On any visit to Cape Breton Highlands National Park, to see a moose is a highlight. But the proliferation of those giant, lumbering creatures has stirred up a giant controversy. Derek Quann, a spokesman for the park, says its 1,800 moose are eating too many young evergreen trees, reducing once-dense forest to meadows. Destruction of…
The Chair of the Board of Forest Products Association of Canada, Curt Stevens, today announced that Paul Lansbergen will be taking over as acting President and CEO of FPAC as of December 14th, 2015. Lansbergen will replace the departing CEO, David Lindsay, who held the leadership position for the last three years. “We wish David…
For anyone thinking that the Obama administration’s decision on the Keystone pipeline represents a clearing of the Canada-U.S. decks — guess again. Another major trade dispute is lurking just around the corner, and it’s on an all-too familiar topic: softwood lumber. Against the backdrop of a U.S. presidential election, the Softwood Lumber Agreement — which…
When the Prime Minister’s Office released the ministerial mandate letters for the new cabinet last Friday, the thing that stood out to political observers, beyond the unprecedented nature of their publication at the federal level, was the specificity of the marching orders. Which is why the omission, from Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland’s mandate, of the…
The U.S. and Canada have for decades fought over the lumber trade. Now Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is about to be initiated into the knotty world of timber relations, specifically regarding glossy magazine paper. Four Canadian companies — Catalyst Paper Corp., J.D. Irving Ltd., Port Hawkesbury Paper LP, Resolute Forest Products Inc. — say they plan to…
A dramatic increase in B.C. food and beverage exports is leading manufacturers to wonder whether food could surpass forestry as B.C.’s biggest manufactured category. “If you take food and beverage from the Statistics Canada data now, it’s going to be the largest component of manufacturing in the province,” said Marcus Ewert-Johns, B.C. vice-president of Canadian Manufacturers…
Resolute Forest Products announced the acquisition of Atlas Paper Holdings, Inc., a leading manufacturer of at-home and away-from-home tissue products, including recycled and virgin paper grades. “This is a step-change acquisition that provides us with an immediate position in the multi-billion-dollar North American consumer tissue market,” said Richard Garneau, president and chief executive officer of Resolute…
Nelson Architecture’s inspired use of wood in the construction of an elementary school addition was rewarded with a design award at the 15th annual WoodWorks event in Toronto, Nov. 12. The Kenora-based boutique firm took home the Northern Ontario Excellence Award for the kindergarten addition onto École Ste. Marguerite Bourgeoys in Kenora. Judges were drawn…
A photographer from Wenatchee, Washington, has made a revealing discovery at the scene of a remote and long-abandoned fire lookout: a pile of very old firewood. John Marshall has a contract to make cross-time comparisons by re-photographing landscape panoramas from Western fire lookouts. In the 1930s, Forest Service crews snapped theoriginal panoramic photos. That’s what brought…
Bill Stephen, tree expert with City of Vancouver’s urban forest strategy team, wants to show me how hard it is to take care of trees in the city’s downtown core. We meet at the corner of Carrall and Water streets in bustling Gastown and Stephen points to a beautiful row of maples planted along the…