Daily Archives: November 15, 2019

VANCOUVER, BC — Conifex Timber reported results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2019. Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations was negative $9.2 million for the quarter, which represented an improvement of $4.0 million over the second quarter of 2019, primarily attributable to increased operating earnings. A decrease in EBITDA from continuing operations of $12.8 million compared to the previous quarter was primarily attributable to a quarter-over-quarter negative variance on our gain from the sale of duty refunds. …“While we are encouraged by the $4.0 million improvement… we anticipate greater sequential improvement in the current quarter primarily due to cost elimination at our Fort St. James mill and cost reduction at our El Dorado mill”, said Ken Shields, Chairman and CEO. 

PORT MCNEILL, BC — More than four months into a B.C. forestry workers strike, six mayors, mostly on Vancouver Island, have issued a letter describing how the job action has affected their communities. “As leaders of communities that are severely impacted by the Western Forest Products and United Steelworkers labour dispute, we are compelled to draw your attention to the economic devastation this dispute is causing for the families who live and work in our communities,” says the letter. …Port McNeill mayor Gaby Wickstrom was one of the mayors who put her name on the letter. …“It’s not just the forestry workers. They get strike pay, which is not a lot. But the contractors or businesses that rely the forestry industry – they are not getting anything and they are laying people off.”

Mills throughout Tolko’s B.C. operations will be shut down for two weeks over Christmas the company announced Nov. 14, just a week after revealing the permanent closure of its Kelowna mill. …“Had there been viable cost logs coming into the mills that weren’t so highly-priced, that mill would still be running and still be making money,” Pat McGregor, president of United Steelworkers Local 1-423. “But because the cost of logs, which they’re telling us is over 75 per cent of their overall cost, the mill can’t run.” …The closure in Kelowna has a multi-million dollar economic impact to that city but the shutdowns and the uncertainties also impact other Okanagan towns, such as Armstrong, Lavington and Lumby. …Multiply that by the 200 union workers who lost their jobs in Kelowna and that adds up to an annual payroll of more than $12 million per year.

Andrew Wilkinson

B.C. Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson is accusing the governing New Democrats of lacking a plan to guide the region – and the forest sector in particular – through the looming economic turmoil. “What’s the five-year plan in terms of where the economy is going to be?” Wilkinson said during a question and answer session with local media. “Because we’re in the midst of a lot of change here. He said such a plan should be drafted in anticipation of future industrial development and the changes that are occurring in the forest industry. …He accused the NDP of relying on “band aid programs” to ease the blow for the forest sector. …Wilkinson said the NDP is scrambling to make ends meet… and “living off the prosperity the B.C. Liberals generated.”

The City of Quesnel is inviting the community to an open house in the newly constructed Forestry Innovation Centre at City Hall Saturday, Nov. 16. The Centre, which officially opened Sept. 18, is a flexible work environment designed to foster innovation and collaboration. It houses the City’s Forestry Initiatives Program, as well as showcases locally-made structural and finishing wood products, local artisan furniture and art installations. There is also an interpretive centre that explains landscape-level management, fuel management and the future of forestry. The Forestry Innovation Centre won a Wood Works Award, which recognizes the support of the B.C. wood industry. …Fuel management is a big part of the Forestry Initiatives Program’s work… the City is working with partners for fuel treatment on 59 hectares of land this fall as part of the Community Wildfire Protection Plan.

Forest-products firm Tolko Industries says it will be shutting down operations across B.C. for two weeks over the holiday season due to low lumber prices and high log costs. The Vernon firm made the decision to take the downtime from Dec. 21 to Jan. 6 after looking at log costs, market conditions and “cumulative policy burden”. The company also has divisions in Kamloops, Williams Lake, Armstrong, Coldstream, Lumby and Richmond. …Troy Connolly, vice-president for solid wood, said… it will reduce output by approximately 21 million board feet of lumber production and 10 million square feet of panel production. …In September, workers at Tolko’s Kelowna sawmill who were expecting to go back to work after a six-week shutdown learned that the facility was staying closed indefinitely. …Over the summer, Tolko also permanently closed its Quest sawmill in Quesnel with the loss of 150 jobs.