Region Archives: Canada

Special Feature

Psychological Health and Safety in Forestry

By Alexandra Skinner, WorkSafeBC
The Truck LoggerBC Magazine
May 29, 2025
Category: Special Feature
Region: Canada West

Working in forestry can be challenging, not just physically, but psychologically as well. That’s why WorkSafeBC is advising forestry employers and workers about the importance of paying attention to psychological health and safety. Managing psychological health and safety in the workplace is as important as managing physical health and safety. A psychologically healthy and safe workplace prevents harm to workers’ mental health and promotes mental well-being. While many factors outside the workplace can affect mental health, it is an employer’s responsibility to address the factors that are within the control, responsibility, or influence of the workplace. Psychological health and safety involves how people interact with each other daily, how working conditions and management practices are structured, and how decisions are made and communicated. In the forestry sector, workers face unique psychological challenges, including financial stress from an unstable market, job instability, social isolation, and the impact of climate change and severe weather conditions.

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BC Forest Safety Council Training: Train Smart, Be Safe

BC Forest Safety Council
May 29, 2025
Category: Special Feature
Region: Canada West

As work activity increases across British Columbia, ensuring your team is properly trained is more important than ever. Whether you’re onboarding new employees or supporting a seasoned crew, the BC Forest Safety Council (BCFSC) offers a wide range of training resources to help workers understand how to perform their jobs safely and confidently.

Explore Our Training Options

  1. Online Learning Centre: Over 40 free, self-paced courses are designed for workers and companies in BC’s harvesting and wood fibre manufacturing sectors. New courses are added regularly—check the Course Catalogue for the latest offerings.
  1. In-Person Training: Join our instructor-led sessions this Fall and Winter 2025. These courses offer subject matter expert instruction, peer-to-peer interaction and printed materials.
  1. Worker Assessments: Ensure your team is job-ready with our industry-developed assessment tools. Supervisors can use these to verify workers have the knowledge, skills and attributes to do their job safely and productively.
  2. Webinars

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Emergency Preparedness and Response

BC Forest Safety Council
May 28, 2025
Category: Special Feature
Region: Canada West

Emergencies can happen anytime, anywhere—but in BC’s forestry industry, where remote locations and difficult terrain are becoming more commonplace, being prepared isn’t optional. It’s essential. Having a well-thought-out and thoroughly tested Emergency Response Plan (ERP) can make all the difference… WorkSafeBC mandates that employers should be prepared for an emergency as part of their regulatory and legal compliance. Companies are required to create site-specific ERPs related to their operations and need to consider and prepare for various emergency situations. They are also required to conduct regular emergency and first aid drills as part of their annual drill requirements to ensure workers understand their roles and responsibilities. As forestry operations in BC move into more remote and rugged areas, getting help to an injured worker quickly can be a serious challenge. …To help companies build stronger ERPs—especially when it comes to worker extraction—the BC Forest Safety Council and the Trucking and Harvesting Advisory Group created a video series.

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Protecting Hearing in the Forest Industry

By Alexandra Skinner, WorkSafeBC
The Truck LoggerBC Magazine
May 28, 2025
Category: Special Feature
Region: Canada West

Employers must follow safety protocols, ensure proper hearing protection, and regularly monitor noise levels. Forestry workers in BC are frequently exposed to high levels of noise, often for extended periods, which can result in serious hearing damage. Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is not just a long-term risk, it’s a fast-growing occupational disease that affects workers across the province. Over the past decade, WorkSafeBC has accepted almost 2,000 claims for hearing loss in the forestry sector. To prevent hearing loss, employers in the forestry sector must proactively recognize risks and understand the specific tasks workers will undertake, making pre-work planning a key step in injury prevention. The impact of noise on hearing “The risk of hearing loss depends on both noise level and exposure time,” says Sasha Brown, an occupational audiologist with WorkSafeBC. “For example, brief exposure to extremely loud noise or sustained exposure to moderate levels can be equally damaging to hearing.”

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Promoting Safety in the Workplace: Sharing Innovations for a Safer Industry

Manufacturing Advisory Group
May 28, 2025
Category: Special Feature
Region: Canada West

Sharing safety innovations is vital for sawmills and wood fibre manufacturing because it encourages a spirit of continuous safety improvement. By exchanging ideas and practical solutions, we collectively reduce risks and foster a culture of continuous improvement, where the well-being of every worker is front and centre. The BC Forest Safety Council, in collaboration with the Manufacturing Advisory Group (MAG), encourage companies to share their safety innovation ideas to reinforce a shared commitment to industry-wide safety excellence. This Safety Innovation initiative is designed to ensure that safety remains a top priority as the industry evolves. Safety innovations are typically developed by workers who have identified an area of concern.

