The Tree Frog News has been featuring the panels and speakers from the Truck Loggers Association convention over the last week. In today’s news are Friday’s panel and keynote speakers. For those who missed the coverage, are all of our summarized stories.
Day One – January 14, 2025
- The 81st Annual Truck Loggers Association Convention kicks off in Vancouver
- Markets and Economy with Rick Jeffery, Don Wright, and David Fell
- Fibre Supply with Jim Girvan, Paul Sadler and Jonathan Armstrong
- Inside BC Politics with Vaughn Palmer, Rob Shaw and Richard Zussman
- Government Update with Mackenzie Leine, Melissa Sanderson and Garry Merkel
- Improving Workplace Safety with Rob Moonen and Todd McDonald
Day Two – January 15, 2025
- Collaboration & Partnerships – First Nations with Lennard Joe, Ronnie Chickite and Klay Tindall
- Leader’s Luncheon with Forest Minister Ravi Parmar
- Collaboration & Partnerships – Industry with Kim Haakstad, Joe Nemeth, Bridgitte Anderson, and Peter Lister
Day Three – January 16, 2025
- BC is Burning with Carolyn Smyth, Rob Schweitzer and Jim McGrath
- Public Perceptions of Forestry with Bob Kronbauer and Helene Marcoux
- In Conversation: TLA with Interim Conservative Party Leader Trevor Halford
The final session of the Truck Loggers Association convention featured an on-stage conversation with Trevor Halford, Interim Leader of the Conservative Party of BC and current Leader of the Opposition, moderated by Vaughn Palmer. Joined by TLA President Dorian Uzzell, Vice President Bob Marquis, and Past President Aaron Service, the discussion focused on forestry policy, investment certainty, and regulatory conditions affecting contractors and communities. Halford pointed to permitting delays, regulatory complexity, and policy uncertainty as barriers to investment, arguing that businesses are prepared to invest but are being held back by slow approvals. Responding to questions on DRIPA, fibre supply, and the closure of the Crofton mill, Halford framed his party’s call for repeal and his broader critique around the need for clarity, predictability, and timely decision-making. Audience questions reinforced concerns about risk aversion within government and the need for clearer authority and accountability to sustain forestry employment across the province.
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Day Three of the Truck Loggers Association convention opened with a private screening of BC Is Burning, a documentary produced by professional forester Murray Wilson examining British Columbia’s escalating wildfire crisis and the forest conditions shaping fire behaviour. Introduced by moderator Vaughn Palmer as an “urgent, powerful documentary,” the film explores how fuel buildup, insect damage, drought, and decades of fire suppression have contributed to larger, more intense wildfires, while highlighting a range of forest management approaches being applied in BC and elsewhere, including California. The screening was followed by a Q&A moderated by Palmer with Dr. Carolyn Smyth of Natural Resources Canada, Rob Schweitzer of the Ministry of Forests and BC Wildfire Service, and Jim McGrath of Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc, all of whom also appeared in the film. Discussion focused on fuel mitigation, fire salvage, carbon dynamics, and policy and permitting constraints.
The second “fostering collaboration” panel of Day 2 at the TLA Convention brought together senior leaders from forestry and the broader business community to share organizational perspectives on BC’s economic and forest-sector challenges. Moderated by Vaughn Palmer, the session featured Bridget Anderson, President and CEO of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade; Peter Lister, Executive Director of the Truck Loggers Association; Kim Haakstad, President and CEO of the BC Council of Forest Industries (COFI); and Joe Nemeth, General Manager of the BC Pulp & Paper Coalition. Anderson addressed the wider provincial economic context, including growth, fiscal pressures, and business conditions. Lister focused on the state of the forest industry, fibre access, costs, and investment certainty. Haakstad examined competitiveness, tenure obligations, employment trends, and economic reconciliation. Nemeth spoke to the pulp and paper sector, highlighting cost structures, fibre availability, and conditions required for future investment.
