Quesnel hands are pushing the provincial government forward on new wood policies. Like legislative Santa Claus, multiple branches of B.C.’s government announced a major advancement in the mass-timber movement, just in time for the Christmas season, and that advancement was straight up. New rules bumped the height of mass-timber buildings from a maximum of 12 stories now up to 18 stories. …Breaking down the manufacturing barriers and cutting the red tape around mass-timber permits is what Quesnel’s Bob Simpson has been lobbying for, and the new announcement will have helpful spinoff effects, he told The Observer. Simpson is the former mayor of Quesnel and MLA for Cariboo North, and is currently one of the leaders of the Future of Forestry Think Tank that convenes in Quesnel biennially. …If many of those necessary urban buildings can get built with mass-timber, it speeds up the entire B.C. construction industry.