Category Archives: Special Feature

It was an early-morning start for dozens of B.C. Interior loggers heading from Prince George to Vancouver to make noise over job losses in the province’s once-booming forest industry. The initial convoy left Prince George at 2 a.m. Wednesday, stopping through Williams Lake at 5 a.m. As the group heads to the Vancouver Convention Centre, up to 200 logging trucks are expected to join along the route. About 100 trucks from the north, including Prince George, Quesnel, Williams Lake and 100 Mile House, were seen on the roads in 100 Mile, receiving honks of support and more trucks as they travel through rural communities impacted by mill curtailments and closures. …It’s no doubt that the recent hits to the forest sector will be top of mind for mayors [attending the UBCM convention] in the Interior who have seen first-hand the job losses felt by their community members. READ MORE

Additional coverage:

100 Mile Free Press: Northern loggers help drive home forest industry job loss with Rally to Vancouver

The Northern View: ‘It’s hurting everybody’: B.C. family shows support for logging truck convoy

BC Local News: Aldergrove residents show their support for B.C. loggers convoy

As many as 200 logging trucks came rumbling through downtown Vancouver Wednesday, bringing the plight of B.C.’s embattled forestry sector to provincial leaders. Government MLAs and the province’s mayors are gathered at the Vancouver Convention Centre for the annual Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) convention. Convoy co-organizer Frank Etchart, who owns Nadina Logging Ltd., told Global News action to address mill closures and curtailments in the province is needed immediately. …The convoy was met by hundreds of onlookers, some of them cheering and applauding the truckers. Others held signs voicing support for the forestry industry, reading “forestry feeds my family.” …“The mills can’t afford to bring the wood out of the bush because the stumpage is too high. So it’s going to sit there until the stumpage rate comes down and they can afford to bring it in,” Williams Lake Mayor Walt Cobb said. 
[This story has excellent video coverage]

Merritt was rumbling with excitement on the morning of Sept. 25, as an estimated 200 logging trucks took off for Vancouver to demand government action on B.C. struggling forestry sector. “We respectfully demand the B.C. and federal government engage in immediate action to rectify this dire and quickly deteriorating situation that sees the largest employment sector in British Columbia in dire straights,” a news release from the event organizers reads. …The project, dubbed the BC Logging Convoy, came together thanks to the hard work of local forestry professionals. “At over 63 years in business, we are the longest running logging company in Merritt B.C., and this is the worst crisis we have ever,” wrote Frank Etchart, owner of Nadina Logging, in a news release. “I care deeply about my town and my employees, and I feel it is my duty to protect my family and theirs.”
[This story has some great pictures]

Doug Donaldson, BC’s Minister of Forests… opened the 16th annual Global Buyers Mission (GBM) in Whistler, BC to a standing room crowd of more than 700 delegates. …Prior to introducing the Minister, [BC Wood Chairman] Greg Stewart thanked the government and industry sponsors…and noted the good works of the association in helping grow the value added sector. “BC Wood is the voice of value-added wood sector and given that it’s the fastest growing sector in the forest products industry—it’s a great time to be that voice”. Mr. Donaldson in turn, welcomed the 400 international buyers from 20 countries emphasizing the importance of the event, their attendance and the millions in business being done. Anticipating potential concern over BC’s continuity of supply—due to the current market situation, US tariffs, tight fibre supply, etc.—Donaldson emphasized his government’s efforts to support supply, diversify markets and encourage more value-added wood manufacturing (and thus jobs) from each log harvested.

WHISTLER, BC — This week, 800 buyers, sellers and specifiers of value-added wood products have gathered in Whistler for the Global Buyers Mission (GBM), Canada’s largest show of its kind. And on day one, WoodTALKS—a wood design and construction education event held in conjunction with the GBM—was front and centre. Ken Hori, BC Wood’s Program Manager opened the event, welcoming a record 130 architects and other building sector professions. 

