been consumed by the question of when a deal might be struck to end Trump’s egregious tariffs, real and threatened, and what that deal might cost us. …While countries that have struck deals with Trump have largely focused on transactional arrangements that accept a lower tariff, Canada has gone the other direction by seeking to roll security into a broader deal that may prove expensive but without guarantees of market access. …Prime Minister Carney does not appear to be rushing the US negotiations, but the Canadian government response so far leaves much to be desired. …The CUSMA also is up for renegotiation in 2026. …Prime Minister Carney has kept his strategy cloaked from the public.

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Trump says imports of wood products may pose national security threat — raising fears in BC

By Akshay Kulkarni
CBC News
August 25, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada

BC’s forestry sector is awaiting the results of a US Commerce Department investigation into the imports of wood products, which could impose further tariffs on the beleaguered industry. It comes months after US President Trump launched a Section 232 investigation into whether importing timber, lumber and derivative products could pose a national security threat to the US. …”Lumber is just one of many sectors that could get impacted … maybe lumber gets a lower tariff, but plywood and OSB and pulp get a higher tariff. We don’t know,” said Russ Taylor. …Taylor says that, while the Section 232 tariffs could cause further mill curtailments in BC, the U.S. forestry industry doesn’t yet have the capacity to fill the void. …”And the US mills will be very happy to raise their price … at a discount to the Canadian price because that’s just free money in the short term for them,” he added. 

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North Island First Nations planning to engage in free trade with Indigenous communities in the US

By Kori Sidaway
Chek News
August 20, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Terry Teegee

As a possible workaround to the escalating tariffs and duties from the United States, a group of BC First Nations is exploring a bold plan to engage in free trade with Indigenous communities in the United States. …“We need to find something that’s going to get us through this,” said Dallas Smith, Nanwakolas Council president. …The council is talking seriously with Indigenous Nations to the south about cross-border nation-to-nation free trade, to circumvent escalating American duties on softwood lumber. …No American Nations wanted to speak with CHEK News for fear of retaliation prior to plans being set in motion. …BC Assembly of First Nations Regional Chief Terry Teegee said, “Nations have tried, but those authorities, such as the United States and Canada, came in and imposed their authority,” said Teegee. …The group of six nations is planning to put legislation on both sides of the border to the test, soon.

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Judge approves process to sell off Northern Pulp assets

By Michael Gorman
CBC News
August 22, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada

A B.C. Supreme Court justice has authorized the process that will ultimately lead to the sale of the Nova Scotia timberlands, Crown land leases and a nursery controlled by Northern Pulp. Justice Shelley Fitzpatrick approved a $104-million baseline bid for the assets by Macer Forest Holdings on Thursday. Macer’s bid, known as a stalking horse agreement, positions the Ontario-based company to pick up the …Pictou County pulp mill assets unless other interested parties come forward. If other bidders are identified by Nov. 20, an auction would be held using the stalking horse price as the starting point. …If Macer is not successful at auction, it would receive compensation of up to about $3.1 million. …Proceeds of the asset sale are to go toward Northern Pulp’s debts, including money its parent company, Paper Excellence, has lent it for the creditor protection process, the cost of winding up company pension plans and some of what is owed to the Nova Scotia government for previous loans.

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Lumber yard fire expected to be extinguished soon: Quesnel fire chief

By Colin Slark
Prince George Citizen
August 26, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada West

A fire at a lumber yard inside Quesnel city limits is being managed by West Fraser Mills and was expected to be completely extinguished on Monday, Aug. 25, the city’s fire chief said. The 500-square-foot fire at BC Eco Chips on Pinecrest Road was first spotted around 4 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 23, leading to a response from six fire departments in the Cariboo Regional District, BC Wildfire Service and personnel from West Fraser Mills. Reached by phone on Aug. 25, Quesnel Fire Chief Ron Richert said that the fire departments and wildfire service withdrew from the scene around 8 p.m., leaving West Fraser Mills in charge of managing the scene. At that point, the chief said, there were still “significant flames” but it was fully contained. …Richert confirmed that there were no structured damaged or people hurt by the fire. The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.

