Canada’s top lumber CEOs are in Ottawa to spur talks with US on softwood lumber. In other Business news: Canfor looks at repurposing options for its Taylor mill site; CBC et al investigate who’s behind Paper Excellence; and Martin Fairbanks opines on the changing future of kraft pulp. Meanwhile: Conifex and KP Tissue report positive Q4, full year 2022 results; and the UK 2023 Confor Awards recognize forestry and wood product leaders.
In Wildfire Resilience Week news: how FireSmart BC supports wildfire preparedness; Oregon’s nighttime-aviation early detection work; and an FPInnovations report on wildfire impacts on resource roads. In other news: ENGO’s push to stop logging in Canada’s boreal; Oregon’s forest plan faces pushback from rural lawmakers and loggers; and a workshop on the human factor in workplace safety.
Finally, UBC Research Forest’s Stephanie Ewen celebrates International Women’s Day.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
[This article is part of our partnership with the Western Canada SFI Implementation Committee and our jointly hosted 
The chief executive officers of Canada’s top lumber producers are set to meet on Thursday with International Trade Minister Mary Ng to spur the Canadian government to start talks with the United States to resolve the long-running softwood dispute. The executives are seeking to get the softwood file onto the agenda later this month for the summit in Ottawa between Justin Trudeau and Joe Biden. Scheduled to participate are lumber executives from West Fraser, Canfor, Resolute, Interfor, Tolko and J.D. Irving. …The accumulated tariffs paid by Canadian producers since 2017 recently hit a value of US$6.5-billion, according to CIBC Capital Markets. “The fact that the pot of duties is so large now, that in turn creates an incentive on both sides to want to try to find a settlement,” said former Interfor chief executive Duncan Davies. [to access the full story a Globe and Mail subscription is required]
VANCOUVER, BC — Conifex Timber reported results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2022. EBITDA from continuing operations was $2.3 million for the quarter and $46.7 million for the year, compared to EBITDA of $1.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2021 and $51.8 million for the year. Net income was $24.5 million or $0.61 per share for the year versus net income in the preceding year of $0.60 per share. …While our power plant was not operational during the second half of 2022, we realized the benefit of expected business interruption insurance proceeds and a recovery of softwood lumber duties reflecting the difference between the cash deposit rates and the published final rates for lumber shipments to the United States in 2019 and 2020.
Join the Wood Pellet Association of Canada in Kelowna, B.C., at the Coast Capri Hotel on April 5 or in Prince George, B.C., at the Conferences and Civic Centre on May 31 for a full-day free workshop that explains the human factor approach used to understand why workplace incidents occur. Hosted in co-operation with the BC Forest Safety Council and WorkSafeBC this workshop aims to reduce the risk of workplace incidents by gaining insight into the connection between human actions and the workplace. What is the Human Factor Approach? When incidents happen, the key to better understanding involves finding out how and why the worker’s actions were influenced by workplace elements. By looking at the interactions between people, workplaces, and management systems, and by understanding the gaps and deficiencies, steps can be taken to prevent similar incidents from happening. …participants will receive continued support as they adopt and integrate the human factor approach into their current risk management processes.