First to the podium was Robert Cesnik of HDR Architecture Associates, speaking on the Evolution of Mass Timber Design in BC’s Okanagan. …Emily Dawson of Kaiser + Path kicked off her presentation on Quantifying the Appeal of Mass Timber with a warning on the “tyranny of the quantifiable”. Her message put simply: numbers matter but so does incorporating the full range of product reasons and benefits. …Renowned architect Peter Busby spoke of his love of wood and its positive contribution to society’s social and environmental needs. …Bryn Davidson, of Lanefab Design/Build spoke of his company’s journey from laneway homes to… net positive developments. …Wrapping up day-one was Alfred Waugh of Formline Architecture who presented on Indigenuity in Architecture.

Christine Gelowitz

Are we facing a turning point in how we think about and value B.C.’s forests? In recent years, B.C. forests have been ravaged by pine and spruce beetle, two years of significant wildfires… It’s against this backdrop that the B.C. government… conducted public consultations on the Forest and Range Practices Act. …The act has been criticized by a variety of groups. …Put simply, forest professionals are trying to balance legal (government-required) and non-legal (locally-desired) priorities that often conflict with each other. Finding “win-win” solutions for objectives that are completely at odds is almost impossible and leaves everyone unhappy. Clearly, it is time to review and update the Forest and Range Practices Act to clarify how regional communities, Aboriginal peoples, and other special interests want to use and manage the forest today. …Forest professionals are passionate about B.C.’s forests. …In order to properly care for our forests, we need clarity on what British Columbians expect from their forests and where priorities lie.

Join us in the beautiful village of Whistler in British Columbia, Canada, ​for the 127th HHI Convention. The west coast of Canada is renowned for its verdant rain forests—a bucket-list must see for anyone in the wood products/forest sector. We encourage you to stay a while, either before, or after the convention, and explore this unique part of the world. …Rameses Jim Spiers will be on hand at the Conference to present ‘Hoo Hoo 101 – The history and traditions of Hoo Hoo’. And, Club 48 President, Stirling Angus will host group activities that include a tour of a log sort yard in Squamish and dinner under the stars at the North Arm Farm in Pemberton. On behalf of our President, Stirling Angus, we once again invite you to Whistler, where Hoo-Hoo International will bear witness to the Embalming of the Snark, and Club 48 will usher in Matthew Burke as our new president! 
 

The International Order of Hoo-Hoo: The Fraternal Order of the Forest Products Industry, is one of the longest standing industry service clubs in the world. …If you work in the forest and lumber sector, you’ve likely heard of this enigmatic club. Perhaps you’re a member. But do you know the history of the club and the origin of its name? Hoo-Hoo got its start in 1892 in the small town of Gurdon, Arkansas. …Founding member William Barnes wanted club directors to have “eerie and peculiar” names. For inspiration, he turned to a contemporary at the time – author Lewis Carroll –and his nonsense poem “The Hunting of the Snark”. …Finally – let’s get back to the curious Hoo-Hoo. What is it exactly? The name Hoo-Hoo came from a nickname given to a lumberman back in the late 1800’s due to an unruly tuft of his hair! …Join us in the beautiful village of Whistler in British Columbia, Canada, for the 127th HHI Convention. 

The Vancouver Hoo-Hoo Club hosted their annual Members’ Night Reverse Draw and Dinner last night at the Terminal City Club in Vancouver. “This event is growing in popularity,” said organizer Jay Puder of Transpac Group about the sold-out event. This forest industry fraternity dates back to 1892, when it was founded in Gurdon, Arkansas! Special guests at the Vancouver event included Hoo-Hoo International, Snark of the Universe, Jack Miller and his wife Rita, who travelled from Boston to join fellow lumbermen (and women). Miller was presented with a Yellow Cedar talking stick by Vancouver Club President Stirling Angus. The highlight of the event was the Reverse Draw, this year Mike Wilson took home the pot! Learn more about the Vancouver Hoo-Hoo Club and their upcoming International Convention (Whistler, BC) here.