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Obituary: Ralph Fredrick Hastings Torney

Dignity Moemorial
August 25, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Ralph Torney

With broken hearts, we announce the passing of Ralph Torney… He completed his schooling in Nanaimo, after which he started working in the logging and forest industry all up and down the West Coast. Ralph was very involved in the forest industry, becoming President of the Truck Loggers Association, as well as the Pacific Logging Congress. He eventually joined Erickson Air Crane and started working with the Sikorski skycrane helicopters, which were used for logging and firefighting around the world. During this time, we were very fortunate to have lived in Singapore before moving to the Erickson Air Crane Headquarters in Medford, Oregon. After a few years, he decided he wanted to start his own business, returning to Canada where he formed RFT Industries, and eventually Canadian Air Crane. He loved his work which took him to all parts of the world. …Honouring Ralph’s wishes, there will be no service. 

©TruckLoggerBC

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B.C. Conservative MLA slams Forestry Innovation Investment chair appointment

By Monica Lamb-Yorski
Pentiction Western News
August 22, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Ward Stamer

Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Ward Stamer criticized the recent announcement that Rick Doman has been appointed the new Forestry Innovation Investment Board chair. “British Columbians don’t need another announcement; they need results,” said Stamer in his capacity as the Official Opposition Caucus Shadow Minister for Forests, in a news release. ..Stamer said while Doman has decades of industry experience, the appointment “does nothing to fix the deep-rooted crises the sector faces, such as mill closures, slumping harvest volumes, regulatory paralysis, and the steady erosion of family-supporting forestry jobs.” …“Communities are desperate for action; instead, we get another NDP press release while sawmills close and workers are forced to leave their hometowns.” …The Ministry of Forests told the North Thompson Star Journal in an emailed response that the ministry will be releasing more details in the coming weeks about the BC Timber Sales review.

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Labour dispute ongoing at closed Galloway sawmill

By Trevor Crawley
The Kimberly Daily Bulletin
August 22, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

JAFFRAY, BC — The BC Labour Relations Board has dismissed an application from unionized employees with Galloway Lumber Company seeking a court order against the employer in a labour dispute over a negotiated severance agreement due to the permanent closure of the Galloway sawmill, near Jaffray. While the labour board dismissed the application on Aug. 14, vice-chair Carmen Hamilton deferred the matter to the parties’ negotiated dispute resolution process. Meanwhile, both sides are have agreed to bring the matter before an arbitrator who is not available until January 2026. “At its heart, this matter is a contract interpretation dispute,” wrote Hamilton. The United Steelworkers Local L-405 is seeking roughly $1.2 million in severance that was negotiated as part of an adjustment plan that was negotiated following the closure of the mill.

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1 in 5 businesses won’t survive another six months: Canadian Federation of Independent Business report blames tariffs

By Sonia Aslam
CityNews Everywhere
August 21, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Canadian business owners are sharing growing fears that things could go from bad to worse if the U.S.-imposed trade war doesn’t end soon. New data from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) shows those business owners are being hit the hardest, particularly in B.C. “Two-thirds of B.C. businesses import or export directly to the United States, and when you look at those who do so indirectly, so they buy from importers or exporters, that number jumps up to 80 per cent of all businesses exposed to trade with the United States. So, that’s a huge number,” Ryan Mitton, director of Legislative Affairs in B.C. at the CFIB said. He adds that the situation appears even more grim for hard-hit industries like steel and lumber.  “…one in five in BC have been impacted by softwood lumber tariffs, and that’s the highest rate of all the provinces in Canada,” he adds.

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US trade court dismisses Canadian lumber company J.D. Irving challenge

MLex.com
August 21, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East, United States

The US Court of International Trade threw out a legal challenge from Canadian softwood lumber producers J.D. Irving Ltd. granting a motion-to-dismiss from the Commerce Department. Timothy Reif said in the opinion that J.D. Irving, which had challenged Commerce’s 2022 antidumping administrate review on grounds that the agency erred by assigning a higher cash deposit rate in the order, has its proper venue under a binational panel though the USMCA now reviewing the Commerce order. While the Canadian firm said it was challenging not the Commerce fine order but the instruction for the cash deposit rate. Reif said the challenge entered on the commerce final result and thus should rest before the USMCA panel. [to access the full story, a MLex.com subscription is required]

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Ontario Investing $70 Million to Protect Workers Affected by U.S. Tariffs

By the Office of the Premier
Government of Ontario
August 20, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

