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Simply put our court challenge was about asking for certainty around the future imposition of the HST. We were not opposed to the Initiative process and we were not suggesting to the over 500,000 valid signatories to the Initiative that we were standing in their way to exercise their democratic right. What we were seeking was a ruling from the court as to whether or not the draft legislation (to “extinguish the HST”) that accompanied the Initiative could be enacted in the BC legislature. We thought not given that the HST is a federal, and not provincial, tax. In the end the court did not answer our question and so the cloud of uncertainty continues to linger. With economic recovery so fragile this is not good news for the BC economy, all forms and sizes of business and employees.
John Allan |
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Mitsui Home Co. (Japan) Visits Prince George
Thirty-five people of Mitsui Home Co. (Japan) and its group companies visited Prince George in early June. They were selected from the sales, design, construction, and after-sales-service departments all over Japan. Six employees from Mitsui Homes Canada Inc. (Langley, BC) also attended. The purposes were to: 1) Understand the cycle of BC’s sustainable forest management by observing from start to end of the cycle; and 2) To contribute directly to the sustainability forest management system by planting trees. The group visited Canfor’s log harvest site, nursery, lumber mill, and planted 1,300 seedlings. They visited the forestland where a previous Mitsui delegation planted seedlings in 2005 to observe how the trees matured in five years. The tour leader, Mr. Takenobu Nozawa: “I would like to thank the members of the Ministry of Forests and Range, Forestry Innovation Investment, Council of Forest Industries and Canfor for their immense support and cooperation to make this possible. We have built 200,000 houses in Japan since 1974. We see the lumber, but we have never seen the processes of lumber being manufactured. By understanding B.C.’s sustainable harvesting and reforestation policies, we will better be able to promote wood construction in Japan. Mitsui Home is looking at producing more green homes. Customers are more aware of the environmental and health issues in housing. They want more environmentally friendly buildings. By using Canadian wood, we can appeal to our customers.” “Mitsui Home is looking to build homes which will last for generations. The concept with Mitsui Home is building homes that a family can live in for a long period of time – 100 to 200 years. A strong tree starts from a single seed. We want to use this concept in the homes we build.” |
Township of Langley Tours Attract Asian Investors
In the past several months, Langley Township has hosted some very special visitors. CEOs of multi-million dollar corporations, architects, journalists, engineers, TV reporters, tradespeople, and government officials from China, Japan, Korea, and other parts of Asia have been coming to the Township by the busload. Here, they are learning firsthand about the community’s investment opportunities, its abundant land, and the unique way wood is used to build homes and facilities. And they are going back home to spread the word. “We are getting exceptional exposure throughout these countries,” said John Szarapka of Langley Township’s Permits, Licence, and Inspection Services Department, who has been organizing tours of the Township since 2005. Originally, the tours - which are conducted in partnership with the Council of Forest Industries (COFI) - were designed to promote wood exporting opportunities and showcase how local wood products are used to create housing and facilities for the elderly, areas of particular interest to the Asian visitors. Past tours have highlighted care homes and assisted living developments including the new Harrison Pointe and Fort Langley’s Simpson Manor. According to COFI, China is the fastest growing export market for Canadian wood products, with most of the lumber sourced from British Columbia. In 2009, BC lumber exports to China reached 1.63 billion board feet, double the volume of 2008, and valued at $328 million. In past months, the number of Asian delegations has increased as more and more people are learning not just about wood product opportunities, but about Langley’s potential overall. The Township’s Economic Development Department has come on board to give the foreign visitors an overview of the unique aspects of the municipality and the benefits it offers those looking to locate a business. “So far in 2010, we have managed to put the Township’s promotional materials into the hands of almost 100 business executives from Asia as a result of these tours,” said Economic Development Manager Gary MacKinnon. “If just one of these seeds takes root, it is well worth the effort to meet with and present to these possible future investors.” Between October 2009 and July 2010 alone, four Asian tours were held in the Township. On the last trip, among the delegates were journalists and photographers who arrived with interesting items from their homeland: trade journals and magazines which profiled Langley Township and featured information and pictures gathered during previous visits. “It is very encouraging that what we have shown them in the past is making it into their publications,” said Bob Andrews of the Township’s Economic Development Department. “The Township of Langley continues to promote a business-friendly environment and as a result, people from around the globe are looking at the Township as a place to build businesses and invest in. We are promoting our culture, our lifestyle, and our investment opportunities.” The tours have grown to encompass the bigger economic picture, Szarapka said, and the entire community will benefit: “Langley needs this exposure to create trade and opportunities for investment, to provide more jobs, more buildings, and a larger tax base,” said Szarapka. “These tours give us a chance to work with key people, to link with the decision makers who may be interested in importing, exporting, and forming partnerships with local businesses,” Andrews added. “It’s a chance to meet face to face and create those foundations. The people coming on these tours are the people who can make a difference by investing in our community.” The many opportunities and economic advantages available to businesses within Langley Township were outlined to a delegation from China by Economic Development Manager Gary MacKinnon. |