 

Gender equality and diversity for women in Canada’s forest sector was the theme of a breakfast panel at the Vancouver Club yesterday. Set in the subtle glitz of the ballroom, guests filled their plates, joining colleagues and friends for a unique event sponsored by the Forest Products Association of Canada’s (FPAC). The panel presentation—part of FPAC’s recently launched #TakeYourPlace Campaign—was part of a Canada-wide effort by the federal government and the Canadian Institute of Forestry to promote opportunities for women in Forestry. Moderated by Michelle Ward, Director of Corporate Communications at Canfor, the panel included MP Dr. Hedy Fry, Vancouver City Councillor Lisa Dominato, and Sustainable Forestry Initiative President and CEO Kathy Abusow. These accomplished professionals spoke of their experiences as a woman in the workplace, and—given what they know now—shared what they would recommend if they could give some advice to their “younger-selves”. 

Click the Read More below for a full story of the presentations…

Susan Yurkovich

I’d like to wrap up the 2019 COFI Convention by summarizing what we’ve heard over the last couple of days. …I hope you will agree that we’ve been given a lot of food for thought and I hope that will you will leave here like me, optimistic. There’s no question that we have challenges, but working collectively and doing the right thing—we can continue to be a proud foundational industry, that’s going to benefit generations for decades to come. In closing, I want to again express my thanks to our exhibitors for being here this week. Thanks also to our convention presenting sponsor, Finning Canada, and today’s platinum sponsor Farris, and to all the sponsors of this year’s convention. And finally thank you, our delegates, for your participation. That concludes this year’s convention. I invite you all to join us again at next year’s convention, when we return to the Prince George Civic Centre, April 1-3, 2020.

Please enjoy our gallery of images captured at the COFI 2019 convention. It’s our pleasure to bring friends and colleagues together—and capture smiling faces, conversations and presentations at industry events. This is a small (237!) sampling of the many pictures Sandy took over three days of the convention. Once we’ve deleted the closed eyes and other obvious bloopers, it’s hard to delete images, every one captures different nuances of the speakers’ personalities! Over the next week, we will endeavour to email pictures to those we photographed – however, please contact us if there’s an image you would like. 

Paul Harder

41 speaker quotes from the 2019 COFI Convention:

1. Convention buzzwords: innovation, inclusion, sharing, partnerships, relationship, certainty, predictability, capacity (ability), conservation, caribou
2. “A new model of forest management.” – Doug Donaldson, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations & Rural Development
3. “China-U.S. negotiations are only a small subset of the larger tensions.” – Robert Johnston, Managing Director, Global Energy & Natural Resources, Eurasia Group
4. “India and Southeast Asia will become more important for Canada’s forest sector than China.” – Robert Johnston

Doug Donaldson

The Forest Enhancement Society of B.C. is providing nearly $3.4 million to support a range of projects to improve unproductive forests or forests that have been damaged by wildfires or pests. Doug Donaldson, Minister of Forests, announced the new funding at COFI’s convention in Vancouver. …“Projects funded by the society have generated over $230 million in economic activity and supported 1,400 jobs in B.C.” …Additional funding applications related to other aspects of forest enhancement are currently being evaluated by the society. Projects funded by the society are helping minimize wildfire risks, enhance wildlife habitat, improve low-value and damaged forests, re-plant damaged forests and make fibre for green energy production.

David MacNaughton

Canada faces little prospects of getting a deal now to settle the Canada/U.S. softwood lumber dispute, so it’s a bad idea to even try, said David MacNaughton, Canada’s ambassador to the U.S. in a speech Thursday to industry executives. “If we were to plead with the U.S. lumber coalition to come back to the table to negotiate right now, I think they would see it as a sign of weakness,” MacNaughton said during a discussion with the media after his presentation to the Council of Forest Industries convention. “While we’re open to sit down and have negotiations, we think the best way to get a fair deal for Canada is to let the dispute resolution process continue and work with U.S. interests being damaged by the tariffs.”