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Resource Road Safety

BC Forest Safety Council
May 28, 2025
Category: Special Feature
Region: Canada West

Resource roads are built to develop and protect BC’s natural resources. They provide access for industrial and recreational users but are not constructed to the same standards as highways. All resource road users play a key role in ensuring safe passage on these roads. Always exercise caution and have an understanding of the risks. Most resource roads have gravel surfaces and are often single lanes with limited visibility due to roadside brush and sharp, winding turns and curves. They often have soft shoulders, minimal ditches, steeper grades, changing road surfaces with loose or rough gravel and potholes. Drivers should always read and understand the signs at the start of the road and along the way as they provide important information about the road, radio channel, restrictions, expected traffic and other hazards and obstacles you may encounter while driving.

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Ensuring Worker Safety During Wind Events

Woodlots BC
May 28, 2025
Category: Special Feature
Region: Canada West

The frequency and magnitude of fall and winter storms characterized by heavy rainfall and high winds seem to be increasing. A recent BC Hydro survey finds that 3 in 5 British Columbians say the worst fall/winter storm they have ever experienced has been within the past 5 years. BC Hydro data shows that severe weather events in the last 3 to 5 years have led to some of the most damaging storms in BC Hydro’s history. BC’s forest health aerial surveys show that the area of windthrown timber in 2021 (12,600+ ha) was 3 times the average over the last decade. Wind events pose significant risks to people working on and traveling to and from woodlots and community forests. This bulletin provides licensees, managers and workers with guidance and resources they can use to plan and conduct operations that minimize risk of injury to workers during those events.

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Personal Protective Equipment Programs

By Gerard Messier
The Truck LoggerBC Magazine
May 27, 2025
Category: Special Feature
Region: Canada, Canada West

Although personal protective equipment (PPE) shouldn’t be solely relied upon to protect workers from injuries, it is an important part of safety programs and should be chosen to make sure it offers the best protection available. The following focuses on considerations for supervisors and owners when developing a PPE program. Components of a good PPE program include: Regulation Check; Planning; Appropriate Selection; Fitting; Education and Training; Supervisor and Management Support; Inspection and Maintenance; and Auditing the Program. Get all the details by clicking the Read More!

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Reducing the Risk of Musculoskeletal Injuries for BC Forestry Workers

BC Forest Safety Council
May 27, 2025
Category: Special Feature
Region: Canada West

Musculoskeletal injuries (MSIs) remain one of the most common and costly types of workplace injuries in BC’s forestry sector. These injuries, which affect muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints, often result from repetitive motion, overexertion, awkward postures or prolonged physical strain. Given the physically demanding nature of forestry work, addressing MSI risks is essential to protecting worker health and maintaining productivity. By implementing ergonomic practices, promoting proper body mechanics and fostering a culture of early reporting and prevention, employers and workers can work together to significantly reduce the occurrence and impact of MSIs across the industry. Although musculoskeletal injuries can affect workers across all areas of forestry, certain roles are particularly vulnerable due to the physical demands and repetitive nature of their tasks.

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Managing risks in steep slope harvesting: safety in challenging terrain

WorkSafeBC
May 27, 2025
Category: Special Feature
Region: Canada West

Steep slope harvesting (SSH) enables forestry operations on challenging and often hazardous terrain, allowing access to valuable timber resources. But with this access comes increased risk. From equipment instability to terrain hazards, safe operations on steep ground require a clear understanding of the work environment and strong mitigation strategies. Steep slope harvesting can be approached in several ways, each with its own set of challenges and safety considerations. …Steep slope harvesting presents significant risks, but with careful planning, proper equipment, and a culture of safety, these risks can be managed. “Safety is not a one-time effort but an ongoing process that requires daily attention,” says Pawlowski. “By consistently prioritizing hazard assessment, equipment suitability, proper setup, and staying in the clear, employers and workers can minimize risks and help ensure that steep slope harvesting remains a safe and effective method of timber harvesting.”

