A scan of almost all media sources will reveal numerous stories on any given day on post recession recovery possibilities from revised higher growth forecasts to concerns about a double dip recession.  For the forest industry the primary future focus is on U.S. housing starts, interest rates and exchange rates.

But beyond these broader macro considerations other factors can have a high influence on our sector.  First up would be what might emerge from Copenhagen and this is too complex to cover in this brief note.  Second up are trade sanctions.  We have a long history of trade disputes between Canada and the U.S. on softwood lumber exports.  However, we need to pay attention to a new player on the scene who has started to use trade laws in a fairly aggressive manner; that player is China.  I will have more to say about this issue in 2010.

 

 John Allan

The ABCFP is pleased to announce that the Regional District of Mount Waddington (northern Vancouver Island and the adjacent mainland) is the 2010 Forest Capital of BC.

The selection committee was very impressed with the high quality of this year’s applications. It was obvious that a tremendous amount of work went into the application packages at every stage and it was difficult to select a winner.

Mount Waddington's application stood out in a couple of areas. The program of events and communication plan were particularly exciting. The whole program is designed around teaching residents and visitors about forestry while having fun. Even people who don’t come out to community events will still be touched by the Forest Capital designation as the organizing committee has arranged for a weekly article about forestry to appear in the local paper.
The selection committee was also impressed by Mount Waddington's volunteer base. The leadership volunteers include a good mix of people who represent the major employers in the regional district and is an indication of the broad level of support from across the district. The application included dozens of letters of support from community organizations, local First Nations, businesses, municipal and provincial government and even school children.

For more information check out the website:
www.abcfp.ca/about_us/affiliated_programs/forest_capital_of_bc.asp.

The Reporting Regulation is a new regulation under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction (Cap and Trade) Act that has come into force and will require facilities to start quantifying emissions on January 1, 2010.  The regulation will require facilities in British Columbia that emit over 10,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases annually to report their emissions.  It is expected that approximately 200 facilities will be required to report annually under this regulation.  The regulation has been designed to allow for a single reporting window with Environment Canada and for reporting simplicity for industry stakeholders.  The regulation sets out requirements for facilities with greenhouse gas emissions from most activities within B.C. to report greenhouse gas emissions to the British Columbia Ministry of Environment.

For more information go to the website:
www.env.gov.bc.ca/epd/codes/ggrcta/reporting-reg.htm.

Methodology Manual:
www.env.gov.bc.ca/epd/codes/ggrcta/pdf/methodology-manual.pdf. 

As a worker or employer, do you need help paying for training? You may qualify for government financial assistance to attend BC Forest Safety Council-provided training courses.

Good training is a key part of doing any job safely and productively.  The BC Forest Safety Council helps employers and employees get the information and training they need for the work they do.

Resources include things like safe work instructions that you can adapt for your site, training and policies that can guide a company’s day to day activities, supervisor training for people directly overseeing workers, and occupational training for new hand fallers.
To learn more about external funding programs that may be of interest to you go to the Safety Council website:  www.bcforestsafe.org/training.html.