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  It appears that British Columbia has reverted to its historic voting patterns with a little margin usually favouring the “Free Enterprise” party over the NDP and with any other party capable of splitting the vote on either side of the spectrum having significant impact. The NDP received 41.1% of the popular vote and if you look at the past seven BC elections they averaged 39.2% even when factoring in the 2001 election when they received less than 22%. Remove that election and the NDP averaged 42.1% of the popular vote over six elections. Opposition MLAs were elected in a number of forest sector dependant communities on Vancouver Island, and in the Kootenays as well as in Central and Northern British Columbia. The Liberals also elected new MLAs in a number of ridings impacted directly by forestry. The task of informing those new members on the issues facing forestry will begin once the official vote tally is in and the MLAs appointed. It is anticipated that Premier Campbell will appoint his new Cabinet in early June and we are assured that forest sector considerations will continue to play a major factor. Of special note is that former Minister of State for Forest Operations, Roger Harris, was not re-elected in the riding of Skeena. Roger’s past experience in the industry provided for a knowledgeable voice around the Cabinet table and we thank him for his contributions while in government.  John Allan |
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Mitsui Home Co. Ltd. celebrated their 30th anniversary on May 11th and 12th by bringing 18 of their top performers in sales, administration, and manufacturing, to central BC to plant 2,900 trees. "We learned about forest management planning, harvesting and silviculture ... and are proud to have made a small contribution towards ensuring the sustainability of forestry in B.C. by planting some trees" said Ichiro Fukuda, Executive Vice-President for Mitsui Home Canada Inc. The tree planting occurred on West Fraser's TFL in Quesnel and Canfor's Forest Licence in Prince George. Canfor and West Fraser provided instruction, seedlings, equipment, sites and refreshments for the Mitsui planters. "The attention to detail by West Fraser and Canfor was amazing" said Linda Morita of Mitsui Home Canada Inc., commenting on the logistical support. Accolades were also given to the BC Market Outreach Network and the Council of Forest Industries for providing planning support for the tour. In addition to the tree planting, the Mitsui group enjoyed a presentation from BC's Chief Forester Jim Snetsinger, forest management discussions in the field, a tour of SilvaGrow's tree nursery, and a ceremonial tree planting at the campus of the University of Northern British Columbia in recognition of Mitsui's financial contributions. For more information contact Steve Kozuki by phone at: (250) 564-5136, or by e-mail: kozuki@cofi.org |
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 At the recent CWC AGM, the Canadian Wood Council presented Jim Engleson and Ernie Thony with the 2005 Paul Bunyan Award. Winners of the Paul Bunyan Award, named after the mythical lumberjack who performed renowned feats of strength and daring, have made an outstanding career-long contribution to the market development and use of Canadian wood products. Jim Engleson is a registered professional forester with over 30 years in the industry. As the former Vice President of Solid Wood Operations at Canfor, he was responsible for eight sawmills, a plywood plant, a treated wood plant, a tree nursery and the harvesting and manufacturing of close to 7.0 million m3 of timber annually. At Canfor he led the development of several new value-added products, such as appearance grade studs and dimension lumber, and finger-joined studs that has helped to transform our industry into one that is more customer and value-added focused. Under his leadership, Canfor developed significant new markets, thus opening the door for other Canadian companies to participate in these strategic areas. His leadership role with the B.C. Wood WORKS! program is remembered for the successes that were accomplished during those early days. As Chairman of the B.C. Wood WORKS! steering committee for nearly four years, he attended too many meetings to count, lobbied on behalf of the industry, provided steady guidance, and travelled throughout B.C. advocating the use of wood in non-residential construction. Even after all of that, Mr. Engleson has found time for his local community. In fact, he is known for the support he has given to the towns and communities in which Canfor operates. Be it the director of the Prince George Crimestoppers, or in supporting small business operators with additional fibre to increase overall value, or as a booster of numerous community events. Ernie Thony has experienced the industry from different angles. In his earliest days he worked for E.M. Garden & Sons, a manufacturer of wood windows and flooring. Mr. Thony even worked the paper side as a lab technician with Intercontinental Pulp. In 1970 he moved to the lumber side with West Fraser Mills. He rose through the ranks to become Vice-President, Sales in 1988. Over his 35 years with West Fraser, he has made significant contributions to the growth and success of one of Canada's largest and most respected lumber companies. Beyond the contributions and commitments to his own company, Mr. Thony has devoted much time, energy and marketing expertise to the wood products industry-at-large through service to many of its trade associations and committees. The CWC has been one of the main beneficiaries of such devotion. He served on the CWC Board starting in the early 1990s and became Chairman in 1995. And he has stayed involved, making him one of the longest serving CWC Board members. Mr. Thony is also well known to B.C. forest industry associations. He has made significant and lasting contributions to the promotion of wood products and advancement of new markets through former regional associations: the Northern Forest Products Association and the Cariboo Lumber Manufacturers Association, as well as The Council of Forest Industries and the SPF Group to name a few. For many years, Mr. Thony has participated directly in the expansion of overseas markets for Canadian wood in the difficult market of Japan, and in other regions. Congratulations again to this year's Paul Bunyan Award winners. For more information go to the CWC website: www.cwc.org.