HAMILTON — The Ontario government is delivering on its plan to protect Ontario workers by investing $70 million in expanded training and employment services for those affected by U.S. tariffs and policies. This funding includes support for the province’s Protect Ontario Workers Employment Response (POWER) Centres, which builds on and enhances existing ministry-supported action centres. The province is also providing enhancements to Better Jobs Ontario (BJO) to help more job seekers quickly train and upskill for in-demand, good-paying careers. …These investments are part of the government’s plan to protect Ontario workers by investing in training and reskilling to give workers the tools they need to land rewarding, good-paying jobs while strengthening Ontario’s economy to make our province the most competitive jurisdiction in the G7.

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Finance & Economics

What are the Prospects for Lumber Prices?

By Andrew Hecht
Barchart
August 21, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

The United States is the top wood-importing country. Trade issues and tariffs could be a significant factor in determining the path of least resistance for lumber, lumber futures, and wood product prices over the coming weeks and months. …The offseason for lumber demand is on the horizon. The potential for increased price variance due to the uncertainty created by U.S.-Canada trade relations remains high, and the path of least resistance of U.S. short-term interest rates is likely to be lower. Time will tell if longer-term rates follow any Fed Rate cuts over the coming months. Lumber remains a critical construction material, and the current price levels offer a positive risk-reward profile. Accumulating lumber-related assets on a scale-down basis during periods of price weakness over the coming weeks and months could be optimal for 2026, provided the housing market improves and lumber demand rises. 

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

Wood Pellet Association of Canada Summer Newsletter

The Wood Pellet Association of Canada
August 26, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada

The Headlines

  • WPAC 2025 Conference in Halifax, NS – Registration Now Open
  • Canadian Wood Pellets at the Forefront of Asia’s Energy Transition
  • Dr. Fahimeh Yazdan Panah Promoted to Associate Executive Director of WPAC
  • Pellets: A ‘Backyard Solution’ for Energy Needs
  • Trip Report: Biomass Innovations Asia 2025
  • Case Study: Biomass Heat Brings Divine Savings

Safety First Focus

  • Conference and BECCS Tour September 2-3: Safe Wood Pellet Storage
  • Ted Brown, Site Trainer at Drax Entwistle—WPAC’s Latest Safety Hero
  • WPAC’s June Safety Hero: Brett Wickstrom from Drax Meadowbank

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Advance Your Lumber Career in 12 Months with the BC Institute of Technology

BC Institute of Technology
August 26, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada West

The lumber and sawmilling sector demands skilled leaders who combine technical expertise with sound business acumen. BCIT now offers two Associate Certificates, designed to be completed part-time and fully online in just 12 months, enabling working professionals to advance without leaving the industry. The Associate Certificate in the Business of Sawmilling (starting October 2025) focuses on the operational, financial, and strategic aspects of modern sawmill management. Topics include production planning, quality optimization, supply chain considerations, and market dynamics. Graduates are equipped to contribute to profitability and long-term competitiveness. The Associate Certificate in Industrial Wood Processing (IWP) (starting January 2026) emphasizes the science and technology of wood conversion. With courses in wood properties, manufacturing processes, quality control, and technical problem-solving, the program prepares participants to step into supervisory roles with confidence. Both programs are tailored for career advancement in the North American lumber industry.

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Forestry

The US should stop taxing Canadian lumber if it wants cleaner air

By Pedro Antunes, Chief Economist, Conference Board of Canada
The Financial Post
August 25, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, United States

Canada’s forests are burning. …Smoke from these fires has degraded air quality across Canada and the US. The situation has led some US policymakers to publicly blame Canada for failing to manage wildfires and to demand more active forest management. These critiques are hypocritical, given their record of climate change denial. …Yet beyond partisan politics, the US continues to impose tariffs on Canadian lumber, undermining our capacity to invest in stronger forest management. …Eliminating or reducing US tariffs would instantly raise the value of Canada’s standing forest stock, sending a price signal that makes forestry activity viable in regions that are currently too remote or costly to harvest. At the margin, higher returns would unlock investment in better forest management, including areas that are now left untouched because they are uneconomic to service. …Lifting tariffs would be the first step, but it would not be a cure-all. 

