BC forestry CEOs say fibre access, land certainty and regulatory reform are urgent — not optional. Other COFI 2026 keynotes include:
- COFI Chair Greg Stewart opens with call for collective action
- Canada pledges partnership in forest sector transformation
- Regional Chief Teegee calls for full DRIPA implementation
- Economist Brian Yu sees slowing growth, persistent uncertainty ahead
- Minister Parmar outlines working forest vision, commits to structural shift
- Opinion researcher Bruce Anderson sees policy window opening for forestry
In Business news: the new softwood lumber duty rates announced by Commerce are panned by Minister Parmar and BC’s Independent Wood Processors, but praised by the US Lumber Coalition. Meanwhile: Mercer’s debt challenges persist; Russian forest companies face bankruptcy; and US consumer prices surge, while US remodeling sentiment edges down.
In Forestry news: criminal contempt charges were approved for BC old-growth protesters; BC’s forests are being reviewed to death; Mississippi researchers enhance forestry decision-making software; Oregon NGOs hold public meetings on forest protections; US logging is said to be less harmful than you think; and more on the USFS research station closures ahead of an expected catastrophic wildfire season.
Finally, more coverage of yesterday at COFI here. Today’s presentations will be in Monday’s news.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor
The 2026 BC Council of Forest Industries Convention opened Thursday morning at the JW Marriott Parq Vancouver with a welcome session that set a clear tone for the two days ahead — forestry as both an industry under pressure and a source of solutions to some of British Columbia’s most pressing challenges. The session was anchored by Greg Stewart, President of Sinclar Group Forest Products and Chair of the COFI Board of Directors, who noted the convention was sold out. Speakers also included a territorial welcome from Squamish Nation Forestry Specialist Brian George, a civic address from City of Vancouver Councillor Lisa Dominato, and opening remarks from Kim Haakstad, President and CEO of COFI.
Four of BC’s leading forest sector CEOs delivered a frank and at times sobering assessment of the industry’s current state at the 2026 COFI Convention, telling delegates that conditions are among the most difficult any of them have encountered in careers spanning more than three decades. The session, moderated by Bridgitte Anderson, President and CEO of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, brought together Susan Yurkovich, President and CEO of Canfor; Sean McLaren, President and CEO of West Fraser; John Mohammed, President and Owner of A&A Trading Ltd.; and Steven Hofer, President and CEO of Western Forest Products. The panel was structured around questions, with the CEOs offering distinct perspectives shaped by their different roles across the sector’s value chain. …On current operating conditions, the panelists were unified in their assessment. Hofer said this is the most challenging business environment for a BC forest products company he has encountered in 33 years. …Yurkovich said BC used to be the last company standing in a downturn — with well-placed fibre, excellent sawmills, and skilled workers. That has changed. BC is now the first down.
The U.S. Department of Commerce plans to reduce duty rates for most Canadian softwood producers, but they would still need to pay hefty levies of 34.83%. US import taxes on softwood lumber currently total 45.16% on most Canadian producers, including combined countervailing and anti-dumping duties of 35.16% and tariffs of 10%. In its announcement on Thursday, the Commerce Department said it expects to decrease the anti-dumping duty rates to 10.66% from 20.53 %. Most Canadian producers also face paying 14.17% for countervailing duties, down slightly from 14.63%. The revised anti-dumping and countervailing duties equal 24.83%, and when combined with the tariffs, the levies total 34.83%. …Kurt Niquidet, of the BC Lumber Trade Council said, “These duties continue to make it more expensive to build homes at a time when both countries should be working together to improve housing affordability.” …New duty rates are intended to take effect by late summer of 2026, subject to further revisions in a final determination. [to access the full story a Globe & Mail subscription is required]
Mercer International’s bonds slumped after it sought to ditch rules requiring equal treatment for all creditors — a move that would give the struggling pulp producer the power to pick and choose which lenders to favor in a restructuring. The company asked owners of its bonds due in 2028 and 2029 to remove a provision that forces it to pay all lenders equally when it seeks to strike a debt deal, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private information. Separately, a group of Mercer’s creditors has organized in anticipation of debt talks with the company and plans to sign a cooperation pact binding them to act together. …Mercer is grappling with weak earnings and dwindling cash flow that’s left it struggling under the weight of its debt, which stood at about $1.6 billion at the end of last year. S&P Global Ratings downgraded the firm to CCC+ in February.
Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests, issued the following statement in response to the US Department of Commerce’s release of preliminary results of the seventh administrative review of its anti-dumping and countervailing duty orders on Canadian softwood lumber: “BC stands with all those across Canada in our disappointment that the US has signalled that it will continue to impose unwarranted and unfair duties on Canadian softwood lumber products. “These duties serve only to damage both of our economies by harming BC and Canadian communities, and increasing the cost of housing and renovations for American families. “Duties on Canadian softwood lumber needlessly favour offshore imports that endanger North American jobs across the supply chain. Workers in BC, in Canada and in the US are worse off from duties on softwood lumber.