At the TLA Convention’s Leader’s Luncheon, Forests Minister Ravi Parmar outlined the BC government’s current priorities for the forest sector, following a pre-recorded message from Premier David Eby, who is on a trade mission to India. Speaking from abroad, Eby emphasized strengthening international trade relationships and promoting BC products amid global uncertainty. Parmar said forestry is facing a convergence of challenges, including market volatility, high costs, trade pressures, and wildfire risk. Beginning with wildfire, he announced an expansion of the Risk Reduction Equipment Support Trust (REST) program, increasing provincial cost-sharing from 10% to 25% for eligible equipment and modifications used in fuel management and mitigation work. He also addressed fibre supply and Path to 45, stressing the need to remove operational barriers and improve planning certainty, and pointed to ongoing reforms at BC Timber Sales. Parmar emphasized balancing economic viability, environmental responsibility, and reconciliation, while underscoring the importance of international markets for BC’s forest products.
Day 2 of the TLA Convention opened with a panel on First Nations partnerships, examining how collaboration between Indigenous communities and industry is reshaping forestry in BC. Moderated by Vaughn Palmer, the session featured Lennard Joe, CEO of the BC First Nations Forestry Council; Chief Ronnie Chickite of the We Wai Kai Nation; and Klay Tindall, General Manager of Lil’wat Forestry Ventures. Joe outlined the rapid growth of First Nations tenure and investment, emphasizing operational feasibility, workforce capacity, and the need for partnerships grounded in mutual benefit. Chickite described We Wai Kai’s expansion from small licences to controlling nearly 220,000 cubic metres annually, highlighting reinvestment in employment, education, and long-term community stability. Tindall shared how partnerships helped transform Lil’wat Forestry Ventures, supporting capacity building, wildfire risk reduction, and stewardship in sensitive areas. In a discussion touching on DRIPA, the speakers emphasized inclusion, local economic benefit, and the importance of durable, collaborative governance in forestry.
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The Nova Scotia government is defending itself after three other provinces levelled accusations that it is being secretive and undermining Canada’s fight against the United States over softwood lumber. Nova Scotia is urging the US Department of Commerce to reject requests from Quebec, Alberta and Ontario for the Atlantic province to provide much greater detail on how it calculates fees charged for harvesting timber. …Nova Scotia asserts that it should not be blamed for its surveys of private timberland owners that could result in higher fees for cutting down trees when compared with other provinces. The US has levied countervailing duties, arguing that other provinces have tree-harvesting fees that are too low when compared with Nova Scotia, which is exempt from US lumber duties. …Lawyers for Quebec, Alberta and Ontario urged the Commerce Department to make inquiries, saying the US should even consider abandoning the private surveys as a benchmark. [to access the full story a Globe & Mail subscription is required]
The Canadian and American economies are woven together tightly. So when Donald Trump slapped 25% tariffs on Canadian imports last year, many economists—myself included saw a disaster looming. …The most exposed sectors were those most dependent on US demand: steel, aluminum, autos, energy and lumber. …In our worst-case scenario, we expected it would shrink Canada’s GDP by 2.6 per cent, leading to a moderate recession and shaving nearly $2,000 a year off income for every Canadian. So far, however, that doomsday scenario hasn’t materialized. This was possible because of the Canada-US-Mexico trade agreement. …Avoiding the worst of the tariffs doesn’t mean we’ve won or even survived the trade war. Communities across the country are still hurting. …Regions in Quebec and British Columbia are under strain, with key industrial sectors—steel, aluminum, copper, lumber—are facing additional tariffs under Section 232 authority.