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Heat wave shatters records across B.C. as wildfire risk climbs

By Josh Recamara
Insurance Business Magazine
August 26, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

A prolonged heat wave gripping British Columbia has already toppled more than 20 daily high-temperature records, with forecasters warning the sweltering conditions are set to persist through mid-week. Environment Canada has extended heat warnings to large parts of the province, including Fraser Canyon, South Okanagan, and South Thompson, where highs in the upper 30s are expected to continue. Inland sections of the north and central coasts are forecast to reach up to 29C, while four special weather statements remain in effect for Vancouver Island. …Even as air quality improves, wildfire officials warn the soaring heat and dry air are fuelling dangerous conditions. The B.C. Wildfire Service said low relative humidity is making forest fuels highly susceptible to ignition… For insurers, the intensifying fire risk underscores a costly pattern. …Another active fire season … adds further pressure to an industry already grappling with rising catastrophe exposures in B.C.

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The spruce budworm is making an unwelcome comeback

By James Steidle
Prince George Citizen
August 23, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Take a road trip across BC and chances are you will see our forests in freefall. From Lilloet through to Whistler, I was shocked to see valleys of red, as a western spruce budworm, a type of moth, rips through the conifer forests of almost all species. Hemlock, Douglas Fir, spruce, and the true firs are all being impacted, on a massive, catastrophic level. Unlike the Mountain Pine Beetle, which prioritized the old pine, the budworm seems to go for the younger trees. I saw entire plantations of young monocultures, the textbook product of modern forest management, with near complete infestation. The only trees that were still green was the cottonwoods and, ironically, the odd lodgepole pine tree. I’m not sure how we will log ourselves out of this one. …It’s probably just a matter of time before the budworm shows up again in Prince George.

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Mount Underwood fire a ‘harbinger’ of future Island fires, says wildfire specialist

CBC News
August 24, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Lori Daniels

Lori Daniels, a UBC forestry professor with a focus on wildfires, told CBC that the fire is one of the biggest in about 100 years of record-keeping on Vancouver Island — and that significant wildfires are expected to become more frequent as climate change impacts coastal forests. She spoke to CBC host Gregor Craigie about the history and future of wildfires on Vancouver Island. …On the west side of Vancouver Island, and in our wet coastal forest, fire was not historically a large portion of how our ecosystems functioned. …So we know that in our coastal region, we don’t have nearly as much lightning, and lightning ignitions in the historical record are much lower than in the Interior. …We’re going to have to think carefully about how we are managing our forests, how we are managing logging residues.

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Vanderhoof hunting lodge loses appeal of fine for logging without a licence

By Bob Mackin
The Prince George Citizen
August 23, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The Forest Appeals Commission dismissed a Vanderhoof hunting and fishing lodge’s appeal of a $25,000 fine for cutting Crown timber without a licence. In an Aug. 13 decision, panel chair Maureen Baird upheld the March 2023 fine against Crystal Lake Resort Ltd. by the Ministry of Forests. Daniel Brooks, whose family bought the resort in 1975, admitted trees were cut without a licence in July 2020 on a right of way and the company asked, after the fact, for the Ministry of Forests to authorize the removal of merchantable timber. The ministry advised the company that it needed to have a licence to harvest in the first place. Brooks said he did not know he needed a licence. …The Ministry approved the required management plan, that allowed cutting trees if the resort had a forestry licence to do so.

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The Woodland Almanac Summer 2025

Woodlots BC
August 25, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

In the Summer Almanac you’ll find these headlines and much more:

Come for a Ride on the Forestry Roller Coaster, by Gord Chipman, Executive Director. Market conditions have been challenging, with falling log prices and break-even lumber prices for mills creating a climate of uncertainty. …the Canadian dollar has risen by five cents against the US dollar, and the looming threat of an average 34% in dumping duties at the end of August dampens any optimism in the lumber market. The political landscape remains dynamic. …two significant forestry reviews are underway, with results expected in the fall. In response to these external pressures, our focus remains on controlling what we can, aligning our operational contracts with our strategic plan.

Value-Added Niches Boost Woodlot in Coastal BC, by Tom Younger: Value-added manufacturing is a key strategy in BC aimed at maximizing the economic potential of timber by producing finished or semi-finished products rather than exporting raw logs.