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800 students completed the lumber grading course during the winter months in 18 interior communities: Armstrong, Burns Lake, Canal Flats, Castlegar, Cranbrook, Chetwynnd, Creston, Grand Forks, Fort St. James, Houston, Mackenzie, Midway, Prince George, Quesnel, Smithers, Vanderhoof, Williams Lake & 100 Mile House. COFI quality control manager Gary Desrosier said the intent of the annual course is to introduce novice lumber graders to the Standard Grading Rules for Canadian Lumber and improve the skills of previously qualified lumber graders. He explained, "Friendly competition is the driving force at the Annual Interior Lumber Grading Championship to be held in Prince George May 28th for all Interior grade agencies but the goal for lumber grading education classes is different. We are endeavouring to increase the knowledge and hone the skill set of individuals. The only competition is personal, one on one, inside each person." Desrosier said more than 240 new entrants registered for this year's courses. More than half of the "rookies" demonstrated competence in theory and practical tests, reaching the minimum 70 per cent mark to earn a 'B' lumber grading ticket. 'A' and 'AA' tickets, together with plaques and monetary awards, are given to students who achieve the highest marks.
Other top students include:
Said Desrosier. "Our lumber grading students are either well on the way to mastering the difficult art and science of grading lumber or they are already masters. Their dedication makes them valuable to their companies, and their achievement should make them extremely proud." For more information contact Gary Desrosier by phone at: (250) 860-9663 or by e-mail: desrosier@cofi.org. |
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  Negotiations On May 2, the Office of the United States Trade Representative forwarded a document "U.S. Lumber Coalition Proposed Approach" to the Department of International Trade. To date, Canada has not formally responded. For more information please see the following websites: BC Lumber Trade Council:www.bclumbertrade.com Government of Canada: www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/eicb/softwood/menu-en.asp Government of BC: www.for.gov.bc.ca/HET/softwood |
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 COFI's Northern Operations' Forest Education Manager, Chris Lear, has been very busy giving presentations on the Mountain Pine Beetle Epidemic in schools throughout the Peace region in Chetwynd, Dawson Creek, Fort St. John and Nelson. These presentations clearly open the eyes of students and teachers as they learn about the magnitude of the epidemic, its causes and its effect on the environment. They are always amazed that a beetle the size of a grain of rice could cause such damage. For more information contact Chris Lear, Forest Education Manager by phone at: (250) 614-4352 or by email: lear@cofi.org. |
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 The North Central Municipal Association's (NCMA) 50th anniversary AGM was held May 5-7, 2005 in Terrace. NCMA represents municipalities and regional districts from 100 Mile House in the south to Ft. Nelson in the north and from Valemount in the east to the Queen Charlottes in the west. The conference featured speakers including Bruce Vincent, a wise use advocate from Libby, Montana and political columnist Vaughn Palmer. COFI sponsored the Saturday morning breakfast and collaborated with CWC/WoodWORKS! on Peter Moonen's presentation: 'Wood and High Performance Buildings - A Natural Partnership'. The presentation drew considerable interest from delegates despite being an early morning event. A number of municipalities considering building projects sought additional information from Peter after the presentation. NCMA took the opportunity of the 50th anniversary celebration to recognize a number of the long term corporate sponsors including COFI. For more information contact Doug Routledge, by phone at: (250) 564-5136 or by e-mail at: routledge@cofi.org |
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