Duncan Davies and David MacNaughton

US says he is often exasperated by the tweets of U.S. President Donald Trump, but that it’s not a given Canada would be more successful if a Democrat were elected president next year. …at the annual convention of COFI, David MacNaughton said many grievances expressed by Mr. Trump are also shared by some Democrats. “Therefore, we shouldn’t be thinking about, ‘Oh my gosh. At least if there is a change, everything is going to be OK,’ ” Mr. MacNaughton said on Thursday, adding, the President’s re-election hinges on whether the U.S. economy remains strong. …“It is always easy to get a deal if you’re prepared to do a bad deal, and we have not been prepared to do a bad deal,” said Mr. MacNaughton, who also denounced steel tariffs imposed on Canada by the Trump administration

Doug Donaldson

To create and support good jobs in British Columbia’s forest sector, government is investing $7.9 million to promote and grow markets for B.C. wood products at home and abroad. Doug Donaldson, Minister of Forests, made the announcement in his opening remarks at the annual Council of Forest Industries conference. “Advancing new products and markets for B.C.’s world-class wood products supports good jobs in over 140 communities throughout British Columbia,” said Donaldson. “Advancing innovation in wood products and wood technology supports our strategy to maintain B.C. jobs in B.C.’s forest sector.” …A total of $7.9 million will be made available, with $5.8 million committed to activities that work to expand markets for B.C.’s wood products in Asia and North America. The remaining $2.1 million will be… dedicated to the innovative use of wood and wood building systems in B.C.

Early up on COFI’s conference agenda were two keynote speakers addressing risk & opportunity and the economic outlook for the forest sector. Robert Johnston of the Eurasia Group, spoke of the risks and opportunities from a globalization and geopolitics perspective. According to Johnston, the top risks lie in the US-China relationship, European populism (e.g., their version of America First) and the increase in non-democratic leaders around the world—particularly given the decline in US support for the institutions the West has relied on for economic order. …Jock Finlayson followed with a snapshot of the US Canada and BC’s economic outlook, which he described as “slowing”. The downside drivers being: the US housing market—which remains well below past highs; Canada’s competitiveness vis-à-vis the US—particularly in the area of regulation; and the lack of investment in machinery and equipment.

With a crowd of close to 700 people, the 2019 COFI convention was a remarkable gathering of the “who’s who” of the forest sector. Here are some of the pictures we captured — friends and colleagues enjoying each other’s company. We’ll have more pictures on Monday.

The 2019 Council of Forest Industries kicked-off their annual convention Wednesday night with well attended Ice Breaker Reception. Held at the elegant Parq Hotel in Vancouver—the backdrop for the event featured over 50 trade show booths interspersed with gourmet food stations and plenty of room to network.

Susan Yurkovich

The BC Council of Forest Industries (COFI) kicked off their annual forestry conference—one of Canada’s largest— with a sold-out Ice Breaker in Vancouver. The two-day conference promises to be an outstanding event given the expected attendance of  650 delegates and high profile speakers such as David MacNaughton, Canada’s Ambassador to the US, BC Premier John Horgan and BC Minister of Forests Doug Donaldson. Susan Yurkovich, President and CEO of COFI opened the conference and welcomed the delegates. The event sponsor, John Desjardins, National Sector Leader, Forest Products at KPMG shared the stage, emphasizing the importance of the event and the forest sector to KPMG. Contrasting the current economic climate with last year, Desjardin noted the cyclic nature of the sector and how quickly its fortunes can change. To follow our pictorial record of the event, follow the link in the Read More below – we’ll be adding more pictures each day.

The Canadian Wood Council initiative to grow the market for wood hosted its 15th annual wood gala awards at the Vancouver Convention Centre Monday evening. The event, organized and hosted by Wood WORKS! BC, was a sold-out affair with 460 attendees. Co-hosts Greg Sinclair (Wood WORKS! chair) and Lynn Embury-Williams (Executive Director) spoke of the “exciting times in BC” given the 2009 building code change that allowed mid-rise wood structures and the new changes that will soon allow timber buildings up to 12 storeys. To date, more that 400 mid-rise buildings and multi-building complexes have been constructed or are in the process of being designed and built. 