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Vancouver Island wildlife recovery centre officially opens bear pavilion

By Michael Briones
The Ladysmith Chemainus Chronicle
August 24, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

The North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre has officially opened its new bear pavilion, an educational building that features black bears, with a focus on old-growth forests. A ribbon-cutting ceremony opened the new building, which cost approximately $200,000. The pavilion was envisioned by centre founder founder Robin Campbell in 2021… The pavilion was completed in time for the the 40th anniversary celebration of the Errington wildlife recovery and education centre. Campbell, who founded the centre with wife Sylvia, felt emotional upon seeing his vision become a reality. …Campbell said the pavilion shares two goals, “the vital role of black bears and the irreplaceable value of old-growth trees in our wild rainforests”. “These two are woven together in a remarkable relationship that sustains the forests heartbeat.”

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When heat and drought stress B.C. trees, the consequences can be tragic

By Nono Shen
Canadian Press in Vancouver Sun
August 23, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Peter Constabel, a professor in the biology department at the University of Victoria said that several years of repeated drought in B.C. mixed with heat stress has increased the likelihood of branches breaking off, it could even happen on a “perfectly calm day” without any breeze. The consequences can be tragic. Constabel, who specializes in tree health said, “it’s the drought that specifically causes this, and somehow it stresses the tree and drops the branch, or the branch falls. If you get cumulative droughts, of course, it weakens the tree overall”. …Dry spells can leave trees in a weakened state, Simon Fraser University biological sciences professor Jim Mattsson said, reducing photosynthesis and growth, cutting their energy or sugar reserves, and lowering production of chemical defences. All of these can cause a chain reaction increasing trees’ susceptibility to insects and fungal diseases, causing trees to rot inside, weaken and potentially topple over.

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Kelowna discussion on connection of forestry and flooding in BC

By Barry Gerding
The Vernon Morning Star
August 22, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Sonia Furstenau

The former leader of the BC Green Party will be one of the panellists leading a discussion about the negative impacts of clear-cut logging on the environment. Sonia Furstenau will participate in the upcoming event co-hosted by the Interior Watershed Task Force and Joe Rich Forestry Trails and Watershed Committee. Along with the panel discussion, there will be a screening of the documentary film Trouble In The Headwaters, which examines the 2018 Grand Forks flood and reveals the connection of clear-cut logging in the headwaters of the Kettle River Basin. Filmmaker Daniel Pierce will also be on hand and Dr. Younes Alila, a professor of hydrology at UBC, and two retired loggers. On the panel along with Furstenau and Pierce will be Mike Morris, a former Liberal MLA; Dave Gill, general manager of Ntityix Resources LP, a natural resource company owned by Westbank First Nation.

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Rethinking Forestry: Bold Ideas for a Sustainable Future with Gary Bull

By Matthew Kristoff’s YourForest Podcast
Spotify
August 20, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

In this episode of YourForest, Matthew Kristoff discusses the future of forestry with Dr. Gary Bull, a leading expert in forestry economics, policy, and sustainability. Dr. Bull, a Professor Emeritus at the University of British Columbia, explores the evolving relationship between forest management, biodiversity, and the forest industry. He emphasizes shifting from timber-focused practices to integrating non-timber values like carbon storage, biodiversity, and ecosystem health. With decades of global experience, Dr. Bull advocates for rethinking forestry to create a more sustainable future. Key Points: Rethinking the Annual Allowable Cut; Circular Bioeconomy and Wood Products; Biodiversity and Carbon Credits; Balancing Forest Health and Resource Production; and Indigenous and NGO Collaborations in Forestry

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Keeping climate crisis and forestry mismanagement in focus amid the Mount Underwood wildfire

By S. Clay Steell, chair, Bamfield Huu-ay-aht Community Forest Society
Ha-Shilth-Sa
August 21, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Clay Steell

Since the Mount Underwood forest fire cut off power and direct road access to the community of Bamfield and Anacla, the town has been abuzz with talk on what it all means. …While we don’t yet know what caused the Mount Underwood fire, we can be certain that climate warming made it vastly more likely to spread out of control. …In addition to climate warming, the legacy of colonial forest mismanagement has also made fires far more likely to spread out of control. Since colonization, a large majority of primary forests have been cut down across this coast and replaced by tree farms, including the area where the Mount Underwood fire has spread. All the while, the forestry industry has shifted from local milling to mechanization and raw log exportation, sending jobs overseas and enriching shareholders while local workers get laid off, with over 50,000 jobs lost province-wide since the late ‘90s. 

