Unbelievable to hear negative raw log exports comments from Mayor Mike Ruttan and MLA Scott Fraser without facing the facts and reality. Their comments all miss the number one point. The lumber industry is now competitive, and to be competitive, B.C. forest manufacturing WAGES have to come down lower. If our mills cannot produce the…
Foresting in Northern BC could see a severe drop following the summer months. With the Canada/USA Softwood Lumber Agreement expiring in October, the foresting industry could take a major blow. Without an agreement, the local economy could be greatly affected and Northern BC unemployment rate could rise further. The rate went from 6.9% in 2013…
Researchers from the University of Saskatchewan are marveling at the photos taken from their wildlife cameras set up in Manitoba’s Wapusk National Park, showing grizzly bears outside of their typical habitat. Photos that researcher Doug Clark tweeted out Thursday show grizzlies, polar bears and black bears in the vicinity of one camera mounted on a fence post in…
Resource-revenue sharing has emerged as the next Big Idea for First Nations. Like most Big Ideas, it seems simple, but in reality is full of legal difficulties and unintended economic consequences. Perry Bellegarde, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), said immediately upon being elected to that position, “If our lands and resources…
Leaders at Grassy Narrows First Nation want all logging near their community stopped for fear it is adding to the mercury contamination already poisoning people in the northwestern Ontario community. “It’s the same government and the same ministry that allowed the mercury to be dumped,” said Grassy Narrows Deputy Chief Randy Fobister of the provincial…
The provincial representative at H.C. Haynes Ltd. reminded woodland owners that although U.S. housing starts have been good recently, lumber prices don’t always mirror housing starts. In fact, the price of lumber has declined recently and he expected it would go down another $5 a tonne within the next month. The price for Oriented Stand…
The U.S. government is investigating whether to impose trade sanctions on paper exports from the Maritimes because of industrial subsidies that producers receive from the New Brunswick and Nova Scotia governments. The U.S. International Trade Commission said in a preliminary ruling in April that American paper manufacturers have been hurt by the low price of…
Port Alberni Mayor Mike Ruttan says the amount of raw logs leaving his city’s port is growing exponentially and he wants some answers. He adds one in seven raw logs leaving Canada is leaving from Port Alberni. “We get concerned because we think potentially those are jobs, potentially that’s income for the Province, income for…
Kenora Mayor Dave Canfield says it’s time the provincial and federal governments fought back against environmental groups opposed to forestry practices in northern Ontario and Quebec. Canfield, who heads the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association, on Wednesday said groups like Greenpeace are damaging the regional economy, and without any basis in fact. He added forestry standards…
Frustrated by what they see as skewed news coverage of biomass, a coalition of forest industry groups is attacking media outlets, charging that reporters are giving free rein to environmentalists’ critiques of wood-fired power generation while ignoring evidence that the cultivation, harvest and burning of trees and wood waste to generate electricity does not exacerbate…