VANCOUVER ISLAND — About 100 unionized forestry workers on the north Island who’ve been on strike since June have reached a tentative agreement with La-kwa sa muqw Forestry Limited Partnership. The United Steelworkers Local 1-1937 and the LKSM Partnership announced in a joint statement that the agreement is subject to a ratification vote by the union, and no details are being released. “The USW bargaining committee has advised that they will be recommending that its members accept this agreement,” said the joint statement. The deal was reached with the assistance of the BC Labour Relations Board. …LKSM LP is the former Western Forest Products mid-Island forest operation, which remains majority-owned by Western Forest Products. The LKSM partnership is made up of the Tlowitsis, We Wai Kai, Wei Wai Kum and K’ómoks First Nations, all members of the Nanwakolas Council. …The operations cover about 157,000 hectares near Campbell River and Sayward.
A letter from the Carleton-Victoria Forest Products Marketing Board to New Brunswick’s natural resources minister points to frustration building within the province’s forestry industry. The board’s general manager Kim Jensen, says some prices are the lowest they’ve seen in a decade. Jensen writes that US tariffs have been hard on the entire sector, including mills, but there’s been little support for private producers. “I have already heard from landowners who have changed their mind about having their woodlots cut,” she states. “Is the government’s long-term plan for the private forestry sector to just disappear? Because that is what is happening. Under your watch.” …Natural Resources Minister John Herron acknowledged that prices have declined since October. …But Herron didn’t mention any possible provincial support.” …J.D. Irving said 97% of the company’s lumber is under contract and not impacted by the price changes cited in the letter.
The National Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association (NLBMDA) released its 
Canada’s annual inflation rate ticked up to 2.4% in December compared to the same period last year, when the federal government implemented a GST break that brought some prices down, Statistics Canada said. The temporary tax cut, which began on Dec. 14, 2024, lasted for two months. It reverberated through monthly inflation data for part of 2025 but officially fell out of the year-over-year movement last month, sending price growth accelerating, according to the data agency. December’s rate was a smidge higher than the 2.2% rate seen in November. It was partly offset by a year-over-year decline in gas prices. With energy excluded, inflation rose to 3% in December. …”The main takeaway here is that after a year of some wide divergences, almost all of the main measures of inflation are now very close to [2.5%], in tune with the Bank of Canada’s view on the pace of underlying inflation,” wrote BMO’s Douglas Porter.
There are solid reasons to expect near-term strength in the US and Canadian construction markets. In the US, rapid technological progress and supportive federal policies are driving major investments in semiconductor fabrication, AI-related data centers, and energy infrastructure, with growing momentum toward nuclear power. In Canada, federal and provincial governments are promoting “nation-building” projects that emphasize LNG export capacity, port expansions, and new mines for critical minerals required by the digital economy. Both nations recognize that housing supply must rise substantially to meet population needs, signaling a long-term boost in residential construction. Yet, 2025 proved disappointing for overall construction performance, especially in employment. …Housing activity revealed a sharper divide between the two nations. U.S. housing starts in November 2025 dropped to an annualized 1.246 million units, the lowest since the pandemic. Most analysts believe the country needs at least 1.5 million starts per year to meet demand. 
Global markets plunged Tuesday after President Trump reignited fears of a US trade war with the European Union, America’s largest trading partner. The president showed no signs of backing off his threat from Saturday to hit seven EU countries and the United Kingdom with new tariffs unless they supported his push for American control of Greenland. Asked if he would be willing to use force to seize the semi-autonomous Danish territory, Trump replied, “No comment,” on Monday. The S&P 500 sold off by around 1.3% in early trading, while the Nasdaq Composite plunged 1.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 600 points. The S&P 500 has erased its gains for the year so far. Investors also sold off U.S. government bonds, driving up interest rates. Rising returns on US treasuries usually translate into higher mortgage rates and interest on new personal loans.
In the third quarter of 2025, the NAHB remodeling index (RMI) posted a reading of 64, increasing four points compared to the previous quarter. Most remodelers are finding reasonably strong market conditions, even with the normal seasonal slowdown during the holidays. The major headwinds the industry is experiencing continue to be rising costs and potential customers hesitating due to policy and economic uncertainty. Demand for remodeling is being supported by an aging housing stock, strong homeowner equity and increasing need for aging-in-place improvements. …In the fourth quarter of 2025, the Current Conditions Index averaged 71, increasing three points from the previous quarter. …The Future Indicators Index averaged 56, up four points from the previous quarter. 
