B.C. Forests Minister Ravi Parmar told logging contractors on Thursday that the province is trying to deliver improvements, with a focus on fibre flow, permitting timelines and stronger working relationships with First Nations.
Parmar spoke during the Leader’s Luncheon at the Truck Loggers Association’s 81st Annual TLA Convention + Trade Show, an industry gathering running Jan. 14 to 16 in Vancouver.
“At the end of the day, this sector isn’t about trees or timber. It’s about people,” Parmar said, adding that forestry is “about families who built their lives around forestry” and the communities that were built around the work.
The backdrop of crisis
His address came amid continued mill closures and curtailments across the province, where companies have cited cost pressures and difficulty securing economically viable wood supply. West Fraser, for example, said it could not reliably access enough affordable timber in announcing the closure of its 100 Mile House mill.
On Vancouver Island, Domtar said continued poor pricing for pulp and lack of access to affordable fibre in B.C. necessitated the closure of its Crofton pulp mill.
Parmar acknowledged that contractors are operating in an environment shaped by volatile markets, U.S. trade measures and a landscape altered by beetle damage and wildfire. In 2024, beetle-killed timber and resistance to proactive forest management has only amplified the yearly fire risk.
In the face of that uncertainty, Parmar said delay carries its own costs. “Projects stall, costs rise, and in the end, we all lose,” he said, arguing that the next phase of policy work has to be judged on execution.
The ‘Path to 45’
The minister pointed to the province’s “Path to 45” target, which aims to lift harvest volumes toward 45 million cubic metres, as a stabilizing goal for the supply chain. The rationale for the target, and the argument that B.C. is harvesting well below its allowable annual cut, was also set out by COFI president Kim Haakstad and Truck Loggers Association executive director Peter Lister.
Parmar also highlighted work aimed at improving how public timber is brought to market. “I’m pleased to share that, with this important work, we’ve seen an over 30 per cent reduction in no bids over the past year,” he said, linking the change to steps intended to make sales more workable for contractors.
Unresolved relationships
The minister framed reconciliation and capacity as operational issues, and said uncertainty is not limited to economics. “Uncertainty isn’t just Trump and wildfires, it’s unresolved relationships,” he said, describing better partnerships as essential to predictability.
Recent court rulings have underscored the stakes of that relationship work. Earlier this month, the B.C. Supreme Court set aside the transfer of a forest licence after finding the province failed to properly consult the Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs.
A call for transformation
Parmar’s remarks followed months of pressure from workers, mayors and industry groups to translate reforms into fibre on the road. He has also been making the rounds in forestry communities, including a Thompson-Okanagan trip in March 2025 that focused on trade uncertainty, mill closures and sector complaints about red tape.
The minister closed by returning to the human impact of the downturn and by urging delegates to hold the province to results.
“This sector needs a full transformation,” he said, adding that the goal is a forestry system that is competitive, predictable and capable of sustaining family-supporting jobs in communities across British Columbia.
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