A new UN report may feel familiar, but unprecedented March heat and visible forest losses across the US underscore that climate change is real. In Wildfire news: insurers push Canada to federalize wildfire response; Nova Scotia is well positioned for the wildfire season; BC gears up with investments in Prince George and Merritt; a Saskatchewan fire chief says its budget is too low; and California fast-tracks 300 wildfire resilience projects.
In Business and Finance news: New Brunswick First Nation asks Supreme Court to hear case on Aboriginal title, private land; BC premier Eby to lead trade mission to China; Gorman announced Ashlee Cribb as CEO, as Nick Arkle transitions to Board chair; and Conifex Timber reports Q4, 2025 net loss of $11.4 million. Meanwhile: stocks swing on conflicting signals from Washington and Tehran, while fears of prolonged oil disruptions raise the risk of inflation.
Finally, Milwaukee mass timber project, billed as nation’s tallest, faces foreclosure.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor
The Supreme Court of Canada is being asked to consider a clash between Aboriginal title and private land in a New Brunswick case that would have significant national implications. Last December, the New Brunswick Court of Appeal ruled that the Wolastoqey Nation could not seek a declaration of Aboriginal title over private property as part of its claim against the province. The decision was a sharp contrast to a lower-court ruling in BC last summer. After a trial that stretched five years, the BC Supreme Court declared that the Cowichan Tribes had Aboriginal title to about 800 acres in the Vancouver suburbs. In the Wolastoqey case, Justice Ernest Drapeau wrote that he was “unable to see” how Aboriginal title could co-exist with private land. He stated that a declaration of Aboriginal title over such land “would sound the death knell of reconciliation.” …The Wolastoqey are Tcalling on the top court to enter the fray to settle the legal uncertainty. [to access the full story a subscription is required]
VANCOUVER, BC — Conifex Timber reported results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2025. EBITDA* from continuing operations was negative $12.6 million for the quarter and negative $27.5 million for the year, compared to EBITDA of negative $2.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2024 and negative $13.6 million for the year. Net loss was $35.7 million or negative $0.87 per share for the year versus net loss in the preceding year of $29.8 million. …Our lumber production was 147.9 million board feet in 2025 reflecting an annualized operating rate of 62%. Lumber production in 2025 benefited from higher operating rates in the first half of the year but was impacted by curtailments and modified operating configurations in the second half of 2025 in response to lower lumber prices and higher duty deposit rates and tariff impositions. Lumber production in 2024 was 134.8 million board feet, reflecting an annualized operating rate of 56%.
US stocks were set to surge at the opening bell Monday, after President Donald Trump announced that he was postponing all military strikes on Iranian power plants for a 5-day period. Iranian state media responded to Trump’s post by saying the US president has “backed down” after Iran’s firm response. Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency also relayed a message from the nation’s foreign ministry that, “there is no dialogue between Tehran and Washington.” S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures initially soared about 3% on Trump’s post, but those gains faded to about 1.6% after the statements from Iranian media. …Oil prices also fell about 5%, with U.S. crude oil trading down to around $92 per barrel around 8:15 a.m. ET. International Brent crude oil fell to around $105 per barrel. Initially, oil prices had plummeted 10% on Trump’s post.
Canada’s insurance industry is urging Ottawa to take direct control of wildfire management, warning that rising disaster costs and what critics describe as a reactive federal response demand a centralized national agency. Blacklock’s Reporter says in submissions to the House of Commons environment committee, the Insurance Bureau of Canada called on Parliament to create a federal emergency management body similar to the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, arguing current systems are no longer adequate. “The trend is clear,” the Bureau wrote. “Canada has already entered an era of record-breaking natural disasters with no signs of slowing.” The proposal would mark a major shift from the current model, where provinces and territories lead wildfire response efforts through mutual aid agreements coordinated by the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, established in 1982.
Several log bundles ended up on beaches in the Parksville and Nanoose Bay area after rough weather caused a log boom to break open at Mosaic Forest Management’s Northwest Bay waterfront facility last weekend. … “Shifting high winds pushed the logs into shallow water before crews could safely reach them,” Mosaic told the PQB News. “We responded as soon as we were alerted early Sunday morning, recovering 10 of the 19 bundles.” Mosaic says salvage crews are standing by to recover the remaining nine bundles, but the current weather system has hampered access to the shallow beach areas where they came ashore.
A national organization is seeking people with experience in Canada’s forestry sector as they put together a working group that will examine ways to improve forest recovery following wildfires. Jessica Kaknevicius is the CEO of Forests Canada. She said last year the group reached out to tree planting organizations, to ask them how they are changing their planting practices after forest fires. “We got a lot of insight in terms of this kind of gap of knowledge with how should we be planting differently?” “That’s everywhere from looking at species selection, to looking at how densely are we planting, health and safety of planters, where are we planting, all those things,” she said. “From that dialogue last year, what really came about was the need to bring together a national working group to share best practices, identify gaps, to get better trees in the ground, and really focus on survivability.”
For more than 30 years, the United Nations World Meteorological Organization has told us how terrible things are getting with global climate change. Their annual “State of the Climate” report is a compendium of climate change facts and figures collected throughout the previous 365 days. It’s an authoritative look at the state of our global climate and its increasingly precarious condition. …This year’s edition, covering 2025, is out today. The findings are stark, even frightening. But, like every year, it also feels like a bit of a rehash. …The fact that the past 11 years were the hottest on record? Yawn. The announcement that greenhouse gases in the air are at unprecedented levels for all of human history? Wake me when you’ve got something new to report. …The findings should be jarring reminders of planetary vital signs flashing red. But similar observations were made last year … and the year before that.
In this opinion article, Gustav Melin, Chairman of Working Group Industry, Bioenergy Europe and WTS AB, BKtech Group, explains how adding 10 million tonnes of sustainable pellets by 2030 would cut fossil gas dependence, strengthen EU energy security, and support stable renewable heat supply. …Europe must accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels, particularly imported fossil gas. The European Union still spends enormous sums every year on gas imports from outside the EU. This dependence exposes Europe to geopolitical risks, price volatility, and supply disruptions. Reducing fossil gas use must therefore be a central part of Europe’s long-term energy strategy. One of the most practical and immediately available solutions is to increase the use of sustainable bioenergy. Unlike fossil gas, bioenergy can largely be produced within Europe using resources from forestry, agriculture, and bio-based industries. Expanding bioenergy reduces the need for imported fossil fuels and strengthens Europe’s energy security.
HOLMES COUNTY, Ohio — Six people were injured following a dust explosion and fire at a moulding facility in Holmes County on Tuesday, according to local emergency officials. According to a Facebook post reporting the incident, East Holmes Fire & EMS responded at 12:43 p.m. at Holmes Custom Moulding, where crews reported a structure fire accompanied by an explosion. First units arrived within one minute and requested additional ambulances after identifying multiple burn victims. …Six patients were treated at the scene and transported to area hospitals… Preliminary information indicates the explosion was caused by sparks from a malfunctioning belt sander entering a sawdust collection system. The ignition of wood dust led to an explosion that caused extensive damage to the building, including the dust collection system and sawdust silos.