The French Union of Timber Industries and Builders (UICB) and the French Timber Trade Association (LCB) are joining forces to create the UICCB – the Union of Construction and Timber Trade Industries. The synergy created by the merger of these two major players in the French forestry and timber sector will support the development of companies in the sector, which are naturally committed to decarbonizing the construction process. The new group took shape in December 2025 after a year of discussions and collaboration between the business leaders who head the governing bodies of the UICB and LCB. …The merger of the two entities will… enable them to acquire a stronger position within the emerging forestry and wood sector. …With this ecosystem of complementary professions, the UICCB now stands as the only independent professional organization dedicated to the development of wood construction throughout France.
MONTANA — A proposal to use thinning and prescribed burning to remove vegetation across portions of the Flathead National Forest bordering the Middle Fork Flathead River has gained wide attention for its inclusion of sensitive management areas in the project’s 67,536-acre footprint, which provides wildlife with critical habitat and is one of the region’s most popular havens of outdoor recreation. But even as conservation groups push for additional layers of environmental review, proponents of the project, including industry leaders, recreation advocates and residents, say it’s needed to reduce the risk of wildfire in a corridor brimming with untreated fuels that threaten infrastructure and communities on US Highway 2, as well as to support local timber mills and improve forest health. If approved, portions of the project would occur in recommended wilderness areas, although the scope of that work would be confined to whitebark pine restoration and tree planting with hand tools. 
Tribes in Wisconsin and beyond are opposing the Trump administration’s proposal to end protections for millions of acres of roadless areas on national forest land. …But Wisconsin Ojibwe tribes said the move was conducted without consultation and threatens natural resources they rely on, said Conrad St. John, chairman of the St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin. “They want to log it for the mature timber… which is revenue-based to create money for big corporations,” St. John said. …In Wisconsin, roadless areas account for less than 5 percent of the national forest’s 1.5 million acres. But Dylan Bizhikiins Jennings said they make up a vital portion of the region’s national forests, saying the administration’s actions show disregard for tribal sovereignty and treaty rights. He’s director of public information for the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, which represents 11 tribes in Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota.
Negotiations between the European Commission, European Council, and European Parliament, often referred to as the “trilogue”, have reached a significant conclusion regarding the European Union’s Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). On December 4, 2025, an agreement was reached, which promises to ease the administrative burden on the timber industry across Europe. This marks an important milestone, with changes that significantly affect the way the sector will handle the regulation moving forward. The EUDR, designed to combat global deforestation, will now come into effect in January 2027, offering a twelve-month delay for businesses to adjust. One of the most crucial changes in the reform is the elimination of the complex process requiring the forwarding of reference numbers throughout the entire supply chain. This has been hailed as a victory by many industry leaders, including Dr. Erlfried Taurer, Chairman of the Austrian Timber Industry Association.
New Hampshire and its counties may soon be barred from enrolling publicly owned lands in carbon sequestration programs. “We don’t see sequestration as a traditional use,” said Rep. Mike Ouellet, a Colebrook Republican, at a hearing before the House Committee on Municipal and County Government on Tuesday. The committee later voted, 13-1, to recommend passage of House Bill 1205, which would prohibit “carbon sequestration projects” on state- and county-owned lands. …No county- or state-owned land is currently listed on the registry of New Hampshire carbon sequestration projects. But the long duration of forest carbon contracts and the possibility they would impose restrictions on land use were two reasons bill proponents cited for preventing them on public lands in the future. …Others said timber harvest could be an important source of revenue for counties and the state, and worried the contracts would have a negative impact on the timber industry.
Deposits $10.6 Billion CAD + Interest 2.6 Billion + FX Gain 0.5 Billion = Total $13.7 Billion
Canadian softwood lumber exporters are currently paying a combined duty deposit rate of 45.16% on lumber imported into the United States.