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Business & Politics

Ottawa not looking to ‘penalize’ Canadian firms offshoring jobs to US

By Sean Boynton
Global News
May 27, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada

The federal government has no plans to use legislative tools to penalize Canadian businesses for offshoring jobs to the United States or other countries to avoid American tariffs, the finance ministry says. The clarifying statement comes after Unifor urged Ottawa last week to use existing measures to prevent the loss of Canadian jobs to south of the border, and strengthen the law through legislative amendments. “The government is not implementing legislative tools to penalize Canadian companies who relocate abroad,” a finance ministry official said. “On the contrary, the government has put in place measures to support Canadian companies so they can continue to do business at home.” …The statement comes as Parliament returns for its first session in more than five months, finally allowing legislators to consider measures to respond to US President Trump’s trade war with Canada.

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Ontario First Nations leaders warn of ‘conflict on the ground’ if controversial Bill 5 passes

By Ethan Lang
CBC News
May 26, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada

Ontario First Nations leaders say they want the province to kill a controversial bill. Bill 5, or the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, includes major changes to the province’s endangered species and environmental protection laws. The bill would create “special economic zones” that would suspend laws for certain projects. Premier Ford has said the Ring of Fire mineral deposit in northern Ontario and his proposed tunnel under Highway 401 would be given that special status under the proposed law. The bill has drawn criticism from First Nations, environmentalists and legal advocates. …Alvin Fiddler, grand chief of Nishnawbe Aski Nation, said if the bill is passed, First Nations communities will take a stand. …The Ford government has said the bill is intended to speed up approvals as an urgent response to the economic threats posed by President Trump and his tariffs. ….Energy and Mines Minister Stephen Lecce said Monday that the province is willing to consider changes.

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Powell River mayor proposes upping foresty’s allowable cut

By Paul Galinski
Powell River Peak
May 27, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Ron Woznow

City of Powell River Council voted to defer a Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) resolution proposed by mayor Ron Woznow until more research can be done. At the May 22 council meeting, Woznow read his resolution that recommended UBCM call upon the ministry of forests to take immediate steps to secure at least 45 million cubic metres of economically viable fibre for the 2025 calendar year, and that the ministry continue to increase access to economically viable fibre by five million cubic metres each year until achieving the annual allowable cut totals set by the chief forester. Woznow said the economic benefits of forestry in British Columbia are well known. …Councillor Cindy Elliott said on April 24, she went to Western Forest Products’ public advisory group meeting and lots of good information came out. She said she believes Woznow was trying to address the current undercut in the province.

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Garry Merkel and Shannon Janzen co-chairing new forestry support council

East Kootenay News Online Weekly
May 27, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada West

Garry Merkel

Shannon Janzen

Members of the newly formed Provincial Forest Advisory Council, co-chaired by an East Kootenay resident, are tasked with providing recommendations to government on advancing forest stewardship, while supporting communities and workers that rely on forests. Under the Cooperation and Responsible Government Accord 2025, the B.C. government and BC Green caucus have established the Provincial Forest Advisory Council. The council will provide recommendations to government to ensure there are clear and measurable outcomes that support a healthy forests, healthy ecosystems and a healthy forestry sector. The council will consult with industry partners, such as the Provincial Forestry Forum and ecological, environmental and biodiversity experts, to engage the public for feedback and honour commitments to work in partnership with First Nations. This community-driven approach will ensure the review is inclusive and focused on land-base certainty and sustainability.

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BC pulp mill fined for repeated pollution breaches

By Stefan Labbe
Business in Vancouver
May 26, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Domtar has been penalized $17,200 for nearly two dozen failures to control the release of emissions from its Skookumchuck, BC, mill. The kraft pulp mill was found to have violated pollution levels 23 times over eight months starting in 2021, according to a decision from director of the Environmental Management Act Bryan Vroom. On at least six occasions, the decision found Domtar failed to keep smoke emissions from a wood-waste-fired power boiler below the 40 per cent opacity required under its 2013 permit. …The company disputed the findings, arguing that a nearby air quality impact assessment showed the impacts to human health were “not significant” and that the ministry failed to show the violations would impact workers. In his decision, Environmental Management Act Bryan Vroom responded by reducing the severity of the failures to a level of “low to none.” …Domtar acknowledged the penalties in an email, and said it is working with B.C.’s environment ministry in response.

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In crisis, is there opportunity for BC softwood lumber?