With more than 103 nominations for 14 award categories, the Oscars-like event was a showcase of innovation, efficiency, beauty and environmentally sustainable design. Top award winners included Shelley Craig of Urban Arts Architecture who snagged to coveted Wood Champion Award for her work in support of the 2009 mid-rise code changes and the championing and adoption of its application and use since. 

The Tree Frog News team attended the 71st AGM & Conference of the Association of BC Forest Professionals last week in Kamloops. You’ve seen some of our updates and images. Today we release our full photo gallery. Warning – it’s a big one! Many of the attendees have emailed us asking for images, you can now download what you need from the gallery in the link. Next week we’ll have our final panel and speaker reports, so stay tuned.

Early drafts of the recently assented Professional Governance Act—established by the BC government to “ensure the public interest and the environment are pro­tected”—threatened to upset many of the pillars of professional regulators, according to the CEOs of the Association of BC Forest Professionals (Christine Gelowitz, RPF), Engineers and Geoscientists of BC (Ann English, P.Eng) and the College of Applied Biology (Christine Houghton). Speaking at the BC foresters AGM last week, the three CEOs spoke of the government’s rushed legislation, its lack of policy clarity, the cost implications, and future uncertainty given the broad discretion and far-reaching powers of the soon-to-be-established Office of the Superintendent. Also affected by the Act are the BC Institute of Agrologists and the Applied Science Technologists and Technicians of BC. …Notwithstanding the concerns, all three association CEOs spoke of the potential benefits, the importance of continual improvement, and the opportunity to raise awareness of how professionals protect the public’s interest.

The competitiveness of the BC forest industry, and market and fibre challenges facing the sector over the next few years, were front and centre in two of the ABCFP’s breakout sessions at their annual meeting in Kamloops last week. The first panel, “Healthy Forests Need a Competitive Forest Sector” was moderated by Interfor’s Brad Bennett. …John Allan, BC’s Deputy Minister of Forests, spoke of the government’s top priorities; the economy and reconciliation with First Nations. This includes actions leading to more meaningful participation by First Nations in the forest economy, and coastal and interior revitalization efforts.

The second panel, moderated by Forsite’s Cam Brown, focused on one of the most important decision processes for industry and government—the Timber Supply Review (TSR) and the setting of the annual allowable cut. …On the separation of the establishment of an AAC from strategic forest management decisions, Diane Nicholls (BC’s Chief Forester) spoke of the importance of ensuring the AAC assumptions match forest practices on the ground; and where they diverge significantly, government’s ability to shorten the time frame between AAC reviews.

A blue ribbon panel review of B.C.’s forest inventory program has made recommendations to improve the program. These recommendations come in the wake of the pine beetle epidemic and other pest infestations, as well as the effects of two intense wildfire seasons. …With its large and diverse forested areas, much of them remote, British Columbia faces one of the most daunting forest inventory challenges anywhere. “Our forests are one of our most precious resources,” said Doug Donaldson, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development. “Now more than ever, we need to make the right decisions in all areas of forest management to ensure our forest industry is truly sustainable and our forests are managed for multiple values. This report on the forest inventory program will help us do that.” …In its report, the panel made 16 recommendations to strengthen and enhance the forest inventory program, including sustainable funding, better data collection, increased program linkages and improved communication. 

Doug Donaldson and Steve Kozuki

Funding of $10 million from the Forest Enhancement Society of British Columbia will mean more wood waste will be redirected to mills instead of being burned on the ground, creating more jobs for British Columbians and reducing carbon emissions. “This is good for local jobs and for the health of the forests, and it is a positive step toward increased safety for forest-dependent communities,” said Doug Donaldson, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development. “Companies and workers will be able to make better use of residual timber and, in addition to creating employment and reducing waste, this approach will also help to reduce fuel on the landscape to mitigate wildfire risk.” …The ministry’s Forest Carbon Initiative, along with partners such as the Forest Enhancement Society of B.C. and the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions, focuses on how to make better use of wood fibre and reduce emissions from the burning of wood waste.