US President Trump has said he is “not looking to renew” the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). “I made the deal and the primary reason I made the deal is that NAFTA was the worst trade deal I’ve ever seen. Yeah. And I made it better. But I had the right to terminate.” …“We don’t need anything to Canada has, we don’t need anything that Mexico has, but they need everything that we have, and they have to treat us better.” …“With Mexico and Canada, we have trade deficits. We should have surpluses with them. We don’t need their cars. We don’t need their lumber. We don’t need their energy.” …CUSMA’s text allows each country the opportunity to extend the agreement for another 16 years or launch a series of annual reviews.
Related coverage by
- Ashleigh Fields in The Hill: Trump says he man not renew USMCA
- Mike Crawley in CBC News: Trump is unlikely to rip up CUSMA. Here’s why
- Oklahoma Farm Report: Agriculture Groups to Congress: USMCA Critical to Farmers
In addition to its attention-grabbing National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, last week the federal government launched its nationwide Forest Sector Action Plan. The premise behind these national plans and strategies is that individuals and businesses are incapable of managing their own affairs, and so need guidance from an all-wise federal government. …One excellent reason for skepticism about national government planning is given by the government itself. “Canada’s forest sector has faced crisis after crisis over the past 20 years,” it begins. Three sentences later, it says: “For decades, governments have delivered programs to promote investment, research, innovation, Indigenous involvement and market diversification in Canada’s forest sector.” If government forestry programs have produced crisis after crisis for decades, the idea that even more government planning will help is optimistic, to say the least. The action plan is full of central-planning interventions that have failed across industries for decades.
The US Trade Representative has determined that several Brazilian acts, policies, and practices are actionable under Section 301 and has proposed tariffs of 25% on all goods of Brazil, with specified exemptions and an annex of excluded products. …The determination covers multiple areas, including illegal deforestation, and states that timber and agricultural production linked to illegal deforestation can burden U.S. commerce by lowering costs for competing products and distorting prices. The notice describes timber-sector fraud risks, including the laundering of illegally harvested timber through supply chains, and states that illegally sourced timber products can devalue legally sourced timber prices by an estimated 7% to 16%. On wood-related findings, the notice references concerns that Brazilian products may be made with timber harvested illegally. It also describes limits in auditing and verification under Brazil’s Forest Code registration system. …The notice sets a public comment schedule that opens June 1, 2026.
GOODLAND TOWNSHIP, Michigan – Firefighters were on scene for roughly 10 hours working to put out a l
JASPER County, Georgia — Firemen from the Jasper, Tri-Community, Beech Grove, East End Fire, Lake Rayburn and Angelina Fire Departments have all converged on the Lincoln Lumber Mill where a fire in the kiln has sent thick smoke into the air that can be seen for miles. No injuries have been reported. Mike Lout with our media partner KJAS reports the fire broke out this morning at the mill off Highway 96, just south of Jasper. First responders say the fire broke out in the dryer house or kiln of the operation. Firemen have so far been able to limit the fire to the drying house. However, flames and smoke are filling the building and firemen are continuing to pump water into the structure.
The Bank of Canada is leaving its benchmark interest rate unchanged as it tries to chart a course through global uncertainty. The central bank’s policy rate remains at 2.25 per cent today after its fifth consecutive hold. Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says in prepared remarks that the economy was softer than expected in the first quarter of the year but global oil prices are also staying higher than first thought, which could keep the annual rate of inflation near three per cent for the next few months. The Bank of Canada can’t effectively respond to rising inflation and a weaker economy at the same time, so Macklem says leaving the policy rate unchanged balances those risks. The central bank sees a rebound in economic growth on the horizon but Macklem warns uncertainty is high around the war in Iran and US trade policy.
There have been consistent signs that the housing market is poised for a rebound. Russ Taylor has been tracking North American lumber markets for decades. The data, he said, keeps telling a different story. …”If things are unaffordable and there’s uncertainty and consumer confidence is weak, then nothing happens. People might be saving more money if they’re not spending it, but everyone’s worried about jobs and everything else, so they’re not spending.” The number Taylor keeps coming back to is lumber consumption. In 2016, the country consumed roughly 50 billion board feet. In 2025, the number was almost exactly the same. Ten years of demographic tailwinds, rising equity, and persistent housing shortage arguments, and consumption has not budged. …Housing starts have been declining every year since their 2021 peak, and Taylor expects 2026 to continue that trend. Repair and remodeling, which accounts for roughly 40% of US lumber consumption, has been similarly stagnant since the COVID period.
