On 15 April 2019, a fire ripped through the Notre-Dame de Paris, engulfing the entire original oak roof. Known as ‘la forêt’ or ‘the forest’, the oak timbers had stood for 800 years prior to their destruction. From that point on, the race was on to work out how it could be rebuilt and who could do the work. Now as members as the public await eagerly to see the restored appearance of the iconic landmark – opening on Sunday 7 December – it’s more important than ever to recognise the immense body of work required to achieve its rebuilding. In the initial days and weeks after the fire, many doubted whether the skills still existed to rebuild Notre-Dame’s ancient timber roof.
And if it weren’t for a body known as Charpentiers sans Frontières (Carpenters without Borders) and their founder, François Calame, they more than likely would have been proved right. …One of the band of 25 itinerant carpenters who answered that call was former Royal Marines commando Mike Dennis. …A stint in Canada saw him help restore a trestle bridge on Vancouver Island. …The carpenters are unfazed that their craftsmanship will be hidden away to the public upon the Notre Dame’s opening. They know it’s there and that they built it. Hopefully, in 800 years, it will still be there. Dennis has one final thought. He says it was great that they were paid as much as Ateliers Desmonds and the restoration project could afford, but adds: ‘The truth is, we would have come and built this for free.’
VANCOUVER — Western Forest Products announced that the Company and the United Steelworkers Local 1-1937 (USW) have agreed to the terms of a tentative collective agreement. The USW represents approximately 1,000 Western employees. The tentative agreement is subject to a ratification vote by USW membership, which is expected to occur before the end of the year. The USW bargaining committee has advised that they will be recommending that its members accept this agreement. …Steven Hofer, President and CEO of Western Forest Products said, “A new collective agreement will provide critical business certainty to the Company as we look to accelerate the transition to higher value products through reinvestment in our operations. I want to thank the bargaining team members for their work to deliver a fair and balanced agreement.”
When U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said he would immediately put tariffs on all goods being imported from Canada, Mexico, and China, people sat up and paid attention. Not just politicians but the general populations of the countries involved, even Americans. …A tariff is a tax or import duty placed by one country on imports from another country or countries. It effectively raises the cost of bringing foreign goods into a country and is usually used as a form of political leverage, a form of increasing revenues or to protect domestic industries by the importing country. Perhaps the best-known tariff currently in place against Canada is the softwood lumber tariff. …This added cost to our lumber makes it more expensive to U.S. buyers than a U.S.-produced product. …A tariff is a lose/lose deal.
Quebec’s premier is raising concerns about the potential impact of the tariff proposed by US president-elect on the province’s forest industry. In a statement posted to social media on Sunday, François Legault said high interest rates and existing duties on softwood lumber were already putting pressure on the sector, which he said accounts for more than 50,000 jobs in Quebec. “It will be important to protect our economy and our businesses in the coming months, and we are already working on our strategy with the relevant ministers within the government,” he wrote in French. “I have great admiration for all the workers in our forestry industry, whether they are in logging, transportation, sawmills or reforestation.” Legault’s comments echo those of BC Premier David Eby. …“Even before Mr. Trump’s announcement, we were working to support a Quebec industry that is already affected by tariffs in the US: the forestry industry,” Legault said.
Re: Trump’s announcement of 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico. …While the announcement garnered much attention, few traders considered the threat credible, and the industry as a whole took a wait-and-see approach to the news. In Western S-P-F, upward price momentum paused as the US holiday approached. Buyers had an easier time covering immediate needs, and declined to extend inventories, especially in spots where winter weather had settled in. Lumber futures was little changed in early trading. Buyers across the South lacked urgency amid abundant supplies of most items. Downward price pressure was unabated. Many veteran traders noted that the price spread between Southern Pine and Western S-P-F was the widest they had seen in their careers and expressed surprise that species substitution was not more prevalent. In Coast markets, upward price momentum and tight supplies kept prices trending higher in uneventful trading. 
Policymakers are looking out for indications of what President-elect Donald Trump plans to do to ease housing costs next year. …Trump has spoken frequently of his proposed 60% tariff on goods from China, which he has said would create more manufacturing jobs in the US. …But housing economists and other experts say that could be bad news for building more affordable housing. Selma Hepp, chief economist for CoreLogic, a financial services company, said tariffs are one of her main concerns about the effects of a second Trump term. “One of the biggest concerns is not just lumber [costs], but the overall cost of materials, which have been going up,” Hepp said. Kurt Paulsen, professor of urban planning in the department of planning and landscape architecture at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, said building costs are already high from tariffs on Canadian lumber.
A founding member of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) has called on the green credentials body to “immediately terminate” sustainability certificates for Canada’s largest forestry company. The 
HOBART, Tasmania — In news that surprises no-one, a coalition of formerly ‘moderate’ green groups have renounced their apparent prior support for native forestry. Under the 
The strategy that the Trump administration could follow will have significant benefits for regions that desperately need the jobs: the coal mining sector and the forest products sector. …This well-proven co-firing strategy, which is already in place in many other countries, can provide certainty for the need for US produced coal, certainty for US coal mining jobs, and stimulate billions of dollars of new capital investment for the production of solid fuel derived from the by-products of the primary forest products sector. …By supporting the blending of 15% US produced bioresource derived solid fuel with 85% US produced coal in coal- fueled power plants, the strategy will support the continued operation of those power plants and therefore will sustain the demand for coal as part of the power generation fuel mix. The plan will also strongly support the otherwise fading markets for residual forest products.
SEATTLE – The wildfire smoke that blankets much of the American West each summer is likely more harmful than previously understood, especially to older people, scientists found. Research announced this week, and led by scientists at the University of Washington, discovered that prolonged exposure to the ultrafine particles in wildfire smoke heightens the risk of dementia for those 60 and older. …Joan Casey, an environmental epidemiologist at the University of Washington said, not only are older people at risk with the increasing exposure to wildfire smoke, but so too are those who can’t access air quality warnings, afford filtration or avoid outdoor exposure throughout the fire season. Casey partnered with scientists from the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, the University of California in San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco. …Dementia isn’t the only risk associated with wildfire smoke. Those with prolonged exposure could also suffer from respiratory or cardiovascular problems.