It’s not nearly as much as Canoe Forest Products asked for, but Salmon Arm councillors are giving the company a tax break that will be picked up by property owners and businesses. On Monday, council approved the shift of $25,000 to general municipal taxes from Class 4 (Major Industry). Chief financial officer Monica Dalziel advised…
Conifex Timber Inc. announced today that it has completed a timber harvesting cooperation agreement with Dunkley Lumber Ltd. (“Dunkley”) to conduct coordinated joint timber harvesting operations on certain portions of Conifex’s harvesting areas in the Mackenzie Timber Supply Area. Conifex believes that the coordinated harvesting operations will enhance fibre optimization between the two companies, improve…
Rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are accelerating the growth of B.C.’s forests by one to three per cent a year, enough to cancel out the impact on the climate from the mountain pine beetle outbreak by 2020, according to a new study from the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions. “This turnaround will happen much…
B.C.’s focus on heavy timber and mass wood construction is reshaping the construction industry, creating a new type of construction expertise, while also showing the private sector that mid and highrise wood structures can make economic sense. “Since the beginning of this year, we are starting to see more interest from developers in these projects…
Changing the Point Tupper biomass generating facility’s must-run status won’t affect employment there and will benefit the province’s ratepayers, a Nova Scotia Power official says. Sasha Irving, vice-president of communications and public affairs, said in an interview Friday they believe it’s the right decision for customers of the utility. “It provides us with more flexibility…
The mountain pine beetle has had a huge impact on B.C.’s forest industry, but it’s not the only issue facing the industry. The Council of Forest Industries held its annual general meeting in Kelowna this week. One of the issues discussed was how the forestry industry can be competitive in the face of the pine beetle and other threats. The…
Alberta’s $4-billion forest products sector enjoyed solid growth in 2015, offering a bit of relief to struggling resource towns that have been slammed by the downturn in the oilpatch. The Alberta Forest Products Association (AFPA), which represents most of the province’s key industry players, says its members generated revenues last year of more than $3 billion year. That was up more than $150 million or 5.2 per…
New rules around biomass production in Nova Scotia will reduce the number of trees being cut down in the province for a plant in Port Hawkesbury. When it opened in 2013, the plant was billed as a renewable energy facility that would help the province meet clean energy targets. Now government is scrapping regulations requiring…
The Ministry of Natural Resource’s 2016 Forest Fire program officially launched on April 1 and preparations for the upcoming season are now underway at the Northwest Region Fire Management Centre in Dryden. Fire information officer Jonathan Scott confirmed fire crew leaders are on site undergoing mandatory training and readying equipment ranging from hose packs, pumps,…
Canadian truck drivers can start throwing away their pens and pencils over the next few months. Traditional paper logs used to track hours will be phased out in favour of electronic logging devices (ELDs). A Canadian Press report in February said that Transport Canada intends to introduce legislation to mandate electronic logging devices. The Canadian…