North Vancouver – The Independent Wood Processors Association (IWPA) says today’s preliminary U.S. softwood lumber duty ruling under Administrative Review 7 (AR7) is further evidence that the softwood lumber dispute has become a broken process that continues to punish businesses and consumers on both sides of the border without bringing either side closer to resolution. The U.S. Department of Commerce has posted a preliminary tariff determination expected to be finalized in August. The preliminary combined duty rate includes a countervailing duty (CVD) of 14.17 per cent and an anti-dumping duty (AD) of 10.66 per cent, for a total combined rate of 24.83 per cent. The current duty rate of 35.16 per cent will remain in effect until a final determination is issued. …The Independent Wood Processors Association says the ongoing dispute continues to unfairly harm companies that should never have been included in the first place. … “This ongoing cycle is creating uncertainty for businesses, workers, and consumers across North America and highlights the urgent need for a negotiated solution,” said Andy Rielly, Chair of the IWPA.
Russia’s forest industry warns that up to 50% of companies could shut by the end of 2026 as lower export prices, higher transport costs and a strong ruble push producers deeper into losses. Regional lawmakers and industry participants ask First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov to approve a three-year moratorium on creditor-initiated bankruptcy cases in the sector, along with tax deferrals and a pause on debt collection for liabilities accumulated by January 1, 2026, Russian Kommersant newspaper reports, citing a committee of the Arkhangelsk regional assembly. The draft says even large companies in the region have exhausted their financial reserves, are operating at a loss and are starting to miss tax and other mandatory payments. It puts total sector losses over the past three years at more than 15 billion rubles. State support for exporters also drops sharply, with compensation for forest export costs falling from 7.6 billion rubles in 2023 to 550 million in 2026.
B.C. saw a significant increase in energy and mineral exports in February compared with a year earlier, while wood exports continued to decline. The province exported more than $4.8 billion worth of products in February, a 16.3 per cent monthly increase and a 2.8 per cent year-to-date increase compared with the same period last year. …However, exports in the wood sector continued to decline. About $479 million worth of products were exported in February, an 18.1 per cent decline from January. Lumber saw the sharpest drop, down 27.7 per cent, followed by other panel products (-23.4 per cent) and plywood and veneer (-19.1 per cent). As a result, year-to-date wood exports fell by more than 30 per cent compared with the same period in 2025. Machinery and equipment exports also declined, down 17.9 per cent month-over-month and 27.6 per cent year-to-date.
In the first quarter of 2026, the NAHB/Westlake Royal Remodeling Market Index (RMI) posted a reading of 62, down two points compared to the previous quarter. Despite this decline, the overall reading has been solidly in positive territory since Q1 2020. Remodeler sentiment remained generally positive in the first quarter, even as many remodelers are still working to manage their customers’ cost expectations. Only a relatively small share report homeowners putting projects on hold due to economic and political uncertainty. Ongoing positive remodeler sentiment is consistent with NAHB’s outlook, given an aging housing stock and the lock-in effect of elevated mortgage rates keeping owners in the homes longer. In the first quarter, remodelers reported 21% of their projects were associated with home improvements made shortly after a purchase, while only 4% were for homeowners’ projected to ready a home for sale. 
If reviews could save old growth, British Columbia would have the healthiest forests on Earth. Instead, the province has produced a stack of reports as tall as an ancient Douglas fir. Their wording may differ, but their conclusion does not: BC’s forestry system is broken. Fixing it will not be easy or quick, but instead of acting, the government continues to produce new reports to delay tough decisions — especially when those decisions mean standing up to large logging companies that profit most from the status quo. Rather than using the reports to inspire action, the BC government is hiding behind them. …Nearly six years into BC’s OGSR commitment, we now have a sixth report by the Provincial Forest Advisory Council called From Conflict to Care. It again concluded that systemic reform is needed in the province’s forestry regime. Each report acknowledges the same truth: what we’re doing isn’t working.
Last week, the US Forest Service announced that it will be closing three-quarters of its research facilities as part of a reorganization. Now, experts are worried not only about the number of scientists who might be leaving the agency, but also about how the disruption could affect the gathering and dissemination of crucial wildfire and climate change data. The restructuring comes as parts of the US face what is expected to be a catastrophic wildfire season. The most recent wildland fire outlook shows that wildfire activity is already “well above average,” with more than 16,000 wildfires reported this year. Under the reorganization plan, the Forest Service will close 57 of 77 research facilities, as well as move its headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Salt Lake City, Utah. It will also close all nine of its regional offices; some states will then get their own offices, but others will be consolidated. 
The U.S. Forest Service is shutting down research stations around the country, including centers in Portland, Seattle, and Wenatchee, Washington. Though much of the stations’ research is long-term, some fire experts say the cuts could hamper firefighting efforts as soon as this summer. …The agency is shutting down 50 of its 70 research stations. More than 200 people work in the Northwest research stations that are closing. …“There is a position for every permanent employee willing to accept reassignment,” Forest Service Chief Thomas Schultz Jr. said in a memo to research branch staff. Schultz Jr., a Trump appointee, was previously a lobbyist for Idaho Forest Group, one of the nation’s largest lumber producers, based in Coeur d’Alene. …Nick Smith, a spokesperson for the American Forest Resource Council, a Western states timber industry group, said he welcomes the Forest Service restructuring.
