West Fraser Timber reported a Q3, 2025 net loss of $240M as duties, tariffs and weak housing demand cut into earnings. In other Business news: Canada’s lumber industry worries it’s being left out of potential US trade deal; Domtar’s Skookumchuck mill is fined for permit violations; New Brunswick Power plans to convert its Belledune station from coal to wood; and researcher Alice Palmer says US duty calculations on Canadian lumber are flawed.
In other news: FPAC’s Derek Nighbor says EU Deforestation Regulation should recognize low-risk countries; AFRC’s Travis Joseph says wildfire is the greatest threat to Oregon’s big trees; wildfire workers join BC public service job action; BC Wood’s Export Readiness Training Program starts November 13; Michigan launches Mass Timber Catalyst Program; Ireland is encouraged to use timber to meet its housing and climate needs; and Ledcor’s Larry Jones wins award for Safety Leader of the Year.
Finally, new research on how fire-loving fungi help BC’s forests recover under the ash.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor
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Friday was a good news, bad news day for Northern Ontario’s forest products sector. Folks in Kapukasing are breathing easier…the federal and provincial governments announced they’re contributing a total investment of $28.8 million to sustain the Kapuskasing paper mill for the short term. Broken down, the province is spending $16.8 million, while the feds are chipping in $12 million. …However, forestry’s shaky conditions have put another community in peril [with] Interfor indefinitely shutting down its Ear Falls sawmill. …Unifor is calling for immediate action involving all levels of government to develop an industrial strategy for the forestry sector… The Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association and the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities issued a joint statement that “urgent and coordinated action is required to ensure long-term stability across Northern Ontario’s forestry and resource sectors.” The best outcome, the group said, is for government to strike a long-term trade deal with the U.S. to ensure economic and employment stability.
THUNDER BAY – Ontario’s MPPs are officially back at Queen’s Park for a new sitting of the provincial legislature, after breaking for the summer and forestry was top of mind for the region’s leaders. Opposition member Sol Mamakwa, MPP for Kiiwetinoong, questioned the Ford government on how they plan to help 160 unionized workers affected by the shutdown at the sawmill in Ear Falls. “Our government is disappointed of the news coming from Ear Falls. Immediately following the announcement of the mill, the premier and I reached out to company officials and Mayor (Kevin) Kahoot offering support for the workers and the community,” Associate Minister of Forestry and Forest Products Kevin Holland said. …The tariff hike contributed to ongoing market challenges in the sector forcing Interforb to suspend operations at the sawmill indefinitely.
The Canadian government has opened applications for a $700 million loan guarantee program that helps lumber companies weather mounting US tariffs that have pushed some firms into bankruptcy. The Business Development Bank of Canada 
Canada’s merchandise exports fell by three per cent in August to a seasonally adjusted $60.5 billion. This was the second lowest month of the year after April as sales to the U.S. retreated. Imports rose by 0.9 per cent to a seasonally adjusted $66.9 billion during the month. Consequently, the trade deficit grew to $6.3 billion, down from a revised $3.8 billion in July. …The decline was led by a 21.2 per cent drop in forestry products and a 12.5 per cent decline in energy products. The steep decline in forestry products in August 2025 followed the increase of anti-dumping and countervailing duty rates on Canadian softwood lumber that took effect in the U.S. in late July and early August. Section 232 tariffs on lumber in effect in October will be a further headwind. …Year-to-date exports are down slightly (-0.1 per cent) with lower forestry products and building and packaging materials exports (-6.1 per cent)
At the recent 2025 Vancouver Regional Construction Association (VRCA) 
NASHVILLE, Tenn.– LP Building Solutions (LP) announced the continuation of its partnership with the [US based] Forest Workforce Training Institute’s ForestryWorks® program and a new collaboration with the [British Columbia, Canada] First Nations Forestry Council. Both initiatives aim to develop the next generation of forestry professionals and advance sustainable forest management across North America. …“Programs like ForestryWorks and First Nations Forestry Council help ensure forests remain healthy and productive while supporting the future of sustainable forestry,” said LP Chair and CEO Brad Southern. “By investing in tomorrow’s workforce, we’re also investing in the continued success of renewable, high-performance building solutions.” …“We’re pleased to welcome LP Building Solutions as a program partner in advancing Indigenous participation in forestry through the Indigenous Forestry Scholarship Program,” said BC First Nations Forestry Council CEO Lennard (Suxʷsxʷwels) Joe. 