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Opinions: North Cowichan Municipal Forest Reserve

Letters by Peter Rusland and Larry Pynn
Cowichan Valley Citizen
August 21, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

The Cowichan Valley Citizen has published two letters to the editor referencing the North Cowichan Municipal Forest Reserve

Taxpayers expect community plan to be followed, By Peter Rusland: Active conservation is council’s only moral, smart option outlined in the Harvesting Considerations Summary of our Growth Strategy plan — set for debate Aug. 20, 2025. Any thoughts about resuming logging in our ecologically and culturally rare municipal forest reserve would be egregious at the very least. Profits from destroying our forests with inane harvesting would apparently total chump change compared to potential revenues from carbon-credit programs.

Council must reject the idea of resuming logging, By Larry Pynn: Council must reject the idea of resuming logging in the Municipal Forest Reserve. A lengthy and detail public consultation process showed strong support for conservation. Just over six years ago, North Cowichan council responded to a massive outpouring of public concern by voting to suspend new logging in the Municipal Forest Reserve. …I strongly urge council to do the right thing by its citizens and stand for protection of our imperilled forests.

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B.C. caribou populations predicted to fall by up to 61%

By Stefan Labbé
Business in Vancouver
August 21, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Global warming is predicted to drive one of the greatest declines in caribou populations in the last 21,000 years, with British Columbia’s herds expected to see declines of up to 61 per cent by 2100 if high rates of warming go unchecked, a new study says.  Caribou — also known as reindeer in Europe and Asia — have survived several spells of Arctic warming in the past. Their presence across the planet’s tundra, forests and mountains have long supported Indigenous populations while acting as ecosystem engineers, disturbing the soil and trampling vegetation in a way that promotes new plant growth. …Human disturbance of those landscapes — from logging to road building — has already led to a two-thirds decline in the global population over the past 30 years. New research, published in the journal Science Advances last week, has now found global warming could push caribou populations even closer to extinction. 

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Company won’t spray controversial herbicide in northern Ontario

By Darren MacDonald
CTV News
August 25, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

Interfor says it won’t proceed with its plan to spray forests in northern Ontario with a herbicide critics say is harmful. While the province said it was safe, First Nations and some municipalities were opposed to the plan to spray glyphosate over Crown land near Elliot Lake, Blind River, Espanola and other forest management areas in the north. Andrew Horahan, executive vice-president of Interfor’s Canadian operations, confirmed it won’t be conducting the aerial spray of the herbicide, at least for now. “Interfor is committed to responsible forest management and to maintaining open, constructive dialogue with our stakeholders and the communities in which we operate,” Horahan said in a statement. “The use of herbicide sprays is a carefully regulated and widely accepted industry practice, overseen by relevant authorities. For 2025, Interfor has chosen not to proceed with an herbicide application in the Pineland, Spanish and Northshore forests.”

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Predicting the future of black spruce growth

University of Waterloo
August 20, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

Trees are valuable components of the Canadian ecosystem and natural instruments of carbon storage and sequestration. A tree’s growth is controlled by regional climate, including growing season length and air temperature. It is also impacted by local hydroclimate; water and temperature variations that occur on a smaller scale. Black spruce trees are common within the boreal landscape of North America, including within fen wetlands. There is limited research on black spruce growth in fens, and how the unique hydroclimate of fens may impact tree growth in a changing climate. Tree core and ring samples were collected from both sites and placed within a microscope slide scanner. This allowed key tree growth characteristics to be identified on a cellular level. Correlation analysis was conducted between these growth characteristics and long-term climate data to determine the relationship between the two variables.

