As a writer I try to stay as neutral as possible in the political scene but a recent news item caught my attention which was promoting the establishment of more community forests. I have been supporting the establishment of more community forests for many years so I wanted to get additional details on the proposal. The B.C. Greens said on their website they will do the following if elected:
“Expand the community forest program by increasing the number and size of community forests to promote biodiversity, wildfire protection, rural development, and ecosystem resilience and 20 per cent of the annual allowable cut (AAC) will be dedicated to community forests. “
Community forests provide a number of advantages over the large licensees including sorting logs for higher value uses like timber framers and log house construction as well as keeping a larger percentage of log revenue in the community. There still needs to be a way to sell the majority of the logs to lumber processors so the loss of the two Canfor mills will still impact the respective communities of Vanderhoof and Fort St John. Some good news is that a local company is interested in purchasing the mills and attached licences.
The Vanderhoof Omineca Express reported Brink Forest Products, based in Prince George, submitted a proposal in September to acquire four Canfor mills.
The company said they enlisted Industrial Forest Service Ltd. (IFS) to analyze the timber tenures. Their evaluation determined the fair market value and projected future timber volumes, which informed Brink’s proposal to Canfor.
Brink said the purchase of these mills are vital to maintaining local manufacturing jobs. The proposal, submitted alongside an addendum to the letter of intent, aims to create a new corporate entity if accepted by Canfor, with the potential to restore over 5,000 direct and indirect jobs in the region.
"This acquisition is essential for Brink and the communities we’ve served for 50 years," Brink said.
"Canfor has been a strategic partner for over 30 years, and their sawmills are vital to the survival of our operations. With their impending exit from Northern B.C., we had to make a bold move or risk losing thousands of jobs that depend on this supply chain," he added.
Brink Forest Products, which started as a small operation with just three employees, now employs over 400 people across its facilities in Prince George, Vanderhoof, and Houston. The company advocates for keeping value-added manufacturing within timber-harvesting regions, a principle driving this acquisition.
The proposed acquisition comes amid serious challenges in B.C.'s forest sector, including high timber costs and economic pressures from U.S. tariffs. Brink currently operates at only 50 per cent capacity, and the closure of Canfor’s remaining mills could jeopardize its supply of primary lumber.
I contacted Harry Nelson, associate professor of forestry at the University of British Columbia about the proposed transfer and he had the following comments. Forestry companies in northern B.C. pushed lots of timber through fewer mills to raise profit margins. This model is sensitive to being able to find lots of volume. So now, the question is: How much timber volume is out there, especially after some large wild fire events and the ongoing insect outbreaks?
Nelson said the recent closures and forest tenure sale may be a sign that the players in the northern B.C. forestry industry are changing.
"We used to have a more kind of mix of small and medium and large size mills before the beetle came through," he said. "We might now once again see the emergence of a more evenly distributed set of sizes."
I think Mr. Nelson makes some valid observations in that smaller mills could better meet the needs of local value added business by providing more specific lumber products. These value added products are usually not taxed at the United States border and bring more value per cubic meter of logs processed. They may also be better positioned to produce products for over seas markets like China and Japan.
