Forestry sector representatives met with the federal and provincial governments today to discuss skilled-labour initiatives and human-resource planning, as part of a series of roundtables being held over coming months with sectors highlighted in the BC Jobs Plan. The roundtables, co-hosted with industry associations and employers, aim to stimulate discussion and create awareness about how…
A new study says there’s enough forest in Northwestern Ontario for Resolute to share but the company says the organization that released it is misleading the public. Wildlands League, a chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, says Resolute Forest Products is holding around two million hectares of forest in Northwestern Ontario that it…
The weaker Canadian dollar has made this country’s lumber products more competitive globally, which has helped not only large producers but also smaller operations like private woodlots. This was one positive to emerge from the Boundary Woodlot Association (BWA) annual winter meeting held in Midway on Jan. 9. President George Delisle welcomed over thirty association…
Sudbury is joining a program that aims to see millions of trees planted over the next decade. Conservation Sudbury spokesperson Carl Jorgensen said the group has signed up with Trees Ontario’s 50 Million Tree Program, and will provide white pine seedlings. What needs to happen now is for people with more than 1 hectare of…
An old and obscure Germanic tradition has made a comeback in Montreal. The city hosted the first pan-American tree toss competition on Saturday in Old Montreal, challenging locals and visitors alike to fling the farthest fir. The competition was presented by Igloofest and Sapin MTL, a company that delivers and recycles Christmas trees. Participants paid $10…
Wood products producers are encouraged by the Trudeau government’s decision to sign the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the first step to ratifying a sweeping agreement with Japan, Australia and other Asian countries. International Trade Minister Christia Freeland said this week she will take the next “technical step,” allowing the TPP to be debated in the House of…
As it prepares to usher in new requirements, the group that audits the ecofriendliness of forestry companies is signalling that there is flexibility in the way the controversial motion behind those new standards will be implemented. “We’ll never go back to the old standards … but there is a flexibility in how it will be…
The boost Canadian lumber exports are getting from the falling loonie is certain to bring out protectionist forces in the U.S. lumber lobby, says the CEO of Quebec-based forestry company Tembec. “I think that they’re watching the Canadian dollar drop, particularly in lumber, and they’re saying, ‘This isn’t fair,’” CEO James Lopez said Thursday before…
The City of Dryden lost its appeal to have Domtar pay $7.9 million in unpaid taxes. An Ontario Superior Court has turned down the northwestern Ontario municipality’s request for the local mill to pay taxes and assessment from 2009 to 2012. The original Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) assessed value for these years was $52…
After almost 20 years of environmental protests, conflict and negotiation, the B.C. government and coastal First Nations are poised to ratify a sweeping land-use order for the Great Bear Rainforest aimed at protecting 70% of the area’s old-growth trees. The Great Bear land-use order is expected to be signed by the B.C. government and First…