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Wood Pellet Association of Canada annual conference and Tour

The Wood Pellet Association of Canada
August 25, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada

The Wood Pellet Association of Canada’s annual conference is just around the corner! Register now for one of the biggest draws of the WPAC annual event: the tour. This time it’s the day before the conference, when we’ll learn more about the people, facilities, and communities behind the sector. Depart from Halifax Marriott Harbourfront Hotel around 8:30 am and enjoy a scenic drive to Hardwood Lands, where you will see the Shaw Renewables pellet plant. From there, we will make our way back to Halifax, stopping at an installation or for a scenic break. We will tour the Port of Halifax in the afternoon and return to the hotel by 4:00 pm.  Don’t miss this chance to be inspired by those in our sector who are committed to producing clean, renewable and responsible energy from Canadian wood pellets. Space is limited. Cost: $124/person

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Health & Safety

Bamfield Road remains closed due to unsafe conditions

By Ministry of Transportation and Transit
Government of British Columbia
August 23, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada West

The Province of B.C. is lending its expertise to Mosaic Forest Management as it develops plans to reopen the Bamfield Main Road, sections of which were rendered unsafe due to the Mt. Underwood wildfire. “We recognize the importance of Bamfield Road to the Huu‑ay‑aht First Nation and area residents,” said Mike Farnworth, Minister of Transportation and Transit. “There is substantial work necessary … to reopen Bamfield Road. Ensuring the safety of the travelling public is the top priority, and the Province will continue to support to Mosaic throughout this process.” Initial engineering assessments have determined a section of the Bamfield Road managed by Mosaic is unsafe for all traffic, prompting Mosaic to close the route with a section of the road being defined as a No Work Zone by BC Wildfire Services. Falling rocks, dangerous trees and a fire-damaged slope are presenting exceptionally challenging conditions, and there is no timeline for reopening the road in its current configuration.

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New safety video, updated resources & key OHS changes

WorkSafeBC
August 21, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada West

Don’t miss the August WorkSafeBC Health and Safety News:

  • Revisions to OHS Regulation requirements for combustible dust: Combustible dust is a common hazard in a wide variety of industries such as bakeries and other food processing, metal foundries, wood products manufacturing, and agriculture. Proposed OHS Regulation amendments will guide employers in what you need to do to keep workers safe from combustible dust hazards. To provide feedback on the proposed changes, register to speak at the public hearing on September 24, or submit a written submission before September 26.
  • New video: Safe work practices for flytables
  • Prime contractor role and responsibilities (information sheet)
  • Safety on the job is everyone’s responsibility (poster)
  • Hear for Good: A Worker’s Guide to Preventing Hearing Loss (pamphlet)
  • Staying connected supports a safe return to work

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Forest Fires

UPDATE: Wildfire southwest of Nanaimo now being held Nanaimo News Bulletin

Nanaimo News Bulletin
August 25, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada West

©BCWildfireService

A new wildfire started up last night and burned 8.6 hectares southwest of Nanaimo overnight, but the fire is now being held. B.C. Wildfire Service reports that a fire at Manson Creek is considered being held as of 3 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 25. The fire was discovered Sunday, Aug. 24, about two kilometres west of the intersection of Nanaimo Lakes Road and South Forks Road. The cause of the fire is under investigation. The wildfire service reported that two initial attack crews responded last night, with heavy equipment support. “With this support, crews were able to create a fire guard surrounding most of the perimeter,” the wildfire service noted.

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B.C.’s Fraser Canyon to bake under 39 C heat as wildfire prompts evacuation alerts

The Canadian Press in Energetic City
August 25, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada West

©BCWildfireService

An air-quality warning remains in effect for parts of Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley due to smog and wildfire smoke from a blaze that has prompted evacuation alerts for the Yale and Spuzzum areas. It comes as Environment Canada warns that temperatures in the Fraser Canyon and South Thompson regions are expected to reach 37 to 39 C this week, posing a moderate risk to public health. The smog warning spans eastern areas of Metro Vancouver as well as the central Fraser Valley, while the smoke warning covers eastern parts of the valley. It says smoke from the Sailor Bar wildfire burning in the Fraser Canyon has also resulted in elevated levels of fine particulate matter in the air. The fire has prompted the Fraser Valley Regional District to issue an evacuation alert stretching from Yale and north to the Spuzzum area, covering properties on both the east and west sides of the Fraser River.

