The PwC Q1 2017 FPP Deals Insights saw an increase in deal volume and total deal value relative to the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2016. A total of 23 M & A deals were announced during Q1 2017 with a total value of US$4.2 billion. This activity is being driven by a relatively healthy and…
For the past several months, the industry has been reeling over speculation about impending tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber and what they might mean for the housing industry. With the announcement of the first round of duties a few weeks ago, official answers have started coming — but there’s still plenty of uncertainty and potential…
Biorefining has the potential to be the next-generation fuel, with Thunder Bay and the region in the heart of the fuel source. More than 120 scientists, experts in the biorefining, have converged on Thunder Bay for an extensive three-day conference. Lew Christopher, chair of the conference and director for Lakehead University’s Biorefining Research Institute, said…
It’s that time of year again. We are being invaded, but in a very good way. You often see them at many of our friendly coffee establishments and restaurants. They come in all shapes and sizes. One only has to look at their hands to see that those are the hands of some very hard…
On May 8, the capping ceremony for project Origine, the tallest wood-constructed condominium in North America, took place in Quebec City’s Pointe-aux-Lièvres eco-district. The building, constructed by a consortium of EBC inc., Nordic Structures and Synchro Immobilier, is a 12-storey wood structure on top of a one-storey concrete podium. The 41-metre tall condo uses cross-laminated…
It’s been almost six years since the Island Lake Biomass Harvest Experiment was established in the Martel Forest region near Chapleau, Ont., and though the project is still in its early stages, researchers have begun to share some surprising findings from their ambitious harvesting experiment. A collaborative project between Tembec Chapleau Operations and a wide…
Nova Scotia’s Liberal leader says it’s time to review forestry practices in the province, but environmental advocates say that work has already been done and it was Stephen McNeil’s government that resisted acting upon it. McNeil and his party released their platform for the environment on Monday. It calls for the continued enforcement of a moratorium on…
One of the factors in the early forest industry of British Columbia was the entrepreneurship of Sikhs from India who established sawmills in this province. This 1933 photo, originally from the provincial archives, shows workers in front of a steam donkey yarder alongside the Kapoor sawmill, in the Sooke Hills. You can see three fairleads…
The Canadian government is threatening multiple trade actions against the United States in retaliation for duties on softwood lumber, warning that several American industries could be targeted in the event of a protracted trade dispute. A first salvo came from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who in a letter Friday informed B.C. Premier Christy Clark that he’s seriously considering her request for a ban…
Quebec paper and lumber producer Resolute Forest Products expects it will have to cut jobs soon as it faces U.S. trade actions on two fronts. “It is unavoidable in my opinion because of the disruption in the market,” CEO Richard Garneau said Thursday in an interview after disclosing weaker first-quarter results. The Montreal-based company has…