By Stuart Culbertson, former deputy minister in the B.C. government
Vancouver Sun
May 23, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Canada has challenged both duties in our free trade arrangements with the US and at the WTO — often successfully but to no avail. …Clearly, putting an end to 40 years of a softwood lumber trade war should be a top priority for Canada in its list of fixes it seeks in any CUSMA renegotiation. …Nevertheless, a looming trade crisis may present some interesting opportunities in the confluence of at least three policy priorities of the new federal and BC governments. …In the recent election, Carney promised to double the number of homes built in Canada annually to 500,000, entrusting the implementation of this plan to a new Build Canada Homes (BCH) agency that will act as a developer overseeing the construction of affordable housing. …Hence, BC lumber displaced from the US market can be redirected at home to drive down the cost of a significantly increased inventory of new homes throughout Canada.

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B.C. First Nations, cities unite to oppose infrastructure bill

By Graeme Wood
Business in Vancouver
May 22, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Robert Phillips

Leaders from local governments and First Nations held a joint press conference Thursday to voice their collective opposition to the B.C. government’s Bill 15, which aims to expedite infrastructure products. …“If passed into law, Bill 15 would give greater powers to cabinet to expedite the approval of projects it deems to be ‘provincially significant.’ First Nations and local governments have expressed concern with the lack of consultation prior to the legislation being drafted,” the two entities stated in a joint statement issued via the UBCM. …The FNLC said the bill may override the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, while local governments said they are concerned about local planning being disrupted. …Premier David Eby said the legislation would benefit both Indigenous communities and municipalities. …Robert Phillips, political executive member of the First Nations Summit, called the bill an “unfortunate and avoidable” process.

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Ontario PCS Protect Jobs and Drive Innovation in the Forest Sector

Ontario PC Party
May 28, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada East

The Ontario PC government is protecting good-paying jobs and building a stronger, more competitive forest sector by investing $11.3 million in innovation, clean energy, and modernization initiatives in northeastern Ontario. This strategic investment will boost efficiency, unlock new revenue streams, and create jobs—while helping ensure Ontario remains a leader in sustainable forestry. Funding will support the following organizations and projects: Hornepayne Power Inc. – $7.5 million to upgrade power generation equipment and expand into on-site green hydrogen production; GreenFirst Forest Products Inc. – Nearly $3 million, plus an additional $130,000, to modernize its biomass cogeneration plant and scale up production of torrefied pellets, a clean, renewable alternative to coal; Circular Carbon Canada Inc. – $500,000 to study the viability of using sawmills to host biochar-producing pyrolysis plants; and Wikwemikong Development Commission – $200,000 to advance the development of a new wood pellet and bio-coal production facility.

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Finance & Economics

BC housing minister ready to work with feds if ‘serious dollars on the table’

By Ish Sharma
Business in Vancouver
May 27, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Ravi Kahlon

BC Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon touched on a wide range of development and housing issues during an address to the Urban Development Institute, including infrastructure funding, planning standardization and housing targets. Kahlon said that a dialogue is needed around infrastructure funding to address BC’s challenges around housing supply and affordability. …Kahlon also took time to address the Housing Supply Act, which has stirred controversy due to province’s ability to set housing targets that municipalities must meet based on their population and growth projections. …Kahlon’s UDI appearance comes as B.C. municipalities are required to update their official community plans and zoning bylaws by year’s end to include 20 years of housing needs. The OCPs will require updates every five years. The City of Vancouver will have its first ever city-wide official development plan by June 2026.

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Atlas Engineered Products Reports First Quarter 2025 Financial and Operating Results, Including YoY Revenue Increase of 21%

Atlas Engineered Products
May 27, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Nanaimo, BC Atlas Engineered Products is pleased to announce its financial and operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2025. All amounts are presented in Canadian dollars. 

  • Revenue of $11M, representing an increase of 21% year-over-year
  • Wall Panel revenue increased by 42% year-over-year
  • Engineered Wood Products revenue increased by 30% year-over-year
  • Adjusted EBITDA of $586,666, representing an increase of 137% year-over-year

Hadi Abassi, President and CEO of AEP, commented: “Despite the housing start statistics and convoluted political and economic climates, the Company delivered a 21% increase in revenue over last year and worked diligently to drive organic growth in wall panels and engineered wood products, in addition to increasing production on roof trusses. I am encouraged by the start of 2025 to continue our organic growth initiatives across Canada and strategic acquisitions that will further strengthen our geographical footprint.”

