BC Forests Minister Ravi Parmar believes the province needs to step up their game on silviculture by learning from the Nordic countries in Europe that do more with less.
Parmar recently attended the COFI Convention that was held in Prince George last week.
He adds BC Timber Sales have also been directed to obtain fewer no bid on certain projects.
“In 2023, we lost 20 years of harvest able tenure. That is incredible and is something that is deeply concerning, this is a safety crisis, forestry crisis and an economic crisis all rolled in one.”
Parmar added BC needs to produce more active forest management to help steward the land, which could lead to one of the biggest job creations the province has ever seen.
On Friday, the province announced a massive overhaul to BC Timber Sales, where the government branch currently manages forest harvesting on more than 20% of the province’s public land.
In January, the Ministry of Forests initiated a review, undertaken by an expert task force, to create pathways for a stronger, more resilient sector.
BC Timber Sales will work shoulder to shoulder with all divisions within the Ministry of Forests, including the BC Wildfire Service, local communities, First Nations and industry partners to:
* reduce fuel loads in high-risk areas;
* remove health-damaged trees to improve recreational site safety and ecosystem resilience;
* expand the use of commercial thinning to maintain forest health while supplying fibre to the market;
* rehabilitate range lands to restore productive landscapes; and
* strengthen its partnership with BCWS to expand the use of prescribed fire as a key forest-management tool.
Parmar believes some policies by the former BC Liberal government has put us in the situation we are now.
“Government policy has created a lot of the challenges, not my government but it was John Rustad’s policies when his government took out a prudence in the early 2000’s that led to the devastation of so many communities like Mackenzie, Fort Saint James, Merritt and so many others.”
“We have to rebuild,” added Parmar.
Parmar mentioned places like BC needs to step up their game on silviculture by learning from the Nordic countries in Europe that do more with less.
“We often hear the examples of Nordic countries that have a much smaller land base but are getting more fibre out and the reason they are doing that is because they are leading in silviculture practices on commercial thinning and we have to step up our game.”
On Monday, BC Premier David Eby met with Liberal leader and Prime Minister Mark Carney talking about using more B-C lumber to increase housing stocks across the country.
Over the weekend, the U-S government said it plans to more than double current penalties to 34.5 per cent in a dispute that has raged for decades.
Parmar stated tariffs on Canadian lumber products will hurt Americans just as much as anyone else.
“This is also devastating for Americans who are starting to see the National Home Builders Association, Dan Dunmoyer (California) and others step up and relay this concern to the president as well. When I was in California a couple of months ago, we released a joint statement because it is important for us to speak directly to Americans because if you are looking to rebuild your home after a wildfire season, your president is making it more costly.”
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