Shannon Janzen

Garry Merkel

The Provincial Forest Advisory Council is dedicated to developing independent recommendations for a new, stable forest system that supports resilient communities, economies, and ecosystems across British Columbia. The council has completed its interim report which analyzed core challenges, recurring barriers, and persistent structural issues within BC’s forest sector. The interim report was provided to the Cooperation and Responsible Government Accord 2025 (CARGA) sponsors: CARGA Sponsors – Honourable Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests & MLA Rob Botterell, BC Green Caucus. It is clear to the Council that BC’s land management systems, processes, policy, and legislation were not built for our current reality and are not designed to achieve all three components of our objective in unison. Instead, we appear stuck in a forestry model that:  

• Favours quota-based wood extraction ahead of land management,
• Drives indecision, red tape and favours a drawn-out, and sometimes confusing, process versus definitive and reliable outcomes, and
• Is unresponsive to changing circumstances, fostering conflict as opposed to collaboration and innovation. 

So, how do we get unstuck?