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Ontario government will spend more—for less housing

By Jake Fuss and Austin Thompson
The Fraser Institute
May 26, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, Canada East

To state the obvious, in Ontario homebuilding is not keeping pace with population growth. This imbalance is driving sky-high home prices and rents, not only in the GTA but many other Ontario cities. What’s to be done? In the Ford government’s recent budget, “housing” appears not as a central theme but as one of several areas to receive “support” in light of Trump’s tariffs, mainly in the form of more money for local infrastructure. …And as part of this “housing” spending spree, the Ford government will continue to spend millions on the Community Infrastructure Fund—which targets smaller communities—and programs to encourage skilled trades, which could support housing development. … The Ontario government has already spent billions on its housing strategy, yet has not moved the needle on housing supply. Even Ford’s new budget with its massive housing “support” includes an abysmal forecast for new home construction.

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

Paper’s renaissance: Walking the tightrope of sustainability and innovation

Sustainable Packaging News
May 27, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, United States

Packaging is going back to its roots. Long before the advent of plastics, before the rise of mass production and the widespread adoption of synthetic materials, early civilisations relied on what the natural world had to offer – pressed bark, woven plant fibres, and rudimentary pulps – to store and transport food and goods. Paper, in particular, has long served as a trusted material for containment and communication alike. Today, that ancient material is undergoing a resurgence and is evolving to not only meet contemporary functional needs but also to respond to an urgent call for environmental responsibility. The rapid shift away from single-use plastic has created new momentum behind paper-based alternatives. From luxury goods wrapped in soft textured, bespoke papers to barrier coated containers engineered for performance and recyclability, fibre-based packaging is no longer confined to brown boxes or rustic aesthetics. It is becoming more refined, more versatile, and, crucially, more sustainable – at least on the surface.

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Limberlost Place: Inside Canada’s First Institutional Mass Timber Tower

By Julian Mirabelli
Urban Toronto
May 28, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada East

George Brown College’s Limberlost Place is almost ready for occupancy. The innovative 10-storey mass timber tower is a collection of firsts for the college, the city, and even the country. …the building is loaded with sustainable design moves and boasts net-zero carbon emissions, a LEED Gold certification, and compliance with the Toronto Green Standard Tier 4. Most notably, it sets an important precedent as the first institutional mass timber tower in Canada. …The most striking aspect of the building is the quantity of exposed wood that is visible throughout. There was apparently no limit to the amount of timber that is left exposed as it is all typically treated with fire-retardant products, so the design team opted for roughly 50% of the structure to be exposed. This is complemented by wood wall and ceiling finishes, and accents throughout. There is no mistaking that this building is a showcase for the versatility of wood construction.

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La Pêche Town Hall to become first Passive House-certified institutional building in Quebec

Canadian Architect
May 27, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada East

The new La Pêche Town Hall, built on a promontory facing Route Principale, is a mass timber, highly energy-efficient building that will soon become the first Passive House-certified institutional building in Quebec. Rectangular in shape and located on an east-west axis, the building, by BGLA architecture + urban design, features a long façade which faces directly south onto the main road. This façade offers views of the hills of Gatineau Park from the inside, while also using natural solar gain to serve as the building’s primary heating source. The presence of wood is felt inside and outside the project. Eastern cedar cladding envelops all the façades, while the glulam and cross-laminated timber structure is exposed and highlighted in each of the interior spaces.

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CLT superstructure ready to rise on former parking lot in Kensington Market

By Don Procter
The Daily Commercial News
May 26, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada East

This summer a superstructure for a four-storey housing complex will rise on a former public parking lot in Toronto’s Kensington Market. What is novel about the 78-unit affordable housing project is that, other than a concrete foundation, it will be constructed of cross-laminated timber (CLT), including the elevator core. Design firm Montgomery Sisam Architects chose a CLT superstructure (floors, roof, exterior walls) partly because it can be erected by a single trade in six to eight weeks, rather than the months required for conventional concrete construction, says Daniel Ling, a principal of Montgomery Sisam. The complex, which is being built under the City of Toronto’s Rapid Housing Initiative phase three, also earns sustainability credentials. The embodied carbon intensity targeted for the CLT exceeds the “extra-low emission requirements” under the Toronto Green Standard.

