Domtar announced the permanent closure of its pulp mill in Crofton, BC, impacting 350 workers. Comments on the announcement include:
- Forest Minister Ravi Parmar: We owe it to the workers to leave no stone unturned to paying good paying forestry jobs
- COFI President Kim Haakstad: BC must act with urgency to stabilize wood supply
- North Cowichan Mayor Rob Douglas: This is devastating news for the workers and community
In other Business news: Ottawa declines industry request for lumber duty payouts; US WoodWorks opens call for nominations for Wood in Architecture Awards; and WoodWorks BC appoints Annabelle Hamilton as new executive director.
In Forestry/Climate news: David Elstone and Jim Girvan push back on Business in Vancouver article on BC’s allowable cut determinations; a BC resource sector coalition urges governments to pause DRIPA; and the UK’s reliance on biomass energy generation reaches new heights.
Finally, Walbran logging protesters employ unsafe behaviours with substantial safety risks.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor
The federal government has rejected an industry request for payouts to softwood producers in Canada on the hook for US duties, fearing that direct intervention would further irritate the US. Canadian softwood producers have paid more than $10-billion since 2017 in accumulated duties, which are cash deposits held in trust by the US that collect interest. The producers expect the US to refund a portion of the duties if and when the two countries resolve the trade dispute. In the meantime, the industry has suggested that the Canadian government make payouts to reflect the present value of anticipated refunds. The two sources said Ottawa would have received any future refunds in exchange for injecting much-needed liquidity into the struggling industry. Ottawa rejected the idea because of fears that such payouts would be viewed as subsidies and become a serious irritant during the wider US trade war, according to a senior government official. [to access the full story a Globe & Mail subscription is required]
CROFTON, BC — The company that runs a pulp mill on Vancouver Island says it is permanently ending operations at the facility, affecting around 350 employees. Domtar says pulp operations at the mill in Crofton, about 70 kilometres north of Victoria, have been struggling for a while. Last year, Domtar announced that it was indefinitely halting paper operations at the site, which affected around 75 employees at the time. Domtar, formerly called Paper Excellence, confirmed that this latest curtailment will permanently close the entire site. The company says the site will continue to be managed in compliance with environmental laws, and it’s “exploring a variety of possibilities for the future of the site.” …Chris Stoicheff clarified that the mill will cease operations on Dec. 15 but most staff will still be employed at the mill until mid-February, some until April. Stoicheff says the company has three remaining mills in BC. 
The latest Global Wood Trends report – Softwood Lumber – Tariffs, Turbulence and New Trade Flows to 2030 – says from 2000 to 2024, European lumber output grew slowly at 0.4% per year but still outpaced domestic demand growth. This allowed Europe to expand exports overseas, a trend likely to continue as Russian and Canadian shipments remain constrained. …Production has expanded faster than demand, with exports rising from 10% of output in 2009 to 19% in 2024. Growth has been concentrated in Northern and Central Europe — led by Sweden, Finland, Germany, and Austria — where harvest levels are now close to structural limits. …Global Wood Trends concluded that Europe’s lumber market is entering a period of tightening supply and gradually recovering demand. While production growth is expected to shift toward Northern and Eastern Europe, overall expansion will be limited by structural harvest constraints in Central Europe. Stronger domestic consumption, combined with potentially higher US demand will likely support higher prices for logs and lumber. 
A BC Resource Sector Coalition says current federal and provincial policymaking has become unpredictable enough to justify an immediate pause on all implementation and action under Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA). …“We write to you on behalf of thousands of British Columbians whose livelihoods, communities, and futures are tied to the natural resource sector. Today, those livelihoods are at risk,” the letter begins. “A series of federal and provincial policy decisions have destabilized the industries that sustain our province and are eroding the economic foundations of British Columbia.” …The coalition is composed of a cross-industry membership spanning land and marine activity: BCCA, Geoduck Underwater Harvesters Association, ICBA, Deep Sea Trawlers Association of BC, Guide Outfitters Association of British Columbia, Pacific Prawn Fishermen’s Association, North West Loggers Association, and the Council of Marine Carriers.
Britain’s reliance on burning wood to generate electricity has reached record highs, even as the government moves to curb the controversial use of biomass power. The latest figures supplied by the owner of the giant Drax biomass plant in North Yorkshire have revealed that power generated from burning biomass wood pellets provided 9% of the UK’s electricity in July, its largest ever monthly share. Weeks later, biomass provided almost a fifth (17%) of the UK’s electricity for the first time during one morning in September when renewable energy resources were particularly low. Britain’s record reliance on biomass generation has reached new heights as the government set out its plans to dramatically reduce the controversial energy source under a new subsidy agreement with the FTSE 250 owner of the Drax power plant.