Amid ongoing mill closures across the province, British Columbia’s Minister of Forests expressed optimism about federal advocacy and the premier’s efforts in securing investments for the forestry industry. In a recent interview with KelownaNow, Ravi Parmar highlighted the ongoing challenges facing the province’s forestry sector, describing it as a “boom and bust industry for decades.” …Parmar attributed much of the strain on the forestry industry to US tariffs and duties, which he said are “placing a choke hold on our ability to provide strong quality wood products” to American markets, compounded by low lumber prices under $400 per board foot and collapsed demand due to economic policies under President Donald Trump. Parmar expressed optimism about federal advocacy, praising Prime Minister Carney and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodson for stepping up where predecessors “completely dropped the ball on forestry and softwood lumber.”