WILLIAMS LAKE — A call has gone out for help stemming job losses in the wake of several B.C. mills closing or temporarily suspending operations. Supply shortages and unstable market conditions have been blamed for falling timber prices. The Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development is seeking public input to rebuild the industry in the Interior–the region suffering most from back-to-back wildfire seasons and the mountain pine beetle infestation. …Mayor Bev Playfair says the $39-million sale to Hampton Lumber means operations won’t start up again any time soon. Hampton executives say the long-term outlook is “promising” to build a new mill in the area, even though current economic conditions are “extremely challenging.” Playfair says the crisis declaration won’t be lifted before August 15th. …Public engagement sessions are also being held in various communities starting with Williams Lake on July 18.

VICTORIA — Finance Minister Carole James …confirmed the New Democrats had ended the 2018-19 financial year with impressive results: a $1.5 billion operating surplus, the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in a decade …But I was struck by how little concern James expressed for … the troubled forest sector. The public accounts showed a $300 million plus surge in forest revenues in the year gone by, because markets were good and prices better. But lumber sales — and taxable worker paycheques and  corporate profits — have been on the slide since the beginning of the calendar year, with results that must already be showing up in the revenue returns to the Ministry of Finance. James said the government is alert to the risks in the forest sector. But at another point she also boasted the B.C. economy is “at practically full employment,” which would not be the perception in the more-than-30 forest-dependent communities where mills are on reduced operations or closed altogether.

FORT ST. JAMES, B.C. — The small community of Fort St. James, B.C., has declared a state of local financial crisis in the wake of the closure and recent sale of its largest sawmill. Mayor Bev Playfair signed the declaration this week, less than a month after Conifex Timber Inc. announced a $39 million deal to sell its sawmill to Oregon-based Hampton Lumber. The sawmill is a major employer in the north-central B.C. town of about 1,600 and remains closed prompting the declaration which will remain in effect until Aug. 15, unless cancelled by the mayor. …When the Conifex sale was announced in June, company chairman Ken Shields called the decision “difficult,” but said it was almost inevitable because too little saw log supply is available to maintain the existing manufacturing base in the Interior region of B.C. Hampton Lumber CEO Steve Zika pledged to build a new mill in Fort St. James but didn’t offer a timeline…

Closed-door meetings with forests ministry staff and community and first nations leaders began Thursday in Williams Lake, as the B.C. government’s ambitious plan to remake the struggling Interior forest industry picks up speed. The B.C. industry has been rocked by sawmill closures as it copes with reduced timber supply after extensive beetle damage and a slump in lumber prices. The NDP government has also moved to regulate Crown forest licence transfers, redistribute logging rights and impose restrictions on log exports. …Now ministry staff are conducting their own private meetings …“Part of this government’s approach is to see more involvement of first nations in forestry,” Donaldson said in an interview with Black Press. “Almost every day when we’re sitting in the legislature I have first nations come into my office to express interest in more volume and getting involved in forestry.” That timber volume largely would have to come from existing forest licences. 

The provincial government is accepting public input in shaping an Interior forest sector that will innovate, create jobs and support communities for generations to come. “The previous government failed to help the forest sector when it had a chance, eroding the public’s trust in B.C.’s forest sector operations and diminishing its competitive advantage,” said Doug Donaldson, Minister of Forests… “We are taking action and making different choices by asking for local input and insight into how we want to shape a prosperous, competitive and culturally sensitive Interior future forest sector.” …The Province is supporting impacted communities and workers through community transition and response teams that liaise with local governments, the federal government, industry, labour, employment support programs and organizations, as well as post-secondary institutions.  …the goal is to sustainably increase added value from B.C. forest products, such as mass timber and advanced bioproducts, while strengthening communities, maximizing employment and advancing reconciliation with First Nations.

VANCOUVER– Today Canfor Corporation announced further capacity reductions at two of its British Columbia sawmills with an indefinite curtailment at its Mackenzie sawmill and the permanent elimination of one shift at its Isle Pierre sawmill. The indefinite curtailment at Mackenzie, which is effective immediately, is due to the high cost of fibre, continued poor lumber markets and challenging operating conditions that have combined to make the mill uneconomic under these conditions. The Isle Pierre sawmill will be permanently reduced from two shifts to one shift effective September 20, 2019. The capacity reduction, which is due to insufficient timber supply as a result of the mountain pine beetle epidemic and associated decline in the annual allowable cut, will enable the mill to better align its production capacity with the sustainable fibre supply in the region.