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  Successful conventions don't just happen. They are a highly potent blend of intensive planning, exceptional organization, interesting speakers, a receptive audience and an attractive location. Safe to say we had all of the foregoing working together earlier this month at COFI's Annual Convention in Kelowna. So there is not much more to say than to offer a huge thank you to the Convention organizers, delegates, exhibitors, sponsors and hotel staff. You put on a first class event that everyone enjoyed immensely. See you next year in Prince George!  John Allan |
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 "A huge success" is the feedback from attendees of the COFI 2006 Annual Convention April 5-7 in Kelowna. Over 575 delegates from across Canada, the US and Japan, including over 40 local government leaders from throughout the BC interior, attended the two days of panel sessions and networking opportunities. The lead-off speaker at the conference was Minister of Forests & Range, Rich Coleman who highlighted the role municipal governments can play in addressing industry competitiveness issues by reducing the tax burden. The conference featured panels on the market opportunities and challenges in both overseas and North American markets as well as a look at how the industry is responding to globalization. The panel sessions were complemented by networking opportunities during coffee breaks receptions, Thursday's luncheon and the Thursday evening reception. The keynote speaker at the Thursday luncheon was Premier Gordon Campbell who spoke on the vitality and importance of the forest industry to both the BC and Canadian economies and the key role of the industry acting together to lead the changes need to keep the industry competitive. Premier Campbell announced a new timber pricing system for the interior as well as $10.5 million to promote BC wood around the world. The Premier also expressed his hope that the long-running softwood dispute with the US might be settled through negotiation soon. Also at the luncheon, Frank Dottori, recently retired CEO of Tembec Industries, was the recipient of the Canadian Wood Council Paul Bunyan Award in recognition of his leadership role in the Canadian wood products industry over many years. In the afternoon, BC Competition Council co-chair Dan Miller gave a preview of the key messages of the BC Competition Council's report on the forest industry which was released on April 12th. His thoughtful comments along with those of the Premier provided delegates with strong sense of the importance of the forest sector to the people and communities in BC and the important role of industry leadership in BC's future. On Friday morning, Joseph Caron, the Ambassador of Canada to Japan, provided his insights on the growing opportunities for the BC industry in Japan. Following the presentation COFI recognized two retiring Board members, Len Pettman, Louisiana-Pacific Canada and Don Gould, East Fraser Fibre Company for their significant contributions over many years. The CWC recognized retiring Chair John Robertson, of Weyerhaeuser. See page 2 and 3 for Convention photos and be sure to mark your calendar for next year's convention April 11-13 in Prince George. Visit the conference page on COFI's website: www.cofi.org/whatsnew/ac2006 to access copies of the speakers' presentations. For more information contact Gary Crooks, VP, Southern Operations, COFI, by phone at (250) 860-9663 or by e-mail at crooks@cofi.org. |
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 1. International Trade Commission On April 12, the WTO Appelate Body (AB) reviewing the injury case overturned the previous WTO Panel decision and ruled in Canada's favor. The AB agreed with Canada that the WTO Compliance Panel had failed to properly review the measure that the U.S. claims sets the basis for cash deposit rates 2. Byrd Amendment On April 7, the Court of International Trade ruled that the Byrd Amendment should not apply to goods exported from Canada to the U.S. For more information please see the following websites: BC Lumber Trade Council: |
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Forestry, logging and wood product manufacturing in BC perform above average, but as the paper notes, boosting productivity in all sections would help to improve the province's overall economic performance. For more information and to download the report go to the Progress Board website: www.bcprogressboard.com. |
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  Hosted by Wood WORKS! BC _ an initiative of the Canadian Wood Council whose mandate is to promote the use of wood and wood products in non-residential construction, the conference provided an opportunity for Prince George area architects, designers, engineers, building officials and other delegates to learn the latest information on designing and building with wood.
Guest speakers included Mr Geoff Triggs, LMDG Building Code Consultants, Vancouver, who talked about new fire code applications for wood - prescriptive requirements and performance solutions. Ron Kato, Larry McFarland Architects, Vancouver presented a case study tracing the use of wood in the new North Cariboo Community College in Quesnel COFI North staff were pleased to be a part of this _ day conference and look forward to bringing future WoodWORKS! events to North Central BC. For more information contact Doug Routledge, COFI Northern Operations at (250) 564-5136 or by e-mail at: routledge@cofi.org. |
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