If it’s true that business hates uncertainty, then the B.C. forest industry is in for some ill feeling in 2017. Finding opportunity in the face of that uncertainty is the challenge for the coming year. The biggest challenge comes from the United States, which has initiated trade investigations that are expected to result in duties…

When a pair of Fort Nelson timber processing plants closed eight years ago, the town didn’t feel the impact right away. For many workers, finding employment in the booming Horn River natural gas play was relatively easy. But with hundreds of oil and gas jobs wiped out by the economic downturn, the regional municipality’s plan…

The province is preparing to stand with our lumber industry, as the next softwood dispute begins to heat up. The US Lumber Coalition has gone to its government claiming provinces across our country provide trees at discounted prices to our softwood producers, and so it’s asking for levies to be imposed. Minister of Advanced Education…

I recently spent a week in Ottawa meeting with federal government representatives to discuss the forestry agenda in the lead up to the Federal Budget. As in previous budgets, the leaders of forestry associations across the country recognized that the best approach to advancing the industry was to forward a consolidated and comprehensive agenda with…

On October 31, at the Forum Innovation Bois, the Quebec government will announce recommendations, probably accompanied by new programs, for encouraging innovation and investment in the forestry sector. Yet it is the government itself that is in large part responsible for the lack of investment in this industry and should review its practices before announcing…

Domtar beat expectations as it recorded higher profits in the third quarter despite weaker overall revenues. The Montreal-based maker of pulp, paper and personal care products said it earned US$59 million, or 94 cents US per diluted share, for the three months ended Sept. 30. That compared to US$11 million, or 17 cents US per share, a…

The Province has  released its Industry Outlook Profile for the next ten years, predicting  which sectors will see growth and  job demands. The report, ( accessible here)   has detailed employment growth and job openings forecast information.  It is  predicted thee will be  nearly a million  job openings in B.C.  y 2025, with  most of those…

The infrastructure wish lists of post-secondary institutions in Thunder Bay and Sault Ste. Marie are being fulfilled after the federal and provincial governments went on a funding tear. Confederation College and a First Nations training institute received a combined $20.76 million in federal and provincial funding for construction of a new campus building and for…

In what looked and sounded like a road-test of her 2017 election campaign, Premier Christy Clark used her annual speech to municipal leaders Wednesday to announce new funds for water systems and benefits for forest firefighters. Speaking to a packed room of local politicians at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in Victoria, Clark committed…