See the article in the Times Colonist here
By Kim Haakstad, President and CEO of the B.C. Council of Forest Industries, and Peter Lister, Executive Director of the Truck Loggers Association.
(Vancouver, September 22) As leaders gather this week at the 2025 Union of BC Municipalities Convention to chart the future of British Columbia, forestry must be central to those discussions.
Forestry touches communities of every size in every part of BC. It is not just an industry—it is part of BC’s fabric. And at a time of pressing challenges, forestry offers solutions: for rural, urban and Indigenous communities, it can and should be a unifying force.
The forestry value chain runs deep. From logging contractors to sawmills and pulp mills, from family-run lumber yards to tall timber buildings, the sector provides opportunity and stability. Projects like the new PNE mass timber amphitheatre and the Prince George District Renewable Energy System show how forestry drives innovation, creates skilled, high-paying jobs, and strengthens communities.
Yet the sector faces headwinds. U.S. softwood lumber duties now exceed 35%, global markets remain volatile, and further tariff increases loom. These forces are beyond our control, but they make action at home urgent. In challenging times, we need to focus on solutions that make us stronger together—solutions that are about and, not or.
Recent polling shows 87 percent of British Columbians agree that effectively developing natural resources is key to future growth. That means economy and environment. Reconciliation and jobs. Urban and rural. We don’t have to choose. We can—and must—do it all. And forestry is the major project that proves it—because it can deliver right now.
Premier Eby has recognized this by naming Forestry as a Major Project known as the “Path to 45 million cubic metres”. This is the minimum harvest level needed to keep workers and contractors employed, mills operating, and the industry alive. BC’s allowable annual cut is around 60 million cubic metres. Today, we’re harvesting barely half of that and many mills are down to one shift. That means lost jobs, lost opportunities, and declining community stability.
The good news is: forestry doesn’t need years of permitting.
We already have the people, the infrastructure, and the supply chain in place. We can unleash forestry now, while new mines, LNG facilities, and clean energy projects work their way through the approval process.
But we must move now. Closing that gap matters—not just for companies, but for communities across BC. If we can reach the 45 million target harvest, government tax revenues would increase over $500 million per year from stumpage and non-stumpage revenues.
And forestry is, quite simply, a solution.
- Housing: Renewable, low-carbon building materials enable everything from family homes to tall timber towers, like the new BCIT student residences.
- Wildfires: Active forest management reduces fuels that drive catastrophic fires, while industry turns that wood into renewable energy, pulp, paper, and bioproducts.
- Economic development: Billions of dollars in government revenues and tens of thousands of green jobs across operations, contractors, transportation, engineering, equipment, and services in every region.
- Reconciliation: Embedding First Nations stewardship, knowledge, and opportunity is critical for the future of forestry.
As global trade challenges intensify, BC must focus on what we can control, thereby strengthening the sector, safeguarding its workers, and securing forestry’s benefits for generations. By working together, we can ensure a stronger forestry sector, stronger communities, and a stronger British Columbia.