Annual inflation rose to a three-year-high of 4.2% in May, underscoring how elevated energy prices are rippling through the US economy, according to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Prices rose 0.5% on a monthly basis, driven higher by the US-Israeli war with Iran, the latest Consumer Price Index shows. The higher cost of energy accounted for 60% of the monthly increase. …“[4.2%] is still too hot for comfort, but the more important news was that the increase was concentrated mainly in energy, especially gasoline, rather than spreading widely across the economy,” economist Sung Won Sohn, at Loyola Marymount University. …May’s release is the first inflation report since Kevin Warsh was sworn in as the chair of the Federal Reserve, succeeding Jerome Powell. With inflation moving in the wrong direction and the labor market showing signs of resilience, economists expect the US central bank to keep rates unchanged — or even consider raising them.
Mortgage rates continued to increase in May as inflation accelerated. According to Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.41% in May, up 7 basis points over April. Since the conflict in the Middle East began, the 30-year mortgage rate has increased by 36 basis points. The average 15-year rate averaged 5.76% in May, up 7 bps from April, and up 33 basis points since the end of February. Even so, both rates remain lower than a year ago by 41 bps and 19 bps, respectively. The 10-year Treasury yield, a key benchmark for long-term borrowing, averaged 4.47% in May, 16 bps higher than the previous month. …Persistently high inflation has also strained household budgets. As people used more of their disposable income or drew down on savings to cover everyday expenses, the personal saving rate fell to 2.6% in April. The rate was the lowest since June 2022 when CPI was at its peak.
NOVA SCOTIA — When Tricia Murray rebuilt her home after the devastating 2023 wildfires, she expected her insurance premiums to soar. …Instead, her premium dropped by 12%… because her new home uses modern, fire-resistant materials and incorporates a buffer zone. Murray’s experience highlights a shift in how insurance companies calculate risk. For decades, insurers relied purely on history, it was classified as low risk. ….Instead of grading entire neighbourhoods under one risk level, insurers are using advanced tools like satellite imagery and laser scanning to assess individual properties. This new approach looks at specific, real-time details: The proximity of trees and brush to a structure. The type of roofing and building materials used. Property maintenance, such as clearing dry leaves from decks and removing wood chips near walls. Amanda Dean, at the Insurance Bureau of Canada, said those tools give homeowners the power to lower their own risks by following FireSmart Canada guidelines.
Mass timber has emerged as a leading material in the pursuit of low-carbon, sustainable construction. With its warm, natural aesthetic and significantly lower embodied carbon than steel and concrete, mass timber is increasingly used across a wide range of building types. However, unlike conventional steel or concrete structures, the very characteristics that make it appealing also create unique challenges. The constraints of mass timber construction, such as exposed structural elements and prefabricated panels with limited flexibility, demand a new level of precision and foresight in the design and coordination of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) systems. By anticipating the structural and aesthetic challenges of mass timber and engaging in thoughtful MEP design and coordination, engineers, architects, and specifiers can deliver high-performance buildings that not only celebrate the beauty of timber but also help meet decarbonization and sustainability goals. …Mass timber’s prefabricated nature and exposed aesthetics require precise, early-stage coordination among mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. 
IRELAND — Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon [et al]… welcomed the final report from the interdepartmental and industry 
The Canadian government recently announced that it will lease a fleet of 10 firefighting aircraft and other support assets to be deployed for the 2026 wildfire season. The plan will see these 10 leased aircraft being managed by the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre deployed strategically across the country and made available to provinces as they face intense wildfires. …This announcement follows the government’s fall 2025 budget announcement of a $316.7-million investment in Canada’s aerial wildfire-fighting capacity — an announcement that acknowledged a growing national challenge. …Canada’s wildfire aviation system remains fundamentally decentralized. What Canada lacks is a clearly defined national aerial response framework. That framework should establish how federally-funded aircraft are deployed, how they are prioritized when multiple provinces face simultaneous fires, and how they integrate with the emerging detection technologies — including satellite monitoring and long-endurance drones — that can identify fires earlier than ever before.