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Forestry

World Wildlife Fund Canada scaling up seed orchard program to address seed shortage across Canada

By World Wildlife Fund Canada
Cision Newswire
May 29, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

TORONTO – This spring, WWF-Canada is scaling up an initiative to help restore ecosystems across Canada by increasing the native plant seed supply. The organization awarded grants to 13 First Nations, organizations and businesses in five provinces to support the establishment and expansion of seed orchards — native plant growing operations that produce the locally-sourced seed needed for habitat restoration projects. Restoring healthy ecosystems across hundreds of thousands of hectares in Canada is necessary to protect wildlife species and fight climate change, but there aren’t enough native plants available to do so on the scale that’s needed (millions or even billions of plants). Seed orchards increase supply by producing seed from native plants grown for that purpose, replacing the need to harvest seeds from plants out in nature, which can negatively impact those wild plant populations and their local ecosystems.

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Canada Invests in Green Jobs for Youth

By Natural Resources Canada
The Government of Canada
May 28, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

OTTAWA, ON—The Honourable Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, and the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Jobs and Families, announced $15 million to create 470 employment and skills training opportunities for youth across Canada in natural resources sectors including energy, forestry, mining, earth sciences and clean technology. Through the Science and Technology Internship Program (STIP) – Green Jobs, employers in natural resources sectors can apply for funding to hire, train and mentor youth aged 15 to 30 for up to 12 months. These job opportunities will ensure that Canada’s natural resources sectors remain a source of economic growth and prosperity in the future. STIP – Green Jobs is part of the Government of Canada’s Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS), which supports youth in gaining the hands-on skills and experience they need to effectively transition into the labour market.

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First fire ban coming for Vancouver Island & Coastal Fire Centre

Nanaimo News Now
May 28, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

NANAIMO — Larger, open fires are set to be banned for the summer months, effective at the end of this week. The Coastal Fire Centre will enact a sweeping ban on category two and three fires beginning at noon on Friday, May 30, a typical first step in their fire prevention efforts every summer. Banned across Vancouver Island and a vast majority of coastal B.C. will be large burn piles or burns over stubble or grass to certain measurements. Also banned are fireworks, exploding targets, burn barrels and cages, air curtain burners and other, similar open flames. …“Anyone found in contravention of an open fire prohibition may be issued a violation ticket for $1,150, required to pay an administrative penalty of up to $10,000 or, if convicted in court, fined up to $100,000 and/or sentenced to one year in jail,” the BC Wildfire Services stated.

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AISIX Solutions Inc. Launches New Website Offering Wildfire Risk Solutions for Key Industries

AISIX Solutions Inc.
May 28, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Vancouver, BC — AISIX Solutions Inc., a wildfire risk assessment and analytics solutions provider, unveiled its newly redesigned website at www.aisix.ca. The platform is now purpose-built to help industry professionals in insurance, government, engineering, finance, and natural resources discover sector-specific climate risk solutions, explore data-driven case studies, and request live product demos with ease. AISIX’s wildfire intelligence tools-such as Wildfire 3.0MineSafe Wildfire are now accessible through a simplified and intuitive digital experience. Visitors can explore how AISIX’s high-resolution climate risk datasets and APIs power mission-critical decisions for asset protection, regulatory reporting, and long-term resilience planning.

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Q&A with Forest Professionals of BC Chief Executive Officer Christine Gelowitz

By Branchlines
University of British Columbia, Faculty of Forestry
May 28, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Christine Gelowitz

Forest Professionals of BC Chief Executive Officer Christine Gelowitz stepped into her current role as CEO of Forest Professionals British Columbia (FPBC), formerly the Association of BC Forest Professionals, with a wealth of forest policy knowledge. She completed a Bachelor of Science in natural resource management, majoring in forestry from the University of Northern BC, and found her career footing managing large, multi-year contracts with Forest Renewal BC. Later, Christine worked as a research officer with the Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management and later held several senior leadership positions with the BC Ministry of Forests, largely in forest policy and planning. “I am most proud of overseeing the shift in the regulation of professional forestry that occurred due to the passage of the Professional Governance Act in 2018, replacing the Foresters Act that was first established in 1947. We had 14 months to revamp FPBC to legally operate under the Act,” said Gelowitz.

