The long running dispute between Canada and the U.S. over lumber in Canada being a “subsidized” product is now a hot issue again. This has been going on even longer than most people realize. When I arrived here to start work with Industrial Forestry Service (IFS) in the spring of 1955, I found an active…
When the U.S. Lumber Coalition petitioned its government November 25 to impose duties on Canadian imports, it kicked off a new round in what has become the longest and most bitter trade war between the two nations. The argument isn’t new. The American lumber lobby has accused Canadian provinces of subsidizing their forest sectors, an…
The imposition of import tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber will place a heavy burden on consumers and U.S. workers, a leading American voice for free trade with Canada says. The U.S. National Association of Home Builders says duties or volume caps on imported lumber will raise the price of lumber, adding more than $1,300 to…
“We are pleased with our progress and the forest management we carry out,” said Derek Geldart, the woodlands manager for the paper company, in a press release. “Ensuring the long term sustainability of the forest we manage in eastern Nova Scotia is important to us and we have significantly reduced our reliance on clearcutting, with…
The Canadian Wood Council reinforced its ongoing commitment to sustainable development with the updated launch of the Carbon Calculator tool. With growing pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) in the built environment, designers are increasingly being called upon to balance function and cost objectives with reduced environmental impacts. As the only major building material…
The Chinese government is moving to sustainable forest certification of wood products, both harvested at home and imported from other countries, officials told a conference on illegal logging in the capital this week. That includes a crackdown on countries that don’t have the will or ability to regulate rampant unregulated logging, said Fu Jinquan of…
Canadian Forest Products Ltd. has failed to convince a B.C. Supreme Court Justice it deserves a break on stumpage for timber it had been harvesting in the vicinity of Williston Lake. The concept of “cycle time” played a significant role in the decision, issued Nov. 25 by Justice Bruce Butler. In essence, the longer it…
As a retired Nova Scotia forester, I’ve long enjoyed Mike Parker’s colourful books, especially his Woodchips & Beans, which I once reviewed. So I was surprised to find his recent article about clearcutting (May the forest be with you, Oct. 29) so thin on history and thick on rhetoric. I’m no fan of big clear-cuts…
The Northern Rockies Regional Municipality is going to be partnering with FP Innovations to study the feasibility of harvesting aspen trees in the area as a more lucrative resource. The municipality announced in a press release that the study is being financed both by them and by the Northern Development Initiative Trust. Aspen trees are…
Irving Pulp and Paper Limited has been charged with 15 counts of illegal dumping into the St. John River. The alleged federal Fisheries Act violations date from June 2014 through August 2016 and are said to have taken place at the company’s mill at Reversing Falls in west Saint John. In each case it is…