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Vancouver Island wildfire downgraded again, no longer a fire of note

Canadian Press in the Victoria Times Colonist
August 23, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

©BCWildfireService

PORT ALBERNI — A wildfire near Port Alberni, B.C., that spurred evacuations and a state of local emergency last week has been downgraded again, leaving the province without any wildfires of note. The BC Wildfire Service said the Mount Underwood fire lost fire-of-note status on Thursday, meaning it was no longer “especially visible” or posing a threat to public safety, after it was doused by 40 millimetres of rain over the past week. The service had announced a day earlier that the fire was being held, meaning it was not expected to spread beyond its current 35-square-kilometre size. …The Mount Underwood fire had shown aggressive growth in initial days after being discovered on Aug. 11, forcing the sudden evacuation of a nearby campground and leading to several other evacuation orders and alerts.

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Wildfire prompts evacuation alerts north of Hope, B.C., air quality warning in Fraser Valley

By Lauren Vanderdeen
CBC News
August 24, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada West

©BCWildfireService

A new wildfire between Hope and Spuzzum, B.C., along Highway 1, has led the Fraser Valley Regional District and Spuzzum First Nation to issue evacuation alerts. An evacuation alert requires residents to be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice. The regional district’s alert currently affects about 240 people over 85 properties on the east and west side of the Fraser River between Spuzzum and Yale, according to Samantha Piper, Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) communications manager. …The blaze, dubbed the Sailor Bar wildfire, was discovered late Saturday night on the east side of the Fraser River, opposite Highway 1, seven kilometres north of Yale. The fire, which measured 120 hectares in size as of Sunday evening, is classified as out of control, meaning it is expected to spread beyond its current perimeter. …the fire is burning at Rank 2, which is an open visible flame front and a slower rate of spread.

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Crews return to Long Lake wildfire’s new front lines after a bad day; financial support set for evacuees

By Aaron Beswick
The Chronicle Herald
August 25, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada East

After a day of terrible setbacks, crews were back at the Long Lake wildfire Monday. Forestry and heavy equipment crews were clearing new fire breaks to replace the old ones that the fire jumped Sunday as it doubled in size to over 7,550 hectares. With damp air promising a bit of rain, wild land crews set up hose lines and put water on the flanks. …crews returned to pumps feeding sprinkler systems around homes and structures in West Dalhousie that they’d been forced to abandon … the day before as strong winds and low humidity fanned the flames into an inferno. “Despite best efforts … that fire responded as we thought it would to the weather yesterday,” said Jim Rudderham, director of fleet and forest protection for the Department of Natural Resources, on Monday afternoon. “That fire stood up and ran away. It’s a lot larger than it was. Many homes were saved. Some were lost.”

Additional coverage from the Government of Nova Scotia: Homes Damaged by Long Lake Wildfires

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Evacuation order expanded as strong winds fan Long Lake wildfire

CBC News
August 24, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

ANNAPOLIS COUNTY, Nova Scotia — An evacuation order was expanded Sunday afternoon and again in the evening as the Long Lake wildfire in Annapolis County continues to grow due to strong winds and high temperatures. An emergency alert Sunday evening said evacuations were being extended to include Highway 10 around Trout, Zwicker and East lakes, Old Liverpool Road, Che-Boag-A-Nish Road and West Dalhousie Road in Albany Cross. Another post by the Department of Natural Resources said the fire remains out of control and growing. It said the fire has crossed West Dalhousie Road at several points, crossed Thorne Road and moved as far as Paradise Lake. …Jim Rudderham, director of fleet and forest protection with Natural Resources, told reporters Sunday afternoon that weather conditions are working against the efforts of firefighters trying to bring the blaze in the West Dalhousie area under control.

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How long will it take to control the Nova Scotia wildfire? Hurricane Erin makes it hard to predict

By Anjuli Patil
CBC News
August 21, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada East

©NovaScotiaGovernment

Natural resources officials say high winds expected from Hurricane Erin make it difficult to determine how much longer it could take before the out-of-control Long Lake wildfire in Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, is considered held. For the third straight day, the wildfire near the community of West Dalhousie was estimated Thursday to be 3,210 hectares or roughly 32 square kilometres. “Obviously with this weather system coming through, we don’t know [what will happen so the fire is] still classed as out of control. We don’t know where the fire is going to go. That’s why it’s not classified as being held yet,” Jim Rudderham, the department’s director of fleet and forest protection, told reporters during an update on Thursday afternoon. Hurricane Erin, which was a Category 2 storm on Thursday, is not expected to make landfall in Nova Scotia — but the province will likely feel its strong winds.

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