Whereas BCs broader forest sector including harvesting, pulp and paper product manufacturing, and wood product manufacturing continues to make a vital contribution to BCs overall economic and social well-being, supporting some 44,000 direct jobs and close to 100,000 more jobs in total, generating billions of dollars in wages, exports, and government revenues, and forming the economic foundation of dozens of rural and remote communities; And whereas in the last two decades, BCs forest industries have experienced a perfect storm of repeated and interesting crises, and a combination of economic, environmental, and global challenges continues to destabilize the broader forestry sector: Therefore be it resolved that the provincial government be lobbied to enact measures for stronger BC forestry sector, including: - creating a permanent province-wide Forestry Sector Council; - developing a province-wide plan for stable, sustainable, economic fibre supply; - creating a Forest Adjustment Bureau to redesign and integrate worker and community adjustment supports; and - developing a strategy to maximize value-added jobs from stable fibre harvesting.
Ministry of Forests BCs forest sector is in the midst of a transition. Harvest levels are declining for a variety of reasons, including record wildfires, market conditions, additional conservation measures and the end of the beetle kill harvest. Our governments vision is to build a stronger, more diverse, inclusive and resilient forestry industry through more value-added manufacturing, built on the foundation of a strong primary sector. There is a comprehensive suite of initiatives to address some of the pressing challenges faced by workers and the forest sector. Creating a permanent province-wide Forestry Sector Council: The Provincial Forestry Forum PFF is an assembly where Government, Indigenous Advocacy, Labour, Harvesting, Value-Added, Woodlots, Community Forest, Major Licensees, and other forest sector representatives meet and work together to engage in significant forest and resource sector policy initiatives. The primary focus is to provide the engagement point on policies affecting the forest sector. It is a key point of engagement with senior-level representatives that span the entire forest sector. Developing a province-wide plan for stable, sustainable, economic fibre supply: The BC government has launched a review of BC Timber Sales to ensure BCs forestry sector is continually evolving to overcome challenges and create a guideline for a stronger, more resilient future. The review is being led by the Ministry of Forests with support from an expert task force consisting of George Abbott, Lennard Joe, and Brian Frenkel. Forest landscape plans establish clear outcomes for the management of forest resource values within defined areas. Forest landscape plans are intended to be completed in partnership with First Nations and in collaboration with forest licensees. The new forest landscape planning process will provide stability and greater land base predictability, which will improve the ability to quickly issue cutting permits. We have been working to ensure timelier access to wildfire salvage and increasing utilization of residual fibre, which can provide additional fibre sources to the market. By shifting operations to focus on salvage, we protect our future forests and timber supply by getting stands back into production, avoiding post-fire forest health issues and reducing the fuel on the ground and the risk of future wildfires. Creating a Forest Adjustment Bureau to redesign and integrate worker and community adjustment supports: Government has heard that the scale and scope of transition facing the forest sector, if not mitigated or managed, will have immediate impacts on the provinces rural communities and workers across British Columbia. A new Forestry Support Bureau has been set up within the Ministry of Forests to undertake the analysis needed to provide support services for viable small to medium sized forestry firms that experience financial challenges arising from US trade actions. The mandate of the Forestry Support Bureau is to maintain manufacturing capacity in support of governments 45 million m3year harvest goal. Additionally, the Community Transition Tables, led by the Ministry of Jobs, Economic Development, and Innovation, are driving comprehensive adjustments and community transitions through their Community Transition program. Developing a strategy to maximize value-added jobs from stable fibre harvesting: The Ministry of Forests have taken action to ensure innovative, secondary manufacturers have access to the fibre and capital they need to invest and grow their operations. The Ministry of Forests launched the Value-added Accelerator Initiative in partnership with the First Nations Forestry Council, the Value-added Wood Coalition and Council of Forest Industries to engage with First Nations and stakeholders on ways to improve fibre flow for value-added manufacturers. In early 2024, the Ministry of Forests established a Value-Added Sector Strategies Branch to support and grow the Value-Added sector in BC. The Value-added Sector Strategies Branch is accountable for strategic leadership through the ongoing forest sector transition and is responsible for developing strategies and policy ideas to support communities, First Nations and a diverse forest industry. The Ministry of Forests has grown the BC Timber Sales Value-Added program through the expansion of volume available through the Category 4 program. In 2025, the BC Timber Sales Category 4 program volume was doubled from 10 to 20 percent. The criteria for the Value-Added Manufacturing Program was changed to enable groups of Category 4 registrants to jointly meet performance obligations. The Manufacturing Jobs Fund is successfully supporting innovation and job creation in the forestry sector and has resulted in leveraging over 180 million to retool mills and expand production for in demand BC wood products. The Ministry of Forests will continue to work with communities to move forward on solutions to the challenges currently facing the timber harvest, pulp and paper production, and wood-product manufacturing sectors.