Proponents of the bill say it’s a win-win win for Alberta. The innocuous sounding Bill 203 titled “Safety Codes (Sustainable Structures) Amendment Act, 2014,” might sound dry but it could dramatically impact the province’s forestry industry and those who depend on it. The legislation was tabled as a private members bill back in December 2014…
Lumber stocks have taken a beating so far this year amid falling prices for the key construction commodity, but some investors see it as a buying opportunity, betting the U.S. housing market will bounce back and growth in Asia will remain steady. Lumber prices are down about 20 per cent since late last year amid…
Federal trade officials have launched an investigation of Canadian government subsidies to the Port Hawkesbury Paper mill, which two paper companies with mills in Maine argue unfairly undercut and damaged their business. The U.S. Department of Commerce has recommended opening an investigation of 28 instances of government help to the Canadian mill in response to…
A union representing more than 9,000 forestry workers is withdrawing from a coroner’s inquest into the deaths of four sawmill employees because it says it lost confidence in the process to determine what went wrong before and after the blasts. A coroner’s inquest in Prince George, B.C., was set to provide a final analysis into…
The devastation caused by the little mountain pine beetle is on the decline, but there are some areas in the South Okanagan that are still feeling the affects of this pesky insect. “We have had little mountain pine beetle activity in the past few years as it has collapsed throughout much of our region. There…
Cape Breton University is partnering with a New Waterford-based company to produce a valuable compound from birch bark that could be used for medical applications. CBU chemist Hisham Sleem is working on a process to extract and refine betulin, which sells for $150 per gram. “Our project focuses on how to extract the betulin in a high…
The New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources released a new online map March 12 that shows, in detail, Crown land conservation areas. It also illustrates changes in those areas in relation to the 2014 Crown Land Forest Management Strategy. “This is a continuation of our commitment to be more transparent and open with the public in relation…
The biomass boiler near Port Hawkesbury consumed 530,000 tonnes of woody biomass last year, with nearly a quarter of that imported from outside the province, CBC has learned. The total consumed by the plant in 2014 amounts to about 50 large pulp trucks a day. It includes low-grade hardwood, bark and wood chips. The numbers are…
The Opposition Progressive Conservatives say mixed messages from the Liberal government are jeopardizing thousands of potential forestry jobs in the province. For the second straight day, the PCs demanded to know whether promised Liberal changes to a provincial forestry plan would affect the amount of wood companies can cut. But Natural Resources Minister Denis Landry…
With blazes in Fintry, Falkland, Kelowna and West Kelowna burned into the collective memory of local residents, communities are being urged to take action against wildfires. On Thursday, the provincial government announced an additional $5 million for the strategic wildfire prevention initiative. “The top priority is safeguarding British Columbians,” said Forests Minister Steve Thomson during…