For two decades, Harold Larson helped battle wildfires across BC, Alberta, the US, often working shoulder-to-shoulder with structural firefighters. But at every one of those fires where he and his crew risked their safety alongside their municipal colleagues, there was one perplexing difference: According to the federal government, Mr. Larson was not classified as a firefighter at all. …It’s a holdover from wildland firefighting’s early decades, when the job wasn’t to protect homes, towns and lives – it was to protect timber values as part of the country’s forestry industry. …Canada’s wildland firefighters are seeking to join their municipal counterparts, a cause most recently championed by Vancouver Island MP Gord Johns. …As fire seasons continue to worsen, Mr. Larson said this only underscores the need for Ottawa to recognize that both structural and wildland firefighters are equally important when it comes to keeping people and communities safe. [to access the full story a Globe & Mail subscription is required]
Through the Forest Enhancement Society of BC, the Province is committing $20 million per year over three years. …This investment funds projects that reduce wildfire risk, restore forest ecosystems and improve the long-term health and resilience of B.C.’s forests. “The best wildfire is the one that never starts. The best way to protect communities is to work together to prevent them,” said Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests. …This year, 60 forest enhancement projects are receiving funding. These projects not only reduce wildfire risk, they also support forest-sector jobs in rural and remote communities. The projects include creating landscape-level fuel breaks, removing residual fuels, carrying out prescribed burns, and making improvements to egress routes that are important in the event of an emergency or evacuation. …“These projects reflect the innovation and commitment we continue to see from proponents throughout BC,” said Jason Fisher, executive director, FESBC.
CRESTON, BC — A Kootenay-based project is receiving provincial funding to convert forestry waste into a soil supplement, benefiting agriculture and forestry sectors. …Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Jobs and Economic Growth, said “By turning wood waste into valuable new products, this project is creating jobs, supporting local businesses and helping build a stronger future for the community.” …Through the Rural Economic Diversification and Infrastructure Program (REDIP), the Province is providing approximately $182,000 to Wildsight to support its Fire for Healthy Soils project in Creston. The funding supports a pilot project to convert wood waste into biochar, which is a stable, carbon-rich form of charcoal produced by heating organic waste in a low-oxygen environment. …The provincial investment will support Wildsight, the Creston Community Forest and the Regional District of Central Kootenay to collaboratively pilot a biochar business project using low-cost kiln technology.
Extreme drought and rising temperatures in the US are poised to overwhelm the Trump administration’s plans to control wildfire by logging federal forests, scientists say. …The drought is expected to lead to catastrophic wildfires that stand to become the new normal amid climate change, the researchers say. “The type of drought we’re seeing this year across the West is a glimpse into the future,” said Erica Fleishman, at Oregon State University. …The US is on track in 2026 for more wildfires than 2025, a much wetter year. More than 5 million acres burned last year. As of April, 1.8 million acres had burned so far across the US—double the acres burned in the same period last year. Trump administration officials say wildfire risk makes it imperative to log forests and help the timber industry. The administration is taking an aggressive approach to quickly suppress wildfires as it increases logging by 25% this year.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins claims “moving the Forest Service closer to the forests we manage is an essential action that will improve our core mission of managing our forests.” That is sophistry — a failed attempt to justify an ill-advised, destructive reorganization plan to remove Forest Service headquarters from Washington and radically cut its research infrastructure. Her fallacy implies that adjacent communities have a superior claim on national forests. …Government nihilists and dismantlers have for years peddled the “proximity begets policy expertise” canard, without evidence. …Meanwhile, Tom Schultz, the chief of the Forest Service, made clear his lingering allegiance to his former employer’s interests. Last month, he laid them out to House appropriators: “timber sales, critical minerals permitting, grazing allotment management.” That timber, he said, is “vital to the nation’s well-being.” In reality, only 6 percent of the total timber supply in the country comes from national forests.
On the B.C. government website, you can read the following: “B.C. is a world leader in sustainable forest management”. …However, if you talk to BC forest ecologist Rachel Holt… or former B.C. Liberal MLA Mike Morris, you get a very different perspective. …The Council of Forest Industries says, “in BC. three to four tree seedlings are planted for every tree that is cut”. That does not solve the problem. In the last 40 years, the rate of cutting has sped up. That means there are many very young forests, not suitable for wildlife habitat and not suitable for logging. …Several groups in BC are pushing for less logging, protection of our remaining primary forests and more ecologically sound forestry practices. The down side? Large forestry companies make less profit. The upside? More jobs, healthy forests… fewer wild fires and fewer greenhouse gases.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – An email dropped into the US Department of Agriculture staffer’s inbox this spring. The Minnesota-based worker was about find out where she would be asked to relocate with her family. …The federal government employee had been hired to work remotely. However, her entire team was now being told to move to a new city. …The USDA, the massive federal department covering agriculture policy to anti-poverty food programs to the forest service, is consolidating offices across agencies, moving many workers out DC into select hubs. In Minnesota, USDA lost 21% of its 1,800 employees between fiscal year 2025 and 2026, coinciding with the start of President Donald Trump’s second term. It was the hardest hit of the federal agencies operating in the state. …The latest move also is different than conservation program cuts announced this spring or the USDA-run U.S. Forest Service announcing closure of research sites, including two in northern Minnesota.