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In a world on fire, making the case for burning more

By Matt Simmons
The Narwhal
May 29, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Kevin Kriese

In Smithers, B.C., Kevin Kriese explains why he believes people need to change how they think about wildfire. A former assistant deputy minister with the provincial government and recently retired chair of the B.C. Forest Practices Board, Kriese is now a senior wildfire analyst with the POLIS wildfire resilience project. He’s tall and athletic (an avid skier) and a passionate advocate for land-based solutions to ecological challenges. He speaks with the confidence of someone who has spent his entire career navigating seemingly intractable problems — but admits getting people on board with the idea of living with more fire on the land is no easy task. “Fires do have this destructive force to communities — and they should be stopped from that destruction,” he says. “At the same time, if you understand the ecology, we want more of it. It’s that dichotomy that we’re trying to get at.”

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Better Protecting Communities and Forests: Wildfire Risk Reduction Project Completed Near Merritt

Forest Enhancement Society of BC
May 27, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Merritt, B.C. The Lower Nicola Indian Band Development Corporation (LNIBDC) has completed wildfire risk reduction treatments in the Steffens Estates subdivision, north of the Lower Nicola Indian Band’s Mameet Indian Reserve #1, approximately 17 kilometres north of the city of Merritt. The project, which combined harvesting and post-harvest fuel reduction treatments, was conducted by crews from Shulus Forest Enterprises LP, the forestry division of the LNIBDC, with assistance from Forsite Consultants Ltd. and funding support from the Forest Enhancement Society of BC. The work will help reduce wildfire risk to communities, enhance forest resilience, and maintain critical wildlife features while generating significant economic and employment opportunities for the LNIBDC. …The LNIBDC contracted Forsite to assist in creating the fuel management prescription, which helped guide and monitor the crew’s activities as treatments were implemented, ensuring all required wildfire risk reduction outcomes were achieved.

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Upload Photos Win $$! Alberta Forest Products Association Raffle Contest

Alberta Forest Products Association
May 23, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

To celebrate the dedication of our industry and our collective love for Alberta forests, the Alberta Forest Products Association (AFPA), will be hosting a raffle The prize? Be entered into a draw for a chance to win a $200 Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) or Marks Work Warehouse gift card (choice between the two) and a Love AB Forests merch item of your choosing. The Alberta forest Media Catalogue is an extensive digital archive that houses a wide range of media related to Alberta’s forests and forestry sector. This includes photos, videos, audio files, documents, and more. The catalogue is designed to be a central repository where members can easily upload, tag, share, and search for forestry-related media. 

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2025 International Model Forest Network Global Forum

Ontario Woodlot Association
May 27, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

The Eastern Ontario Model Forest (EOMF) and the Ontario Woodlot Association (OWA) are honoured to be organizing the 2025 International Model Forest Network (IMFN) Global Forum to take place from May 26-30th, 2025 in Kemptville, Ontario, Canada at the Kemptville Campus Education and Community Centre. The event will attract up to 200 delegates representing over 60 Model Forests from over 30 countries around the world. The IMFN Global Forum is a business, technical, and networking meeting in which members share knowledge, review their accomplishments, address challenges, and agree on Networkwide and other strategic plans and initiatives for the threeyear period following the Global Forum. …The 2025 IMFN Global Forum will include a series of parallel regional annual governance meetings, a multi-day IMFN Global Forum / IMFN Assembly, an IMFN Climate knowledge consolidation workshop, as well as several one-day field tour options within the host Model Forest to learn from local experiences and landscape governance processes.

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Digging deep: Fieldwork helping Canada prepare for a hotter, drier future

By Andrea Lawson
McMaster University
May 26, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada East

A love of the outdoors and a deep desire to make a meaningful impact on communities affected by climate change keeps Greg Verkaik going back to Western Canada. The PhD student studies peatlands and their role in wildfires. Climate change isn’t an abstract concept in his research, it’s something he’s been seeing and experiencing in the landscapes he’s visited since 2018 as part of this work. The 2025 wildfire season is already shaping up to be another intense year for Canada. Early signs point to another active and dangerous season, particularly in Western Canada. As peatlands dry and fire seasons lengthen, the risk of deep-burning, smouldering fires – the kind that can persist underground and reignite months later, continues to grow. This only strengthens Verkaik’s commitment to his research, which aims to better understand how peatlands influence wildfire behaviour and how they might be managed to reduce risk.

