Provincial policies are being blamed for job loss in rural communities. There is a concern that not linking timber harvesting to processing lumber has led to mill closures in the Interior. “I would like to see resources process where they are harvested,” said Hank Cameron, Cherryville director, at a Regional District of North Okanagan meeting…

It’s been 10 years since Domtar’s Cornwall location closed its doors but a committee of past employees have joined together and planned a special reunion and fundraiser to bring everyone together again and to benefit the United Way. The fundraiser gets underway at 5:00pm on Friday, September 30 at the Army Navy Air Force Club…

Frank Dottori, the man credited with re-opening idled lumber mills in White River and Témiscaming, Quebec, has acquired control of the former Olav Haavaldsrud Timber (OHT) sawmill in Hornepayne. The deal is expected to revive a dormant 63-year-old forestry operation that until last year was the second-largest employer after CN Rail in Hornepayne, a community of 1,050…

UBC is partnering with a BC company to turn soil contaminants into household products. As part of the partnership, UBC Okanagan chemist Susan Murch will work with Passive Remediation Systems Ltd. (PRS) to find ways to pull natural and industrial chemicals out of vegetation that is being used to remediate a decommissioned landfill in Salmon…

Prince George will see the strongest economic growth among the seven mid-sized cities covered in a Conference Board of Canada outlook. Following growth of 2.6 per cent last year, Prince George’s economy is forecast to make further gains over the next two years, with real GDP rising by 2.4 per cent this year and 2.8…

It’s the Village of Lumby’s way of saying thank you. Village council unanimously voted to donate $10,000 in revenue from its community forest to the White Valley Parks, Recreational and Cultural Services. Mayor Kevin Acton made the presentation at the regular Regional District of North Okanagan meeting. Accepting the cheque were Area D director and…

Two levels of government and Emera are investing $1.67-million in a type of business incubator for the forestry industry in Nova Scotia. The forestry “innovation hub” will help startups make a business out of using wood byproducts in new ways, the provincial government says. “Over the last number of years it’s become painfully apparent that we need to…

Eikichi Kagetsu dined with royalty, built up a logging empire in British Columbia, employed hundreds of people and established himself as a leader in the Japanese Canadian community.All that was taken away during the Second World War, when the federal government’s racist wartime policies against those of Japanese heritage saw Kagetsu dispossessed of his properties…

For Greg McDermid, getting a federal research grant is taking his work to another level. The associate professor of geography at the University of Calgary will receive $145,000 over five years to broaden his research with remote sensors that are used to study climate change and landscape dynamics. “They tend not to be the big money grants, but they…

To conclude a presentation to interested community stakeholders on Wednesday, June 1, Catalyst Paper Corporation’s Powell River division vice-president and general manager Fred Chinn said, despite recent talks of corporate takeover, the mill is here to stay. “This is a company that’s going to be here,” said Chinn at the meeting, “and this is a…