The US intends to raise lumber tariffs on several of Canada’s largest producers while lowering duties for others. In other Business news: BC to allocate 10% of BC Timber Sales to value-added wood manufacturers; Kitwanga sawmill is thriving under First Nations’ land-use plan International Paper sells Russian joint venture; 84 Lumber announces expansion plans; UK pension funds look to invest in trees; and demand for fibre-based packaging is on the rise.
In other news: BC compensates Blueberry River First Nation for timber loss; PEI’s Auditor General raps province’s forest management; Oregon’s wildfire risk map is put on hold; and a new study identifies Oregon’s priority conservation forests. In Safety news: WorkSafeBC seeks input from young workers; Oregon fines Halsey pulp over air emissions; and Arizona fines Hixson Lumber over preventable worker death.
Finally, the EU banned Russian wood pellets; South Korea took them all.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
TORONTO — Graydon Smith, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, and Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, issued the following statement: “The forest sector and its workers are vital to our government’s plan to build Ontario. Today, we are speaking out against unfair trade practices that continue to target our province, harming the workers, families and communities that depend on the forest sector. The U.S. Department of Commerce’s recent preliminary decision signals that a small decrease in unfair duty rates on Canadian softwood lumber is expected later this year. Regardless of the small decrease, these duty rates raise costs for consumers and businesses on both sides of the border, adding financial hardship and preventing fair competition. Our government maintains all rates should be removed immediately.
The U.S. Department of Commerce plans to raise tariffs for Canada’s two largest lumber companies, while lowering duties on most other Canadian producers. Based on the Commerce Department’s preliminary assessment, the combined countervailing and anti-dumping duties will rise for West Fraser and Canfor. West Fraser faces having to pay a new duty rate of 9.38 per cent, likely taking effect by August or September, compared with its current tariff of 8.25 per cent. Canfor will see its tariff climb to 7.29 per cent compared with the current 5.87 per cent. …Saint John-based J.D. Irving Ltd., which recently ranked as Canada’s fifth-largest lumber producer, has been assessed a higher rate of 7.77 per cent, compared with the current 7.17 per cent… most other producers in Canada will see their duty rates decline to 8.24 per cent from the current 8.59 per cent. Resolute Forest Products has a current tariff of 14.86 per cent, but it will be included in the group with the revised rate of 8.24 per cent. [to access the full story a Globe & Mail subscription is required]
TORONTO
HALIFAX: Crown land in Antigonish and Guysborough counties has been set aside in zones promoting what the provincial government is calling ecological forestry. …the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables (DNRR) announced that it dedicated a “high production forest zone,” which will complete its “triad model of ecological forestry.” They noted that this will ensure that 90 per cent of Crown land is “managed with biodiversity as the top priority.” …The province said 10 per cent of Crown land, about 185,000 hectares, will be allocated for the high production forest zone where clear-cutting is allowed. …Once forestry licensees have harvested an area in this zone, they are expected to prepare and add nutrients to the soil, plant high-quality, fast-growing seedlings, and manage the crop for decades, said the province. …The department estimates that each year for the next 35 years, licensees will establish about 5,000 hectares of Crown land in the zone. 
In July 2022, the European Union responded to the war in Ukraine by banning the import of Russian woody biomass used to make energy. At roughly the same time, South Korea drastically upped its Russian woody biomass imports, becoming the sole official importer of Russian wood pellets for industrial energy use. The EU has reportedly replaced its Russian supplies of woody biomass by importing wood pellets from the U.S. and Eastern Europe. But others say that trade data and paper trails indicate a violation of the EU ban, with laundered Russian wood pellets possibly flowing through Turkey, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to multiple EU nations. EU pellet imports from Turkey grew from 2,200 tons monthly last spring to 16,000 tons in September. Imports from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan reportedly rose too, even though neither has a forest industry. A large body of scientific evidence shows that woody biomass adds significantly to climate change and biodiversity loss.
Nest and Cushon, two UK pension schemes with combined assets of more than £26bn, are in a joint search for asset management partners to develop new forestry investment strategies to address climate change pressures. Both pension schemes believe that allocating money to forestry projects will offset environmentally damaging emissions from other investments. …The schemes have set aside an initial £600mn for a joint investment mandate and, by combining forces, aim to secure lower fees with third party managers. Nest presently manages about £25bn and expects to invest some 2% of its assets into forestry. …Cushon, which expects to have assets of around £1.7bn, could grow its allocation to 5% of its assets over time, including controversial carbon credits. …Both say they will avoid forestry projects where logging contributes to deforestation. 
As you may know, WorkSafeBC regularly engages with young workers, and the employers who hire them, to ensure these workers’ voices are heard when it comes to workplace health and safety. WorkSafeBC seeks feedback from young workers in order to better understand their attitudes and motivations around workplace health and safety and to ensure important safety messages resonate with this target group. WorkSafeBC is recruiting young workers aged 18–24 to participate in an online dialogue session. The session will gather feedback from participants on WorkSafeBC’s current outreach and engagement initiatives and solicit their ideas on new ways WorkSafeBC can connect with young workers on workplace health and safety. Recruitment is happening in January 2023, and the online dialogue session will take place in February 2023. Selected participants will receive a $150 honorarium for participating in and completing a two-hour online dialogue session.
