By Evaye Lanyon
Campbell River’s mayor is supporting a call from 13 forestry organizations for the province to take urgent action, before more mills, manufacturing facilities, and businesses are forced to close.
In a Sept. 4 letter to Premier David Eby, organizations across the forestry sector from harvesting to processing, including First Nations, called for the creation of a Forestry Crisis Action Group to respond to growing pressure on the sector.
“BC’s forest sector is at a breaking point. Immediate action is required,” says the letter, which calls on the province to “get economically viable wood moving, reduce costs, remove regulatory barriers, stabilize fibre supply, protect operating businesses, and retain – not retrain – British Columbia’s skilled forestry workforce.”
Campbell River Mayor Kermit Dahl says the local economy, traditionally dependent on forestry, is feeling the effects.
“When logging slows down, truck drivers, mechanics, tire shops, and equipment suppliers lose business. That reaches well beyond the woods,” Dahl said.
Freeze new costs
The industry’s first priority is preventing additional costs while the international trade crisis continues.
The organizations are calling on the province to freeze any new fees, taxes, charges or other government-imposed cost increases affecting the forest sector. They say companies are already under significant pressure from international trade, including US tariffs. The letter says Canadian softwood lumber exports are facing combined US duties and tariffs of more than 45 per cent.
Dahl said the tariffs are a serious concern, but believes the province also needs to address problems within its own control. He said B.C. cannot only keep pointing to Donald Trump and the trade dispute while leaving issues at home unresolved.
Get the wood moving
The second priority is getting more wood from forests to mills and manufacturers.
The groups want the province to immediately focus on permitting and fiber opportunities. They also want officials to find timber that can be harvested responsibly and at a low cost.
“Keep wood that can economically and responsibly be harvested and get it moving,” the letter says. “This is an urgent matter.”
Dahl explained that the province needs to make it easier for businesses to get harvesting permits and move wood to mills at a price that allows them to stay operating.
“We need to bring harvesting and permitting costs under control so that wood can reach mills at a price that keeps businesses and workers earning a living,” he said.
He also said sustainable forestry needs to consider both the health of forests and the businesses that depend on them.
“Sustainable has to mean healthy forests that keep growing and businesses that can keep paying people. We need both,” Dahl said.
Keep workers working
The third priority is retaining skilled workers rather than waiting until businesses close and then trying to retrain them.
The groups want to protect the workers, contractors, manufacturers and businesses that B.C. will need in the future. Dahl said the effects can begin before a mill actually closes.
“It is not just permanent closures. Curtailments and lost shifts caused by a shortage of economically viable fibre are taking work away before a mill closes for good,” he said. “For a family already struggling with bills, losing shifts can turn a tight budget into a crisis.”
He said businesses in the forestry sector rely heavily on each other, meaning problems at one company can spread to others.
“Once workers leave and contractors sell their equipment, rebuilding gets much harder. We need action while those businesses can still be saved,” he said.
Local economic impacts halved
The pressure on forestry is already showing up in Campbell River’s economy.
The city’s economic report shows forestry spending at suppliers in the Campbell River region plummeted from $253 million in 2019 to $127 million in 2022.
“Almost half. That is a serious loss of business for this community,” Dahl said.
He said the effects reach beyond the forestry industry and into the finances of local families.
“A family’s rent and grocery bill still arrive when the paycheque gets smaller. That is how an industry problem becomes an affordability problem,” he said.
What the province should do
The forestry organizations are asking Eby for an urgent meeting to establish the Forestry Crisis Action Group.
Dahl said the province needs to give the minister in charge of forests the authority to make decisions and work with other ministries to resolve delays in the harvesting process.
“The premier needs to give the forests minister the authority and backing to run his ministry and get economically viable harvesting permits in place,” Dahl said.
He is also calling for new provincial fees and charges to be frozen during the trade crisis and for workers, contractors, mill operators, and First Nations to have a seat at the table.
The industry has asked for a public action plan within 30 days, followed by monthly reports on wood reaching mills, businesses kept operating, and jobs protected.
“Businesses have payrolls and loan payments due while government is still discussing the problem,” Dahl said. “Workers and communities need decisions that let them keep earning a living.”
Looking further ahead, Dahl said the future of forestry in Campbell River will depend on reliable wood supply, clear rules, and competitive costs.
“Young people should be able to learn a trade and afford a life in Campbell River,” he said. “Stronger earnings are part of making that possible.”
The forestry groups ended their letter with a call for immediate action, arguing that the sector can be part of the solution to both the province’s economic and financial challenges.
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