The New Brunswick government is going to court to get its hands on almost $1 million in insurance money for a fire that destroyed the Miramichi Lumber Products sawmill a year ago. Opportunities New Brunswick has filed a lawsuit demanding that Lloyd’s Underwriters pay it $992,559.70 — money the company says it wants to restart operations. But the…
Norbord Inc. today announced that the Quebec Minister of Forests, Wildlife and Parks has terminated the wood license associated with its curtailed Val-d’Or, Quebec OSB mill. Production at the Val-d’Or mill was indefinitely suspended in 2012 following persistently weak North American housing market conditions and lower demand for OSB. This development is not expected to…
Nova Scotia Power is defending the suite of rates and tariffs it wants to impose on renewable energy producers who use its grid to get into the retail electricity business. “The tariffs are fair and transparent,” Nova Scotia Power vice president Mark Sidebottom told a Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board hearing. Regulators began hearings…
Many of B.C.’s industries will benefit from the low Canadian dollar, making it likely the province will lead the country in economic growth this year, say economists. The Canadian dollar dropped again Friday to 68 cents US, fuelling concern that the growing downward momentum means tough times ahead for the country. But some experts say…
For the first time in its 73-year history, the Truck Loggers Associationhas elected a female president — a first for any logging association in B.C. But for Jacqui Beban of Qualicum Beach, getting elected on Jan. 14 was a natural fit as she has deep roots in the industry. Her great-grandfather, grandfather and father all owned logging companies, as…
Member companies of the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) have agreed to follow an innovative approach to sustainable forest management that takes its cue from nature. The approach, known as Natural Range of Variation (NRV), is aimed at recreating natural landscapes by harvesting in patterns that are similar to the impact of wind, fire,…
A major step to increase the similarity between natural and managed forest landscapes has been agreed after collaborative discussions between a group of Canadian forest products companies and leading environmental organizations. Forestry companies belonging to the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) have committed to using a management approach that comes closer to recreating natural…
The Cariboo Chilcotin Beetle Action Coalition (CCBAC) board is planning a new strategic direction, focusing on support for economic development in the region. “CCBAC is turning a page,” said Quesnel Mayor Bob Simpson who is chair of the board in a press release. “First and foremost, the board wants to work with communities to identify…
If timing is everything, then there’s definitely a worse time to be in the lumber business. Just ask Frank Dottori. When the veteran forestry executive was working on resurrecting White River’s idle lumber mill about three years ago, few would have predicted just how far the formerly robust Canadian dollar would fall. As the loonie…
There is a meme floating around Canadian policy circles that if the job losses that are currently occurring in the oil and gas industry were happening anywhere else in Canada, we would see a bailout. Like many memes, it is difficult to precisely identify its origins. The most likely origin appears to be comments made by Saskatchewan…