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Forest Fires

Manitoba declares provincewide state of emergency over wildfires

By Arturo Chang
CBC News
May 28, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada West

Manitoba has declared a provincewide state of emergency as wildfires continue to threaten communities across the province.  An emergency alert issued at around 5:25 p.m. CT Wednesday said the measure was due to rapidly spreading wildfires and extreme fire conditions in northern and eastern Manitoba. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said the “significant step” will involve the evacuation of about 17,000 people as fires continued to intensify throughout Wednesday. “This is the largest evacuation Manitoba will have seen in most people’s living memory,” Kinew said Wednesday. It’s believed to be the largest evacuation since 1997, when the “Flood of the Century” in the Red River valley forced about 25,000 people from their homes. Evacuation orders have been issued for the city of Flin Flon, Pimicikamak Cree Nation and the northern community of Cross Lake, along with Pukatawagan Cree Nation, also known as Mathias Colomb First Nation, Kinew said.

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Northern Alberta community begins welcoming wildfire evacuees

CBC News
May 27, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

Fire crews are facing a challenging day as a wildfire encroaches on the town of Swan Hills in northern Alberta. An evacuation order was issued shortly after 6 p.m. Monday as the flames of the Edith Lake wildfire drew closer to the town of more than 1,300 people. A wildfire detected Sunday is now burning out of control seven kilometres from the edge of town, which is nestled in the boreal forest about 220 kilometres northwest of Edmonton. The blaze, fanned by powerful and unpredictable winds, has burned close to 2,300 hectares since it was first spotted. A provincial fire weather forecast is predicting gusty and shifting winds and rising temperatures on Tuesday and the national fire danger is listed as extreme across much of the province. As of noon Tuesday, there were seven out-of-control wildfires in Alberta.

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Highway reopened as fire burns near Churchill Falls

By Maddie Ryan
CBC News
May 28, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

Emergency crews are dealing with a fire in the woods east of Churchill Falls — an area of central Labrador currently under an extreme fire risk warning. The provincial government confirmed the fire is moving east, away from the town. It said crews and two water bombers were deployed. The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary closed part of the Trans-Labrador Highway between the company town and Happy Valley-Goose Bay, 300 kilometres east along the isolated road, for a stint Wednesday night. It has since reopened. N.L. Hydro said helicopters fought the fire from the air. The fire knocked out the power in Labrador City and Wabush for nearly three hours. N.L. Hydro restored electricity to all customers shortly after 9 p.m.

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Huge forest fire northwest of Kenora has grown

By Mike Stimpson
Northwest Ontario News
May 28, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada East

KENORA, Ontario – The wildfire north of Wabaseemoong Independent Nations is “being held” while the giant blaze west of the community is still a growing concern, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources. An evacuation order for the area, including Wabaseemoong, remains in place. The ministry changed the status of Kenora 14, a 1,600-hectare fire north of Wabaseemoong, last week to “being held.” The status means Kenora 14 is not likely to spread beyond existing boundaries under current weather conditions. …MNR fire information officer Alison Bezubiak said Kenora 20, on the other hand, has grown a little to more than 32,000 hectares – 29,729 hectares in Ontario, the remainder in Manitoba. The northeast end of the wildfire is within two kilometres of the community, she said. “Fire Ranger crews have completed values protection with sprinklers on all structures within the community and helicopter bucketing is ongoing on hot spots nearest to the community,” she added.

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Northwest Region Wildfire Update: 12 Active Fires, Hazard Remains Extreme as Crews Battle New Starts

News Net Ledger
May 28, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada East

Thunder Bay – The Northwest Fire Region continues to face escalating wildfire activity, with 12 active fires currently being managed across the region. According to Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services, 4 of the fires are not under control, 3 are being held, and 5 are under control. As of Tuesday evening, five new wildland fires were confirmed: THUNDER BAY 13: Located at the south end of Dog Lake in Silver Falls Provincial Park, this 0.1-hectare fire is not under control. NIPIGON 3: Located 2 km west of Longlac, along the north end of Long Lake, this 0.1-hectare fire remains uncontrolled. RED LAKE 9: Found on the east side of Pikangikum First Nation beside Pikangikum Lake, this 0.1-hectare fire is now out. …The wildland fire hazard is high to extreme across most of the Northwest Region, driven by persistent dry conditions and strong winds.

Related coverage in Kenora Online: Poor air quality expected in Fort Frances, Kenora areas due to forest fires

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