A forest union official is crying foul at burning of slash piles, like these seen in the past month in the region, that could be used for products or to create energy. Under the watch of government, B.C.’s forest industry continues to burn timber on the forest floor that could be used to create energy,…

The chasm separating British Columbia’s political and aboriginal leaders could not have been defined more clearly as the second annual all-chiefs meeting got underway in Vancouver Wednesday. B.C.’s Minister for Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation, John Rustad, opened the two day gathering by calling advances over the past decade “remarkable.” “You’re seeing our government’s response to…

A windstorm that toppled trees across British Columbia’s south coast could fuel many fireplaces over the coming winter, but officials hope it will spark something creative, too. The Vancouver Park Board estimates at least 500 trees came down in parks and along boulevards during the Saturday storm, with large canopied trees such as maples, among…

In an ongoing conflict over building materials for mid-rise offices and housing, the Canadian Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute says the construction of 12-storey wooden buildings circumvents the Canadian building code process designed to ensure the safety of all Canadians. The Quebec government approved a building guide that would allow for the construction of wooden buildings up…

Conifex Timber Inc. CEO Ken Shields’ rationale for his company’s decision to spend US$21 million to buy a mothballed Arkansas sawmill sounds like a wake up call to a British Columbia forestry sector grappling with mounting challenges. “The U.S. south has overtaken the interior region of B.C. as the dominant, low-cost lumber supply region of…

Today the Globe and Mail pegged the Forest Products Industry as one of the promising sectors in the country for young Canadians looking for a prosperous career. The Forest Products Association says they need to find 60,000 new employees across Canada in the next five years to keep pace with industry growth which has been spurred onward…

A certified arborist is comparing his industry to the “wild west” as more and more people are taking up the job with little to no training in an attempt to cash in on the demand created by the emerald ash borer. Jamie Enright said that while he has been trained to use ropes to climb up towering trees…

A shortage of skilled tradespeople could put a damper on the upswing in the forest sector, according to Unifor. The union says steady jobs, with pay up to $42 per hour at some northwestern Ontario mills, are hard to fill because there are few qualified candidates. Mills in the region are now competing for employees, a situation…

Forester Milton Davies spent an exasperating summer watching road contractors slice the roots of American elms on the boulevards throughout his neighbourhood of Queen Alexandra. Buttress roots holding up 15-metre-tall, 10-tonne trees have been cut and left bare, delicate feeder roots that sent water and nutrients up the trunk have been torn out, all to…

It was scorched and blackened by fire, but thanks in part to the quick action of B.C. fire crews, one of Canada’s oldest living things will live to see another day. The Elaho Giant, estimated to be the third thickest Douglas fir on record, was caught in the middle of a 700-hectare fire that swept…