Kim Haakstad wants you to think about toilet paper.
Her message was clear: everyone relies on forest products daily, from home framing to pantry boxes.
Haakstad leads the Council of Forest Industries. She spoke on a forestry panel at Resource Works’ Get It Done BC event on Sept. 14, 2026. Peter Lister, who heads the Truck Loggers Association, joined her. Cam McAlpine, principal at Pendulum, moderated.
The tone turned serious immediately. Lister has worked in forestry for roughly 35 years.
He recalled what he told last year’s audience: “I’ve been in the forest sector for around 35 years and I’ve never seen it this bad. Actually, it’s worse now.”
Days before the event, both panelists signed a letter to Premier David Eby with 13 other forestry groups. McAlpine read one line aloud: “B.C.’s forest sector is at a breaking point.”
Both panelists emphasized that the U.S. trade dispute explains only part of the damage. Lister noted B.C. has fought Washington over lumber for nearly a century and knows how to navigate duties. What it cannot absorb are domestic pressures.
A $10 problem that adds up fast
Lister said B.C. has gone from the lowest-cost dimension lumber producer in North America to the highest.
He described what that means in a commodity business: “In a commodity market, when markets are low and your costs are high, you shut down.”
He added that the problem “is completely within our control.”
His members are responsible for harvesting timber in the province. Lister said the average cost of a cutting permit has risen from $4 to $14 per cubic metre. The sector harvests roughly 30 million cubic metres annually.
Lister broke down the financial impact: “That’s $300 million of extra costs that add no value to British Columbia.”
He said the province has altered more than 50 laws or policies in recent years. No single change caused the problem, but each added to the overall cost.
Consultation is one example. Lister said the government’s duty to consult First Nations under DRIPA has effectively shifted to licence holders.
He acknowledged government progress on permit turnarounds. “Government will tell you that they’re approving cutting permits in 20 days, and that’s true.”
The real delay is in the preparation. Lister said that process can take two or three years. Companies pay upfront and wait to harvest, with financing costs especially hard on small contractors.
McAlpine said the province’s allowable annual cut is about 60 million cubic metres, but last year’s harvest was only about half that. The sector aims to return to 45 million.
Lister was direct about what stands in the way. “The biggest barrier to harvesting more today is cost.”
Meanwhile, Alberta is catching up. Haakstad said Alberta Forestry Minister Todd Loewen once asked her how to make his province’s industry larger than B.C.’s. With Alberta harvesting close to its allowable cut of about 27 million cubic metres, she said it’s nearly matched B.C.
Money goes where it’s welcome
McAlpine recalled pollster David Coletto calling B.C. forestry “uninvestable” at a council convention two years ago.
Haakstad said that prediction is now reality. Capital is mobile, and other North American regions are attracting more forestry investment than B.C.
Some B.C. mills have operated since the late 1800s and now require rebuilding. Haakstad said a new pulp mill costs about $1 billion.
Instead of major redevelopments, B.C. gets minimal capital. “We’re seeing very small investments of tens of millions of dollars, which is enough to keep us going, but not enough to keep us growing or get us growing again,” Haakstad said.
Lister pointed to another loss: B.C. sawmills helped develop scanning and cutting technology now used globally. As the sector contracts, so do the local tech firms that supply this equipment.
These are high-tech jobs, many based in Vancouver. Lister cited a council study showing about one in four sector jobs are in the city. Haakstad confirmed the number.
Both panelists defended commodity lumber, the basic two-by-fours that underpin the industry. The province has emphasized value-added manufacturing, but Lister said that sector relies on sawmills.
“Without a healthy primary commodity sector, the value-added piece can’t be supported or sustained either.”
Haakstad linked the issue to housing. She said the Interior produces enough dimensional lumber each year for about 155,000 homes. Both Canada and the U.S. face major housing shortages.
Wildfire management as a business case
Wildfire drew the most audience questions. Lister took it on quickly.
He said many Interior forests, including pine stands, naturally regenerate after fire. Leaving them untouched does not make communities safer. He pointed to the fast-moving fire that forced evacuations in Summerland.
California offers a lesson, he said. The state shut down much of its forest industry for years. After devastating losses of homes and lives, it began actively reducing fuel loads.
Today, Lister said, the industry is returning in many parts of California. Thinning forests lowers both the risk and severity of fires.
He said B.C. isn’t investing enough in wildfire protection. “We have everything that it takes to do that today. We just need the political will to do it.”
Haakstad added a cost perspective. She said California’s mitigation work cost about $1 billion, all paid by taxpayers. That is one reason the state is rebuilding its forest sector.
B.C. still has its industry. Haakstad wants fuel management to be an economic opportunity, not a cost to taxpayers.
Three asks for Victoria
McAlpine closed by asking what attendees should tell Forests Minister Ravi Parmar. Many local elected officials in the room had meetings with him ahead.
Lister laid out three asks from the letter. He noted its 15 signatories include organized labour.
First, create a forest sector crisis action team. He wants government and industry working together on the costs B.C. controls.
Second, do no further harm. That means no new fee increases, no higher permitting costs and no PST increase. Lister acknowledged the province faces tough finances.
He warned that the government “cannot balance the budget or improve the budget on the backs of forest companies right now. We will close and we will lose more jobs.”
Third, get the wood out. He called for policies that cut costs and regulatory burden.
Earlier, Lister drew the day’s first ovation with a question: “Why are we so apologetic about cutting down trees?”
He described European towns where forestry is woven into daily life. Villages run woodlots, local mills make windows and doors, and biomass plants heat homes. People there take pride in the work.
Lister wants B.C. to feel the same. “We need to stop apologizing for the forest industry. We need to embrace it.”
Ian Biana writes for the Resource Works Accelerate team and can be reached at [email protected].
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