Category Archives: Business & Politics

Kurt Niquidet

The forest sector in B.C. may have shrunk dramatically over the past 20 years, but it remains an important pillar of the economy, providing one out of every six manufacturing jobs in B.C., according to a study released by COFI, in advance of this week’s COFI conference. The forest sector still supports 49,000 jobs, the study found, and contributes $17 billion annually to B.C’s gross domestic product. …But it’s a sector that has been battered by a declining timber supply, high operating costs, and American softwood lumber duties, all of which have contributed to major sawmill and pulp mill closures in recent years. …“In the short term we are faced with a critical shortage of timber for BC mills. Left unchecked, reduced access to fibre supply will drive further losses in the investment, infrastructure and workforce needed to meet those new opportunities,” said Kurt Niquidet, VP and Chief Economist at COFI.

Mayor Shane Brienen says he expects to learn more about Canfor’s plans to build a sawmill here while attending the 2024 Council of Forest Industries convention this week. The company closed its existing mill here last spring, citing its age and unprofitability, resulting in the loss of hundreds of jobs and ongoing economic uncertainty. Although Canfor announced last fall it would build a new mill to produce higher value lumber, a project that would take between 28 to 32 months, the company has been largely silent since then. But rumours have now been spreading of a delay in demolishing the old sawmill, a necessary step to allow the construction of a new facility. “I have a feeling the teardown is delayed,” said Brienen. But, added Brienen, he has not heard that Canfor is shelving its building plan. Brienen did add that the overall ongoing forest industry situation in B.C. is challenging.

First responders were in Delta early Sunday morning dealing with a mill fire. Delta Police tell CityNews the blaze broke out at Acorn Mill on Alaska Way along the Fraser River, just off of Surrey Fraser Docks. Police received a call around 1:15 a.m. from Delta Fire asking for assistance. No word yet on when Delta Fire received the initial call. “No injuries, nobody hurt,” Acting Insp. James Sandberg, public affairs media manager for Delta Police, told CityNews. “My understanding that this mill doesn’t run 24 hours a day or at least not on the weekend, so minimal staff on site at the time of the report.” As of just after 8:30 a.m., Sandberg said the fire was still burning and crews were still fighting. “We don’t have anything yet to say about causation or anything like that because we haven’t really been able to get in there at all,” he said. Heavy smoke was seen in the area, and reports from the scene say, crews battled the stubborn fire for over 12 hours.

Additional coverage by Kaija Jussinoja in CTV News: Crews battle large fire at lumber mill in Delta, BC

The Kwanwatsi Big House at the We Wai Kum First Nation in Campbell River was the ideal place to formally sign a historic agreement between North Island First Nations and Western Forest Products. We Wai Kum Chief Chris Roberts was the first to speak, which included Dallas Smith as MC, B.C. Premier David Eby, Minister of Forests Bruce Ralston and Western Forest Products CEO Steven Hofer. The agreement allows the Nations in the Na̲nwak̲olas Council to acquire a 34% interest from WFP in a newly formed limited partnership for $35.9 million. The partnership will consist of portions of WFP’s Mid Island operation, including 157,000 hectares. It will also manage an allowable annual cut of 904,540 cubic metres of timber. “It’s really a new approach to how the land base is going to be managed,” said Hofer. “It’s not Western saying to the Nations that this is how it’s going to be managed … it’s a collaborative process.”

Gary Anandasangaree

CRANBROOK, BC — The federal government and a BC First Nation have reached a $7-million settlement over a lumber grievance that dates back to 1942. Federal Minister Gary Anandasangaree and Chief Joe Pierre Jr. announced the settlement Thursday, where Canada will pay the cash to compensate the First Nation for its economic losses from the timber surrender. …Anandasangaree says the latest settlement is a step made by the federal government to “be a good partner” in the development of Indigenous communities. The grievance stemmed from the surrender and sale of timber on Aq’am’s Kootenay Reserve No. 1 in 1942, where Canada is described as having failed to “properly manage the sale of the timber,” selling it at a low rate that resulted in economic losses for the community.

VICTORIA—More than fifty Unifor members from across the province are participating in meetings today with MLAs from their regions and cabinet ministers overseeing key economic sectors. “This is a great opportunity to directly communicate the ideas and concerns of working people with the very decision-makers who update B.C.’s laws and regulations to improve working conditions for all,” said Gavin McGarrigle, Unifor Western Regional Director. “Lobby meetings are an important tool in our broader approach to affecting change for workers.” This week Unifor members will meet with the premier, most of cabinet, and several government MLAs from constituencies where members live and work. In addition to forestry, transit, and pay equity, Unifor members will share recommendations for improving employment standards and workers’ bargaining power.

B.C.’s economy has always depended on its rich forests—from First Nations communities, through the early settler economy, to modern forestry practices and technologies. But in recent years the industry has been buffeted by a perfect storm of environmental, economic, and geopolitical challenges. Total production has declined by up to half in recent years, with devastating effects on employment, output, exports, and taxes. Dozens of remote and regional forest communities are unsure of their future, unless a viable and sustainable future for forestry can be achieved. The three major unions representing forestry workers in B.C. recently came together to host a special Forestry Summit. The Summit featured a report, co-authored by Jim Stanford (Director of the Centre for Future Work) and Ken Delaney (from the Canadian Skills Training and Employment Coalition). The report describes the forestry crisis, and maps out the major elements of a sector strategy to preserve jobs and workplaces…

VANCOUVER, BC — Drax released an annual report for its Drax Foundation and Community Fund that shows more than $4.6 million has been donated to support communities across Drax’s global operations. The company focused on funding organizations that help underrepresented groups, advance gender equality, and support indigenous communities. …In Canada, Drax provided more than $960,000 to organizations in 2023, including STEM workshops and mentoring partnerships with the Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology as part of its work to invest in girls and indigenous communities as future STEM leaders. …A three-year partnership with Science World to increase the educational opportunities for students in the most remote school districts. …The University of BC’s Faculty of Forestry received $81,500 in grant funding supporting 316 children from underserved communities with access to bursaries. The programme called Wild & Immersive encourages children and young people to care for the environment through nature-based experiences.

The B.C. government has been doing a good job of creating domestic demand for engineered wood products, as evidenced by the more than 350 construction projects in B.C. that use or propose using mass timber, according to NRCan. The question is: Can B.C. forests deliver on the supply? And critically, can the provincial government create the conditions needed to encourage forestry companies in B.C. to invest? …There are now half a dozen companies in B.C. that make some form of engineered wood products, like CLT, glulam and dowel-laminated timber. But this kind secondary manufacturing still depends on a healthy primary manufacturing sector, which depends on a reliable timber supply. Growing this form of manufacturing necessarily means addressing a fundamental timber supply problem. …But the bottom line is that B.C. manufacturers will have competition, so if the government is seriously about fostering a mass timber manufacturing sector, it needs to ensure there is a competitive investment and operating environment.

Southern B.C. Coast – Iskum Investments (Iskum) is a Consortium of over 20 First Nations (the Consortium) from across Vancouver Island and the B.C. coast, that have come together in a unified modern business partnership to make economic reconciliation work for Nations, workers and communities. Iskum’s focus is to meaningfully advance economic reconciliation and improve the B.C. business environment.  By coming together as one, Iskum will pursue meaningful large scale business opportunities with a goal to deliver generational shared prosperity for everyone’s benefit. “Iskum Investments is First Nations coming together to make economic reconciliation work for everyone,” said Emchayilk Robert Dennis Sr., Iskum Investments Chair. “For the past 150 years, we watched others decide what is best for our people, lands, waters, forests and resources. Today, we embark on a new path…” Iskum’s mandate is to explore economic opportunities that will create new self-generated revenues and support certainty for continued investment in B.C. 

Additional coverage in Business in Vancouver by Nelson Bennett: B.C. coastal First Nations form investment consortium

Quesnel River Pulp had fire on the factory roof, Monday afternoon. The pulp operation located at 1000 Finning Road was the scene of a fire alarm at about 3:30 p.m., Apr. 1. More than a dozen personnel from Quesnel Fire Department rushed to the large structure. Their concentration was on at least three noticeable hotspots on the roof. A ladder truck, rescue vehicle and tender (water tanker) were among the fire vehicles that rolled from a QFD firehall. More volunteer firefighters from the department were arriving 90 minutes after the first alarm, still needed after they finished their workday. Quesnel River Pulp is owned by Atlas Holdings of Alberta, operated by Millar Western Forest Products. It was, until recently, owned by West Fraser, but the sale was announced in September. [END]

Most of us have a dryer at home. But does yours cost over $5 million, weigh over 200,000 kilograms, measures 44 metres in length and take five weeks to install? Those are the specs of the new West Fraser dryer that rolled into town earlier this month as Williams Lake Plywood began its dryer replacement project to replace one of its three existing dryers. The new wood veneer drying machine will improve productivity, efficiency, safety and reliability, as well as helping the mill continue to ensure its high product quality, further adding to the resiliency of the company’s long-standing Williams Lake operations. West Fraser has a proud history in the community spanning nearly seven decades. “Our business name, ‘West Fraser,’ reflects the company’s early founding days in this region, with mills in Quesnel and Williams Lake, all fed with timber from west of the Fraser River,” said Chad Swanson, general manager, Williams Lake Sawmill.

Last week, the Alberta Labour Relations Board published their second new applications report of March 2024. In it was an application accusing an employer of unionbusting. Local 1-207 of the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, otherwise known as United Steelworkers, filed the application on 18 March. The union represents around 130 workers employed in the Drayton Valley area by Weyerhaeuser, a Seattle-based corporation that specializing in timberland ownership and management, wood products, real estate, and energy. According to Local 1-207’s application, Weyerhaeuser terminated the employment of one of their workers recently. This worker was a known union supporter and recently signed a petition card.

A delegation from the BC Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change Strategy came to Port Alice back on Feb. 28 to give Port Alice Village Council another update on the mill stabilization. …One digester that has been dismantled and two more remain to be taken down and recycled by the trustee, Price Water House Cooper. A new water treatment plant is up and running to remove mercury from the effluent that is collected. The rest of the water processing infrastructure is still being used for effluent management… One major task remaining is the marine log dock demolition. Lemare has been on sight and is doing some preparatory work to bring down the structure. …No decisions have been made on the future of the mill site or on future ownership. By the end of fiscal period 2023/24, the de-risking and stabilization of the mill site is estimated to cost the provincial government $116 million.