VICTORIA — Forests Minister Bruce Ralston had to scramble for excuses this week when Canfor suspended its plan to build a $200 million state-of-the-art sawmill in Houston in northwestern B.C. Just last year, Ralston had trumpeted the project as evidence of renewed confidence in the provincial economy in general and the forest sector in particular. …The forest minister didn’t even acknowledge the company’s stated reason for suspending plans for one mill, closing a second and reducing operations at a third. Canfor CEO Don Kayne blamed a shortage of timber and fibre, compounded by NDP government-imposed policies and regulations. …His news release drew attention to the yawning gap between the allowable cut approved by the chief forester and the amount of timber actually harvested. …“With the policy and regulatory landscape in B.C. continuing to shift, it’s difficult to predict the operating conditions that we will face going forward,” said Kayne.