3441 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

They don’t have a list because they are too busy making a list.

[Victoria Watcher]

Crofton, B.C. pulp mill to close down, roughly 350 people affected

https://cheknews.ca/...fected-1292529/

[max.bravo]

Property values are about to go up. That mill stinks, and is a prime reason many people don’t live there. Lovely little area.

[Mike K.]

Yup. It’ll send prices up, for sure.

[Mike K.]

The federal government has rejected an industry request for payouts to softwood producers in Canada on the hook for U.S. duties, fearing that direct intervention would further irritate the United States.

Canadian softwood producers have paid more than $10-billion since 2017 in accumulated U.S. duties, which are cash deposits held in trust by the United States that collect interest. The producers expect the U.S. to refund a portion of the duties if and when the two countries resolve their complex trade dispute over Canadian softwood shipments.

In the meantime, the industry has suggested that the Canadian government make payouts to reflect the present value of anticipated refunds, according to two forestry sources familiar with the matter.

The two sources said under this course of action, Ottawa would have received any future refunds in exchange for injecting much-needed liquidity into the struggling industry, which has long been targeted by U.S. trade regulators but has seen punitive import taxes rise under President Donald Trump.

However, Ottawa rejected the idea because of fears that such payouts would be viewed as subsidies and become a serious irritant during the wider U.S. trade war, according to a senior government official.

…

U.S. import taxes on softwood lumber currently add up to 45.16 per cent on most Canadian producers, including anti-dumping and countervailing duties of 35.16 per cent and tariffs of 10 per cent.

…

Most forests in Canada are on Crown land, where buyers pay “stumpage fees” to provincial governments for the right to log. That is in contrast with the U.S., where most timber is on private property and companies pay market rates to harvest, American producers say.

- https://www.theglobe...-irritating-us/

[Mike K.]

Not good for Cowichan. Mayor says the annual property taxation is $5 million:

He says the mill generated around $5 million in property taxes each year.

"We're scrambling now just as a municipality to figure out how we're going to continue to deliver our services," he said.

In a written statement, the Opposition B.C. Conservatives called for the resignation of Forests Minister Ravi Parmar.

"The closure of the Crofton Pulp Mill is a clear sign that B.C.’s coastal forest sector is collapsing right before our eyes," the party said.

"This closure leaves 350 workers and their families without [paycheques] heading into the holiday season, and follows years of NDP-managed decline driven by regulatory uncertainty, delayed permitting, and policy failures that are pushing investment and jobs out of British Columbia."

…

Minister of Forests Ravi Parmar told All Points West host Jason D'Souza that the announcement was "gut-punching news for the people of Crofton and the Cowichan Valley."

But Parmar said the forestry sector has been struggling for a long time due to a variety of factors, many of them driven by low prices for pulp.

- https://www.cbc.ca/n...ofton-9.7000784

Lots of trade trips, but no solid plan forward. Expensive, luxury building materials are not going to save the logging sector, neither is creating new markets in Europe.

[Victoria Watcher]

They have a $60M budget, they can find that savings.  Anybody can find 10% savings in their budget, if they try hard enough.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 03 December 2025 - 08:08 AM.

[LJ]

What happened to all those mass timber buildings we were going to construct?

 

I guess we have to wait for those 10 million trees that Trudeau planted to mature into harvestable lumber.

[Matt R.]

Glue shortage!

[Victoria Watcher]

The forest sector is blaming the province for the permanent closure of the Crofton pulp and paper mill — and loss of 350 jobs — saying the government has dragged its feet on changing policies that make it difficult for companies to compete. 

 

The Council of Forest Industries says it has been warning the province for months that permitting delays, backlogs in First Nations-led land-use planning and environmental policies such as old-growth protections are hurting the sector. 

 

“We’re the most expensive jurisdiction in North America to do forestry,” council CEO Kim Haakstad told Business in Vancouver. 

 

Haakstad said forest tenure fees are up more than 50 per cent since 2017, and the consequences of inaction by the province in the struggling sector are “now happening in real time.” 

 

“It just doesn’t make any sense that we can continue to sustain that increase in costs and still be competitive in domestic and international markets.” 

 

The province has partially blamed tariffs and softwood lumber duties imposed by the United States for challenging conditions in the forest sector. 

 

But Haakstad said that although trade uncertainty adds significant pressure, not everything can be blamed on the dispute. “It is important to focus on the areas within our control, and those remain the core issues facing B.C. forestry: access to a predictable, economic wood supply and the ability to operate in a competitive and efficient regulatory environment,” she said. 