Two new reports on the July 2024 devastating wildfire in Jasper, Alta., confirm the blaze was caused by lightning and accelerated by “tornado-force fire-generated” winds and dry conditions. The fire — three separate blazes that merged into one — destroyed a third of the community’s structures. It forced 25,000 residents and displaced an estimated 2,000 people. The reports, commissioned by Parks Canada, say efforts to reduce fuel for wildfires, including prescribed burns, helped mitigate the blaze. But one of the reports, which looks at how the fire formed and developed, says more burns and other attempts to reduce fuel would have been beneficial, since the fire began in an area south of town that had not burned or been treated in over a century. …The reports come after the town published its own fire report earlier this year, leading to controversy with the province as it said Premier Danielle Smith’s government caused command challenges in the fire response.
CAMPBELL RIVER – The Forest Practices Board will conduct an audit of Aat’uu Forestry Limited Partnership’s Forest Licence A19236 in the Campbell River Natural Resource District of the North Island Timber Supply Area, starting Monday, Oct. 20, 2025. The audit will examine whether forestry activities carried out between Oct. 1, 2023, and Oct. 24, 2025, comply with the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act. …Forest Licence A19236 is held by Aat’uu Forestry Limited Partnership, a company owned by the Ehattesaht First Nation, and is managed by Strategic Natural Resource Group from its Campbell River office. The licence covers an operating area of about 60,000 hectares, of which Aat’uu currently manages an allowable annual cut of approximately 50,000 cubic metres. The audit area is on the west coast of Vancouver Island, about 70 kilometres south of Port McNeill, near the community of Zeballos, within Ehattesaht territory and neighbouring territories of the Nuchatlaht and Ka:’yu:’k’t’h’/Che:k:tles7et’h’ Nations.
The Forest Practices Board, an independent watchdog, is set to conduct an audit on a forestry operation near Port McNeill. The Aat’uu Forestry Limited Partnership’s Forest Licence A19236 in the Campbell River Natural Resource District of the North Island Timber Supply Area is the subject of the audit, starting on Oct. 20. “The audit will examine whether forestry activities carried out between Oct. 1, 2023, and Oct. 24, 2025, comply with the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act,” reads a press release from the Forest Practices Board. “Activities subject to audit include timber harvesting; road and bridge construction, maintenance, and deactivation; silviculture; wildfire protection; and related operational planning.” The Aat’uu Forestery Limited Partnership is a company owned by the Ehattesaht First Nation. It is managed by Strategic Natural Resource Group from an office in Campbell River.
The Northwest Territories could see more difficult wildfire seasons ahead – all the way into the next century, according to recent research. One 
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Atlantic Canada’s wildfires are growing and a scientist at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) says the combination of climate change and regional forest management are making things worse. Anthony Taylor is a forestry expert at the UNB. He studies the impact of climate change and forest composition. “We should expect more weather like this into the future,” Taylor said. “That’s largely a consequence of inaction on climate change over the past 20 or 30 years.” Taylor said the weather and drought conditions in the Maritimes can be blamed on the climate change already baked into the system and people should expect more warming in coming decades. He said weather impacts wildfires more than any other variable but the next biggest factor is ignition. “More than 90 per cent of our fires that do occur, including this year, are from human ignition,” Taylor said. “Obviously we want to try to reduce and stop climate change but the next best thing after that is to be fire smart around the woods.”
Does your workplace safety program include steps to reduce the risks your drivers face when driving on the job in winter? It needs to. Your safety responsibilities don’t change with the seasons. But you do need to address the additional driving hazards created by winter road and weather conditions. Some of the biggest hazards for log haulers include: