National

B.C. sets aside some timber supply for value-added

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 24 Jan, 2023 06:06 PM

DELTA, B.C. - The British Columbia government is launching a new program that will ensure dedicated access to the provincial timber supply for secondary manufacturers that make value-added products.

Forests Minister Bruce Ralston says the goal is to build a stronger, more resilient forest industry with value-added products such as mass timber, plywood, veneer, panelling and flooring.

Thank you @CoastlandWood for the tour and for hosting many industry leaders today. It is great to see a #BC business growing and expanding. @ILAlogger @IWPABC @JakePowerWood @BrendaBaileyBC (3/3) pic.twitter.com/8iqmsr23P7
— Bruce Ralston (@BruceRalston) January 24, 2023

The government says in a statement that those products are increasingly in demand as alternatives to carbon-intensive construction products such as cement, resulting in steady job growth in the province.

The statement says the program will be restricted to those facilities that have minimal or no forestry tenure and are approved as a value-added manufacturer.

Figures show overall harvest levels in the forest industry in B.C. have decreased in the past decade, but employment in the value-added sector has grown by about 35 per cent since 2012.

Paul Rasmussen, with the Interior Lumber Manufacturers' Association, says they're encouraged to see the government recognize that a dedicated fibre allocation for the value-added sector is required.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Moderna preps to seek shot approval for young kids

Moderna says it's working on a submission to Health Canada for the approval a COVID-19 vaccine for children under the age of six. The biotech company on Thursday asked U.S. regulators to authorize low doses of its vaccine for children between six months and five years of age.

Moderna preps to seek shot approval for young kids

Day of Mourning commemorates fallen workers

Today over a dozen ceremonies resumed in person, after holding virtual ceremonies for the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Vancouver ceremony is at Jack Poole Plaza starting at 10:30 a.m. and is jointly hosted by the B.C. Federation of Labour, the Business Council of British Columbia, Vancouver & District Labour Council, and WorkSafeBC.

Day of Mourning commemorates fallen workers

One man dead following police-involved shooting

Vancouver police say they were responding to an alleged assault inside an apartment near Commercial Drive and Fifth Avenue. There was an exchange of gunfire with a man in his 40s and Const. Tania Visintin says the man died.

One man dead following police-involved shooting

Nearly 1,000 troops denied vaccine exemptions

The Canadian military says nearly 1,000 members have been denied exemptions from the military's COVID-19 vaccine requirement. Vice-chief of the defence staff Lt.-Gen. Frances Allen says more than 1,300 members of the Canadian Armed Forces requested exemptions for medical or religious reasons.

Nearly 1,000 troops denied vaccine exemptions

Sunwing party flight passengers fined $59,500

Omar Alghabra's office says 42 tickets were issued, including 18 for non-compliance with vaccination requirements and 24 for violations of masking rules.

Sunwing party flight passengers fined $59,500

Vancouver's empty homes tax to jump to 5 per cent

Councillors have unanimously backed a motion from Mayor Kennedy Stewart to hike the empty homes tax to five per cent of a property's assessed value, effective next year.