Tolko has obtained a new demolition permit from the City of Kelowna to tear down more of its mill. The original permit, obtained in February 2020, was to demolish six buildings. The newest permit, issued in March, allows it to get rid of most but not all of the rest. The new work is being done despite the fact Tolko has yet to complete an environmental review of possible contamination of the 40-acre property at the foot of Knox Mountain in Kelowna on Okanagan Lake. “The B.C. Ministry of the Environment confirmed to both Tolko and the City of Kelowna that the demolition of structures that does not disturb the underlying soil can proceed before completing the site DSI (Detailed Site Investigation),” Chris Towney, Tolko’s communications advisor, told iNFOnews in an email. …One of the keys to either selling or redeveloping the site is the level of contamination of the soil that has been used as a mill site for about 90 years.

While the price of lumber may be tough on those buying it, it’s been good for a couple of large Salmon Arm businesses. At USNR, former home of Newnes Machine, general manager Rob Seaman said lumber prices are definitely benefiting the company. …“Lumber prices help our customers which leads to us getting more opportunity.” USNR supplies equipment and technologies for the wood-processing industry. Seaman said just over 100 people currently work at the facility. …Over at Canoe Forest Products, general manager Marcello Angelozzi said the company had a difficult 2019 which continued until about the spring of 2020. …“We have order files that take us through to summer – long order files means that we’re in good shape in terms of the market staying strong for a while.” …The Salmon Arm plant employs just under 200 people, with about 1,000 total in the Gorman group.

Brock Mulligan

Sky-high lumber prices may not be making builders happy but it is good news for Alberta’s forestry industry. “For the forestry industry, when we headed into COVID, frankly, we were prepared for the worst,” said Brock Mulligan, Alberta Forest Productions Association vice-president of communications and government affairs. “We thought it would really be a challenging time for our industry.” …“What we’ve discovered, with folks home from work there’s great demand for our products, not just here in Alberta but all through North America.” Renovation and home remodelling typically accounts for half of lumber sales, he said. Mulligan said forestry industry doing well is good news for Alberta. “A lot of other industries have struggled, but forestry has really been a bright spot.” About 40,000 jobs are connected with the forestry industry, which generates almost $7 billion in revenue each year.

April 19 marked the first day in nearly a year the production line was active at the former C&C Wood Products, which had been closed after the company went into bankruptcy on June 2, 2020. The mill had been operating since 1977, employing 185 at its height. “Everyone’s really excited,” KFP President Neal Kandola said. “I’ve been on the phone with our customer base. They’re hungry for the product.” …Kandola said KFP hopes to have two, eight-hour shifts running five days a week. The panels created by KFP will go into hardware stores, to be installed by everyone from professional carpenters to do-it-yourselfers at their homes. …“We’d like to thank mayor and council, because without their support, this purchase would have been difficult,” he said. …Kandola added KFP has a great business to business relationship with the West Fraser Timber Company.

Nick Arkle

KELOWNA, BC — Lumber prices are at an all-time high of US$1,300 per thousand board feet, up dramatically from the historical average of US$400. “As with any commodity hike, it’s the customer that ultimately has to pay the increase,” said Nick Arkle, CEO of Gorman Brothers Lumber. “But it all comes down to supply and demand. Supply of lumber dried up at the start of COVID and hasn’t been able to catch up since. …Gorman Brothers is at two-shifts-a-day capacity at its one-inch finishing board mill in West Kelowna, its cedar siding and decking mill in Revelstoke, its plywood plant in Canoe and remanufacturing facility in Oroville, Washington. Total workforce is at about 1,000, making it the largest single private-sector employer in West Kelowna, Revelstoke and the Shuswap. It can’t really ramp up any more because wood supply from under-license tree harvesting on Crown land has been reduced. 

MACKENZIE- With Paper Excellence closing the Mackenzie Pulp Mill, several former employees and the local municipality are calling for action from the provincial government.  “I have said a number of times, governments knows what they need to do,” says Joan Atkinson, Mayor of the District of Mackenzie.  Others echoes Atkinson’s sentiments, calling for something to be done before it is too late.  “They blame this closure on a lack of fibre when over 150 log trucks cruise out of our town and down the highway daily,” says Chris Dixon, a former pulp mill employee of 15 years, and UNIFOR President on-site.  The mill employed over 150 local people who all lost their jobs when the mill closed down last Friday.  Back in mid-2020 the mill was curtailed, and for that reason Mayor Atkinson says the closure was no surprise, but is still emotional for the community.