The Association of BC Forest Professionals is changing its name. Next month, we will operate under a new name, Forest Professionals BC (FPBC), although our legal name will continue to be Association of BC Forest Professionals. As we close the chapter on a proud 75 years of operation, we are moving forward as a refreshed and reinvigorated regulatory body. Council approved the change to the organization’s name in May 2022 after extensive research and discussion. This change is the latest in our evolution under the Professional Governance Act(PGA) from a dual mandate regulatory/membership organization to one with a more singular focus on our professional regulatory mandate. The new name will sharpen our identity and emphasize that professional forestry is a regulated profession and that its governing body is not a lobbyist or advocacy body for the profession’s members. Despite being a professional regulator since 1947, having “association” in the name of the organization has over the years led to a blurring and misunderstanding of the ABCFP’s role. 

Michelle Ward

After announcing hundreds of job losses across northern B.C., Canfor’s Michelle Ward discusses the company’s long-term plans for the region as timber supply declines. Click the Read More to access the On Demand audio program. 

The managing director of the Mercer Celgar pulp mill in Castlegar, Bill MacPherson, says the three weeks of downtime scheduled to begin on March 7 due to a lack of fibre could actually be slightly shorter than expected. We spoke with Bill to learn more about the company’s decision and the state of the pulp industry. What factors went into your decision to take downtown? This goes back to a long time problem emerging over the last number of years but it became more problematic early in November. …So the specific timing had to do with inventory? It had to do with optimizing inventory, and also to get through the winter far enough that you don’t expose the mill to the risk of freeze up if you we have a late winter. …Our real goal would be not to curtail at all if we can find enough affordable fibre. 

Immediately after announcing the shutdown of its Midway mill, Vaagen Fibre Canada laid off 35 employees. Since then, it has continued to operate the mill as it clears out its inventory — a process that Dan Macmaster, the company’s fibre supply manager, expects will take them into early February. Once the rest of the mill’s fibre runs out, its “50 or so” employees that remain will also be out of work. The company’s leadership has been in contact with Boundary-Similkameen MLA Roly Russell to discuss ways to support the company’s laid-off employees and what might trigger the mill’s re-opening. Both parties agree that the problem has short-term and long-term dimensions that need to be considered. …Vaagen Fibre has maintained that the current shutdown is due to an inability to access wood fibre at an efficient price. A long-term solution to the mill’s shutdown would require significant changes to the milling industry’s current structure.