Wood Works! BC Congratulates 13 BC Cities Wood WORKS! BC executive director Mary Tracey today announced that 13 BC municipalities have now officially passed Wood First Resolutions. Congratulating all, including Midway, the most recent municipality to pass such a resolution in support of the province’s Wood First Act, Ms. Tracey stated that BC municipalities are laying a strong foundation for a provincial culture of wood. The Wood First Act aims to increase demand for wood products by requiring provincially-funded projects to use wood as the primary building material, generating new demand for wood, stimulating the province’s forest industry, and securing long-term markets to ensure a sustainable wood industry. Midway passed its resolution on Monday, July 19th, and has a Wood First Bylaw pending. Twelve other communities have already passed Wood First Resolutions, including Quesnel, Nakusp, Prince George, Castlegar, Fruitvale, Columbia Shuswap Regional District, Kelowna, Armstrong, Cariboo Regional District, Terrace, Campbell River and Squamish. “We congratulate Midway for its leadership and vision,” says Ms. Tracey. “Communities like Midway are recognizing the integral role that the forestry industry plays in local economies, and are committing to wood by passing resolutions and in some cases bylaws to ensure wood is used wherever possible in their civic projects,” adds Ms. Tracey. “By passing a resolution or bylaw, a community benefits by having what are essentially guiding principals for use by designers, engineers and contractors. A resolution also underlines a community’s desire for maximum use of wood in civic projects, which ultimately builds current and future prosperity for citizens by stimulating local wood industries and increasing local jobs.” Mayor Randy Kappes of the Village of Midway wholeheartedly agrees. “The environmental benefits of using a renewable resource such as wood, as well as the economic and social benefits are tremendous for the Village of Midway, the Boundary area and ultimately the Province of British Columbia.” Midway states that its Wood First Bylaw, which will be presented to council on August 3rd, will also ensure that village staff consider using wood as a primary building material in the design and construction of village-funded buildings wherever practical and appropriate. Wood WORKS! is a national industry-led initiative of the Canadian Wood Council, with a goal to support innovation and provide leadership on the use of wood and wood products. Through workshops, seminars and case studies, Wood WORKS! provides education, training and technical expertise to building and design professionals involved with commercial, institutional and industrial construction projects throughout BC. For the past 11 years, Wood WORKS! BC has facilitated practical, efficient, versatile and cost-effective building and design solutions through the use of wood -- the most sustainable, natural and renewable building material on earth. Notable projects with Wood WORKS! BC involvement include the international award-winning Richmond Oval – the largest of the 2010 Winter Olympics venues. The Oval’s six-acre free spanning “wood wave” roof made with “beetle-kill” wood is a precedent- setting example of BC’s and Canada’s advanced wood engineering and prefabrication capabilities. Wood WORKS! BC was also involved with the new Vancouver Convention Centre, and has also worked extensively with municipalities on projects ranging from fire halls to arenas and recreation centres. “We are asking communities to contact Wood WORKS! BC as they pass Wood First Resolutions, or if they need a little moral support to take the final step,” concludes Ms. Tracey. “Not only would we like to mark these exciting new developments in our province, but we’d also like to offer communities technical expertise, training and education to help make way for versatile, beautiful and cost-effective building and design solutions.” Wood WORKS! BC is a recognized resource to help BC communities with the new “build with wood” requirements on publicly-funded projects, and its expertise is available free-of-charge. For more information contact: Mary Tracey, Executive Director - Wood WORKS! BC 1.877.929.9663 (1) |
Celebrate National Forest Week With the ABCFP National Forest Week is September 19 to 25. It is a time to celebrate Canada’s forests and to remember all the great things forests do for us (clean air, building products, places to camp and hike, jobs and much more!). The Association of BC Forest Professionals (ABCFP) is holding an art contest and video contest for young people in BC in celebration of National Forest Week. Also, the association is offering free subscriptions to START, its student articulation program. Video Contest for Teens Maybe the forest means jobs for your family or places to go camping. Maybe forests are important to you because they help fight climate change. Your video can be in any genre – a song, comedy, documentary, stand-up comic act – use your imagination. There are no limitations – just be sure that you’d be proud to show your grandma the final product (no profanity, hateful language etc.). A team of judges will select the top five videos and the final winner and runners up will be selected by the ABCFP membership. Free START Subscriptions |
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The Power of Partnerships Early Bird Registration Closes August 31! Regular registration rates will apply beginning September 1. Alhassan Attah, Principal Officer for the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) Secretariat, will speak about trends in forest markets and trade, and efforts to combat illegal logging and promote trade in legal timber. Delegates will also learn about UNFF planned activities for 2011's International Year of the Forests. Bill Street, Director of the Woodworkers Department at the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace workers (IAMAW), SFI Board Member and Chair of the Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), will outline certification standards meeting PEFC's rigorous assessment requirements around the world, and summarize SFI's collaboration, outreach and advances. |
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Some of my colleagues and I who represent business, both big and small, have taken a strong stance in support of the HST. Given comments from the pro-HST Initiative group and the content of some very critical email it is fair to say our position and our rationale are not well understood.
