Vancouver, BC – Kim Haakstad, President & CEO of the BC Council of Forest Industries (COFI) issued the following statement in response to today’s Forestry Summit convened by the federal and provincial governments:
“Forestry provides family-supporting jobs and plays a vital role in building housing, advancing reconciliation, and reducing wildfire risk. We are pleased to see the federal and provincial governments working together with urgency to ensure predictable access to logs, streamline regulations, and create conditions for companies to invest, innovate, and keep people working — even when markets are challenging.”
“British Columbia is the highest-cost forestry jurisdiction in North America. Combined with uncertain wood supply and prolonged trade disputes, many forest products companies are now on the brink of closure. To give companies a fighting chance to stay open, we need a coordinated federal–provincial work plan that strengthens competitiveness and sustains jobs in forest-dependent communities.”
To that end, COFI is urging that the new federal-provincial working group includes industry to focus on the priorities that keep mills open and people working:
At the Federal level:
- Prioritize a fair and durable New Softwood Lumber Agreement – to ensure predictability for workers, communities, and industry.
- Accelerate Softwood Funding and Identify Additional Supports– establish a single-window access to help companies identify and utilize available funding and adjust funding programs as needed.
- Advance Regulatory and Permitting Reform – enable regionally tailored solutions under provincial leadership to eliminate unnecessary duplication across jurisdictions.
At the Provincial level:
- Improve Efficiency under Forestry’s Major Project, Path to 45M Cubic Meters Harvest – focus on reducing costs and complexity and improving predictability across government. Pause new policy processes that add costs and administrative burden.
- Reduce Tenure-Related Costs – partner with industry to achieve a 50% reduction in tenure-related costs, which have more than doubled since 2017.
- Match Federal Funding Commitments – address gaps with additional funding and support in consultation with industry and labour.
“Forestry can remain a cornerstone of a strong provincial economy for BC. The path forward requires regulatory efficiency, more collaboration, and faster action from all levels of government.”
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Media Contact:
Travis Joern, Director of Communications, COFI
joern@cofi.org