The Civic Centre was packed Thursday, April 3 with about 630 forestry professionals filling the halls.
The BC Council of Forest Industries Conference is being held there this week with the goal of addressing the factors and innovations reshaping the future of the forest sector in BC and beyond.
One panel, which included BC Hydro chair and former premier Glen Clark discussed the next four years of Canada-U.S. relations and their impact on forest products and trade.
Clark later spoke with The Citizen about the role of forestry in the province and the ongoing decline in the economic relationship with the U.S. and its effect on forestry, particularly in Prince George.
“You have to be worried about it,” said Clark. “There’s no two ways around it. The forest industry up here has faced one challenge after another, whether it’s wildfires, the mountain pine beetle, the Americans, or changes in government policy. All of those things are much more challenging for the industry. All we can do as a province is ask: what can we do? We can’t do anything about wildfires, we can’t do anything about the mountain pine beetle, we can’t do anything about the Americans. What can we do to really try to refocus the industry and get it back on its feet? I think there’s still an opportunity to increase the cut from where it’s been the last few years. There’s also an opportunity for more diversification in our trade and our industry.”
Clark added that Canadian perspectives on trade must also evolve to protect the industry.
“We always have to remind ourselves that we’re trading with people who care about the United States, not about Canada,” said Clark. “Sometimes I think we’re a bit naive in Canada. We think they’re friends, so they’re going to treat us the same as they would their fellow citizens, and there are plenty of examples where they haven’t.
"I think we need to diversify our trade as well. It’s going to be less dependent on the United States. The best opportunity for British Columbia is Japan, where we’ve lost market share in recent years. It’s a well-off country that we know well, and many of our companies have traded there. That’s an area where we need to invest to try to grow our trade in different parts of Asia.”
The conference featured 52 industry booths and 42 speakers and panelists. It began Wednesday night with an icebreaker meet-and-greet and will wrap up Friday with more panel discussions.
Booths showcased industry advancements, including new log debarkers, equipment, tools and information on the transport and storage of lumber.
The conference’s theme was Where Do We Stand? Strategies for Competitiveness and Sustainability, explored through a day of panels and keynote speakers who addressed topics ranging from U.S. tariffs to advancing relationships with First Nations.
Another topic of discussion was the impact of the forestry industry on First Nations across BC, and how those communities are affected in turn.
Lennard Joe, CEO of the First Nations Forestry Council, spoke in a later panel about the importance of the industry “opening the doors” not just to First Nations but to everyone across the country.
“I think not all the doors are open, but the PG forestry community has a lot of doors already open,” said Joe. “There are many existing relationships — both business and governance — that have already proven successful. We need to recognize that these aren’t the only doors. Young people coming up may want to stay here, but what they want to do isn’t always available. We also need to open those doors for future generations to contribute their visions and ideas.”
Joe also told The Citizen that while First Nations have advanced the forestry industry, they have also been negatively impacted by it.
“There are two sides to this coin,” said Joe. “I’ve seen forestry impact First Nations in a negative way, where decisions have been made with the best interests of First Nations, but not with First Nations at the table. BC has done a very good job with the commercial and industrial approach to forestry. However, we’ve removed a lot of forest, partly because of the mountain pine beetle and other past practices that have impacted the land. On the other hand, forestry is one of the primary sources of employment for First Nations in BC. It supports many families. So, we need to acknowledge both sides and work on them to create sustainable change.”
John Rustad addresses conference
The day was rounded out with a speech from John Rustad, Leader of the Official Opposition and MLA for Nechako Lakes.
Rustad, in his speech, emphasized the importance of diversity in BC's lumber sector and the need for a slow but methodical response to the escalating trade war with the U.S. He also stressed the need for a government that supports BC forestry with actions rather than words.
The Citizen spoke with Rustad afterward. He expressed concern about the state of the Prince George forestry industry.
“I think we’re in some significant trouble,” said Rustad. “I wish it wasn’t the case. I’d like to say that there’s potential in lumber prices as long as they stay relatively strong, but we’re not getting access to the fibre. It takes too long, and the cost structure is far too high. The real challenge is that if the sawmills keep closing down, we’ll lose too much pulp capacity. Once we lose that, we may never get it back. That’s what I’m very concerned about. We need to change, and now is the time to do it, especially with what’s going on south of the border.”
Rustad also told The Citizen that unless Canada focuses on its economic prosperity, its trade relationship with the U.S. may never be the same.
“I think there’s tremendous opportunity for us to be solid trading partners with the Americans,” said Rustad. “But unless we’re willing to take care of our economy and strengthen it, we’ll never be able to achieve that again. If we open our minds, start building pipelines, get our products to the coast, and become more self-sufficient with food and refined products, then when we sit down with the Americans, we can say we want to be a strong North American trading bloc. Let’s figure out how to do that. But if they’re not willing, we do have other options.”
