Jackson Widjaja
The foreign industrialist who controls Canada’s biggest pulp-and-paper company says he’s a “big believer” in this country and would welcome the opportunity to appear before Parliament to ease any concerns about his ownership. Jackson Widjaja, an Indonesian, says he launched Paper Excellence Group in Canada in 2006 because the country’s politics and regulatory environment are stable while its resources are “very rich.” And he says he intends to continue to invest here, as he aims to become the continent’s top pulp-and-paper producer. …The quick growth of his business empire has generated significant concern, centring on Paper Excellence’s documented ties to the Widjaja family’s other holdings – specifically Sinar Mas and its subsidiary Asia Pulp and Paper Group (APP). …The company lost its accreditation several years ago with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). …He said he’s confident that his team is doing everything it can to retain its FSC certification. Sustainability is “at the core of our business.” [to access the full story a Globe & Mail subscription is required]
NEW YORK, NY — Mercer International reported first quarter 2025 Operating EBITDA of $47.1 million, a decrease from $63.6 million in the same quarter of 2024 and $99.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2024. In the first quarter of 2025, net loss was $22.3 million compared to $16.7 million in the first quarter of 2024 and net income of $16.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2024. Mr. Juan Carlos Bueno, Chief Executive Officer, stated: “There was continued strength in pulp markets and an improving lumber pricing environment in the first quarter of 2025. However, our operating results in the quarter were negatively impacted by annual planned maintenance downtime at our Celgar mill and the impact of the weaker dollar against the euro.
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May is Invasive Species Action Month and 33 organizations throughout BC will be able to continue their work fighting invasive plants, due in part to a funding boost. …Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests said “No one person, group, agency or government can effectively control invasive plant species alone, and collaboration is critical to everyone’s success. The work these groups do is crucial in our fight to ensure BC’s environments remain healthy and vibrant.” …Nearly $3 million will go toward groups, such as regional invasive species committees, local governments, environmental groups, researchers and the Invasive Species Council of BC, to continue collaboration and support of invasive plant programs and management actions. …Gail Wallin, executive director, Invasive Species Council of British Columbia said, “Invasive plants are estimated to cost us over $2 billion in losses annually.”
People are asked to use caution over the next several days as a combination of warm, dry conditions and strong winds in much of southern B.C. are adding to elevated wildfire danger. The BC Wildfire Service urges people to postpone any open burning until the windy conditions pass and to use extra caution when camping in the backcountry. “We are expecting active weather in the coming days that could set the stage for dangerous wildfire conditions across the province,” said Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests. “This is the time of year when we’re at the most risk for human-caused wildfires in B.C., most of which are entirely preventable.” People planning to have campfires should do so safely, following any local prohibitions.
With the Southern Interior’s hottest months just around the corner, FortisBC is putting important safety measures into place to help protect communities and its electricity system against wildfires, which includes adding extra precautions that could result in power outages. To further enhance its wildfire safety practices, FortisBC has introduced a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) policy, a new precautionary measure where electricity is proactively shut off in selected areas in advance of extreme weather. FortisBC is advising its customers to be prepared for these potential outages that help reduce potential ignition sources. …According to FortisBC, customers should always be prepared to be without electricity for at least 72 hours, especially during wildfire season.
MONTREAL – Academics at McGill University in Montreal are providing the U.S. scientific community a platform to protect climate research under attack. Six months ago, researchers at McGill University’s Desautels Faculty of Management launched the Sustainability Academic Network — SUSANHub.com — a database that centralizes climate research and data. “We initially created this platform to connect researchers and professionals in sustainable development and climate change,” said Juan Serpa, a professor at the Desautels Faculty of Management, describing the platform as a kind of “LinkedIn” for the field. But at a time when the administration of United States President Donald Trump is firing climate researchers, banning certain words from scientific articles, cutting funding for environmental research, threatening to withdraw financial support from universities, and deleting scientific reports from government websites, the McGill platform has taken on a different significance. “The goal is to protect scientific data against threats from the U.S. government,” Serpa said.
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MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY, Alberta – Provincial officials elevated the wildfire danger rating to extreme across the Rocky Mountain House Forest Area Saturday after five new wildfires ignited in the area in recent days. Parts of Mountain View County are included in the forest area, namely west of Sundre and Bergen, covering Coal Camp and Bearberry west of Range Road 60 from Township Road 312 to the north boundary of the county. “The wildfire danger is now extreme in the Rocky Mountain House Forest Area,” the province said in its May 3 update for the forest protection area. “Dead and dry vegetation continues to be a major concern, as it is highly flammable and provides an easily available fuel source for wildfires.” …On Thursday, two wildfires were discovered in the Rocky Mountain House Forest Area while three more were discovered on Friday.
Firefighters from Fort St. John and the B.C. Wildfire Service were battling a blaze that prompted evacuations late Thursday, the city said. The fire is in the Fish Creek Community Forest on the northern outskirts of the city. …The wildfire service website indicates the out-of-control blaze was discovered Thursday and spanned an estimated 0.56 square kilometres — about four times the size of Granville Island in Vancouver — as of 7:32 p.m. The suspected cause of the fire is human activity. The fire is one of nearly two dozen active across BC on Thursday, as the provincial government warned that a combination of warm, dry conditions and strong winds would raise the fire risk in southern parts of B.C. It’s one of two blazes classified as burning out of control, the other being a 1.85-square-kilometre blaze that began as two separate fires about 30 kilometres southwest of Dawson Creek, which is south of Fort St. John.