 

https://www.timescol...f-work-11571240

 

 

 

 

 

We do it to ourselves.   Our province is 60% forest yet it's the most expensive place to harvest in all of North America.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 03 December 2025 - 10:39 PM.

[dasmo]

Why Aspen Works for Papermaking

Aspen (Populus tremuloides / trembling aspen, and Populus tremula in Europe) is commonly used in the pulp and paper industry because:
• Low lignin content → easier to pulp and bleach
• Long, flexible fibers → good blending fibers for smooth paper
• Light color → requires less bleaching
• Fast-growing hardwood → widely available in boreal regions
• Uniform structure → produces consistent pulp



BC’s Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA) requires licensees to achieve “free-growing stands” of their chosen crop trees (usually conifers).

Aspen growing naturally after logging is considered a “brush problem.”
If too much aspen appears, the stand may fail the legal free-growing test.

So companies chemically suppress aspen to meet regulatory obligations.

[Victoria Watcher]

Carney to meet Trump on sidelines of FIFA event, as U.S. president threatens to leave trade agreement

 

https://www.cbc.ca/n...trump-9.7002653

[Victoria Watcher]

Prime Minister Mark Carney met privately Friday with U.S. President Donald Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum in Washington, D.C., as relationships between the North American neighbours have been rocked by tariffs.

 

No staff were in the room with the three leaders during the around 45 minute meeting that took place at the Kennedy Center following the FIFA World Cup Draw.

 

The Prime Minister's Office said the leaders agreed to keep working on the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, known as CUSMA. The trade pact has shielded Canada and Mexico from broad-based tariffs, but the agreement enters its mandatory review period next year.

 

The three countries are co-hosting the 2026 World Cup, but the shadow of CUSMA negotiations is likely to hang over the event. Trump said Wednesday he sees the deal expiring next year and mused about letting it die.

 

https://www.timescol...ton-dc-11583144

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 05 December 2025 - 05:46 PM.

[max.bravo]

In other words; nothing was accomplished during this meeting

[Victoria Watcher]

 

 

 

You could tell what some of those issues could be from the hearings in Washington. While U.S. industry groups voiced strong support from CUSMA, some sectors raised strong concerns that Canada and Mexico are at times skirting the intent of the agreement. 

 

Those concerns include the two countries allowing steel, vehicle parts and kitchen cabinets produced in China to get into the U.S. market tariff-free through the CUSMA back door.

 

https://www.cbc.ca/n...trade-9.7004814

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 06 December 2025 - 02:56 AM.

[Hotel Mike]

Of course something is always accomplished at these face-to-face meetings between the leaders. This was never meant to be some sort of formal trade negotiations. Do you expect a signed and sealed trade deal every time, max? It's easy to be dismissive. 

[Mike K.]

Who cares, right?

[max.bravo]

Of course something is always accomplished at these face-to-face meetings between the leaders. This was never meant to be some sort of formal trade negotiations. Do you expect a signed and sealed trade deal every time, max? It's easy to be dismissive.

The problem is it reeks of desperation. We can’t get any more formal meetings, so the opportunity to chitchat on the sidelines of FIFA becomes newsworthy.

It’s like a desperate ex girlfriend posting in the group chat that she’s gonna run into her ex and talk to him at a party. Sad.

[Victoria Watcher]

Will the U.S. restart trade talks with Canada? 'We'll see,' says Trump

 

U.S. President Donald Trump said that Canada "makes a lot of things we don't need because we make them also."

 

https://www.timescol...-canada-11592588

 

U.S. President Donald Trump answered "we'll see" when he was asked Sunday whether he'd resume the trade talks he halted with Canada earlier this year.

 

Trump made several comments about the ongoing trade dispute with Canada as he spoke with reporters outside a gala for the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors.

 

He says he has a good relationship with Prime Minister Mark Carney, but that Canada, in his words, "makes a lot of things we don't need because we make them also."

 

Trump then said, "We'll work it out."

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 08 December 2025 - 12:56 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

‘Buy Canadian’ policy comes into effect, changing rules for federal procurement

 

The federal government’s ‘Buy Canadian’ policy takes effect today and Ottawa says it will fundamentally change the way it purchases goods and services.

 

Announced earlier in the fall, the strategy is meant to ensure Canadian products and workers are prioritized in federal procurement decisions to help protect Canadian industries.

 

It applies to the government’s new major projects and housing offices, defence procurement, and community infrastructure projects funded by the federal government.

 

https://cheknews.ca/...rement-1295059/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 16 December 2025 - 09:55 AM.