The Prince Albert Grand Council (PAGC) Wildfire Taskforce has begun preparing for the 2024 wildfire season. Cliff Buettner, director of forestry and protective services has worked with PAGC for the past 25 years and previous to that spent several years “with the government of Saskatchewan as a conservation officer,” giving him 42 years’ experience with wildfires in the province. The Taskforce was established in 2017 in response to fires in Pelican Narrows. In part the resolution calls for increased First Nation response to wildfires “that affect the traditional livelihoods of First Nations and their traditional land,” Buettner said. First Nation people “want to participate in suppression of fires” that affect their communities,” he said. Buettner said PAGC is looking at the response to firefighting in the north and want to move to a process used in the past to fight fires where fires were fought early in the morning and in the evening.

David Beleznay

Congratulations to Mosaic’s David Beleznay, Director of Climate & Watershed, on receiving the Forest Professionals British Columbia Climate Change Innovator Award for his exemplary leadership, knowledge and experience advancing climate change action in and through forestry. “Surrounded by an amazing team and truly humbled by the nomination and award…forests are not inherited from our parents, they are borrowed from our children. There is so much opportunity in our forests to adapt and mitigate for climate change. Look forward to continuing to learn and innovate in this important time,” said Beleznay in a LinkedIn post. 

Mosaic Forest Management is pleased to be recognized as one of British Columbia’s Top Employers for the third consecutive year. Award recipients were announced in a special magazine published today and featured in the Vancouver Sun and BC’s Top Employer website. “Earning BC’s Top 100 Employers once again is a great honour for Mosaic Forest Management,” said Rob Gough, Mosaic Forest Management’s President and CEO. “Our focus is building a workplace culture centred on safety and sustainability, ensuring our employees and contractors feel they belong and where team members can contribute their authentic selves.” Many factors contributed to Mosaic securing the third straight BC’s Top Employers award, including its dedication to working alongside and supporting local First Nations, its focus on employee professional development with generous tuition subsidies, student programs and enabling careers in forestry for recent graduates, and its ongoing diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

Jamie Jeffreys & Kevin Horsnell

Congratulations to Canfor’s Kevin Horsnell, MBA, RPF, SVP Canadian Operations, on receiving the Forest Professionals BC’s Distinguished Forest Professional Award, the Association’s highest honour, at recent conference in Kelowna. Through his 30 years as a Registered Professional Forester, Kevin has demonstrated his remarkable penchant for relationships, his dedication to professional excellence, and his advocacy for high standards, safety and innovation in all elements of sustainably caring for BC’s forests. “Over the course of his career, Kevin has made a tremendous positive impact on professional forestry and Canfor. He leads with integrity every day and isn’t afraid to challenge the status quo. Kevin is a vocal champion of BC’s forests, Professional Foresters and the sector. I value his honest advice and the meaningful contributions he has made to our company and the industry,” Don Kayne, President & CEO, Canfor. So proud to have Kevin leading the way at Canfor!

In an open letter to the provincial government, the President of the Alberta Fire Chiefs Association (AFCA), Chief Randy Schroeder has expressed concern over a lack of cohesive wildfire preparedness strategy for the province. According to Chief Schroeder, combatting last year’s wildfire season in Alberta brought forth considerable challenges, highlighting the critical need for a comprehensive and proactive approach to wildfire management. “The AFCA has met with key Ministries presenting specific asks including additional resources, increased training capacity, equipment, and aerials and requesting the establishment of a Provincial Fire Services Advisory Committee to assist in developing a dedicated provincial strategy to better manage and mitigate the risks associated with wildfire seasons.” …He added that that is part of what the AFCA is asking, for ministries to work more cohesively, while also establishing a Provincial Fire Services Advisory Committee.

Doig River and Fort Nelson First Nations have added their voice to several First Nations seeking a new federal tax policy on resource projects. The optional First Nations Resource Charge (FNRC) would see tax revenues collected from indigenous lands go directly to stakeholder nations. Under the Indian Act, tax revenue generated by resource projects is collected by the federal government and then dispersed from Ottawa back to First Nations. The proposal was formally announced in Vancouver last week, and endorsed by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, which he says would speed up negotiations and project approvals, dubbing it a First Nation-led solution to a made-in-Ottawa problem. The proposed charge would allow First Nations to directly collect 50 per cent of the federal taxes paid by industrial activities on their land, with industry getting a tax credit in exchange. The charge would not preclude communities from using other arrangements like impact benefit agreements.

Nathan Cullen

B.C.’s Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship Nathan Cullen has accused critics of pending First Nations-related legislation governing about 95 per cent of provincial land of fear-mongering. Cullen said these critics hope to turn back the clock to 1950s, adding that resource industry leaders themselves are asking for the kind of certainty in resource dealings with First Nations that the legislation is intended to provide. “My worry is that for some of the political actors here on the right, this is an element of dog-whistle politics,” Cullen said, adding that deliberate misinformation around the issue is hurting B.C.’s reputation. …Critics are accusing the government of not only downplaying the consultation process to avoid attention, but have also raised concerns that government is planning to give First Nations veto power over land decisions. Perhaps the important document making that point is a commentary from Vancouver-based law firm McMillan LLP.

Kevin Falcon

Public Land makes up 95 percent of our province. It belongs to all British Columbians. Whether it’s for recreational access like hiking, camping, fishing, sledding, or hunting, for dock permits, or activities related to mining, forestry, agriculture or ranching, decisions about Public Land impact all five million of us — First Nations and non-First Nations alike. When the NDP introduced UNDRIP legislation in 2019, it promised the Legislature 17 times that it would not amount to a veto. Instead, they said it would align with the Supreme Court of Canada’s ruling that, while government has a duty to consult and — where required — accommodate First Nations, our Constitution does not provide First Nations with veto power over Public Land. …We want to be clear: the blame for all of this lies with David Eby and the NDP, not First Nations who are simply doing the important work of acting in the best interests of their communities.

Bruce Uzelman

Liberal and NDP governments in Ottawa and Victoria are crafting very progressive agendas. They often have commendable objectives, but they show no regard for the proportionality of the actions taken, and no consideration of the impacts. …A January 2023 press release marked the beginning of another problematic policy. The government wrote that it reached a co-management deal with four First Nations to manage Crown lands in Treaty 8 territories. The release implied the agreement was necessitated by a 2021 Supreme Court decision, which found that Treaty 8 rights had been breached by the impacts of development authorized by the government of B.C. The reforms then and now, however, go far beyond compliance with that court decision. The Eby government now plans to share its authority to make land use decisions with the 203 First Nations across the province. …To facilitate this, the province is planning to make changes to the Land Act. The language describing the changes is confusing.

Jamie Jeffreys & Peter Flett 

The head of the Osoyoos Indian Band’s Nk’Mip Forestry company was recognized for their responses to recovering after the Nk’Mip Creek Wildfire in 2021. Peter Flett, the head of forest operations, received the award from the BC Forest Professional Magazine (FPBC) for his article Keys to Improving Forest Recovery Post-wildfire: The Critical Roles of Proper Planning, Implementation, and First Nations’ Collaboration. The award was presented at the annual FPBC conference in Kelowna over Feb. 7 to 9. …Flett’s article delves into how to better collaborate on forest management based on the knowledge he has gained working with members of the OIB community. In addition to recognizing the standout work in Flett’s article, the FPBC recognized Nk’Mip Forestry for its response to the wildfire. The Nk’Mip Creek Wildfire covered over 19,000 hectares of land near Oliver and Osoyoos in 2021.