BC Mineral Exploration and Mining Sector Provides
Recommendations for Federal Budget
Representatives of BC's mineral exploration and mining sector met with the Honourable Lisa Raitt, federal Minister of Natural Resources prior to the release of the Federal Budget, to discuss the impact of the global economic and financial crisis on the industry and measures that both industry and governments can take to address the impacts. To view the recommendations see the News Release.

2008 Another Strong Year For B.C. Mineral Exploration
Mineral exploration activity in the province reached $367 million in 2008, with 98 projects spending in excess of $1 million, it was recently announced. See the News Release.

B.C. To Increase Use of Local Wood in Public Buildings
The B.C. government will do more to expand markets and opportunities for local wood products globally and within the province in an effort to boost the forest industry it was recently announced. See the CBC News Story.

Province Stuck With Failed Mackenzie Pulp Mill: NDP
Environment Minister Penner says government is determined to track down the owners and make them pay. The B.C. government has inherited the Mackenzie pulp mill and all the liabilities that go along with it whether they want it or not, NDP forests critic Bob Simpson said recently. See the Vancouver Sun News Story.

Forestry Association Welcomes Budget; Union Angered
The Forest Products Association of Canada is pleased with the new federal budget, but the union representing 55,000 workers in the industry calls it a cruel joke. See the CBC News Story.

Canada's Forest Professionals Call For
Investments In Green Infrastructure
Canada is one of the few countries in the world with large publicly owned forests. Many of these forests are managed by private companies for timber and other forest products under standards set by provincial and territorial governments. Over the past two decades federal, provincial and territorial governments have agreed to ensure that the use of our public forests is sustainable over the long term. See the Canadian Institute of Forestry's News Release.

The Carbon Marketing Wars Have Begun
Their logos and packaging are near clones—Lay's potato chips in the United States and Walkers crisps in the United Kingdom. The story behind the similarity is that both brands are owned by PepsiCo. But a subtle difference sets them apart. Each bag of Walkers crisps carries a label stating that 75.0 grams of carbon were emitted to produce a 34.5 gram bag of chips. See the Full Story. Source: Environmental News Network.

Premier Announces Forestry Initiatives
At the 66th Annual Truck Loggers Association Convention, BC Premier Gordon Campbell announced initiatives for the forest industry. Among the initiatives listed were:

• stumpage price changes
• encouragement of the federal government to extend Employment Insurance and Work-Sharing Program
• encouragement of the federal government to provide tax exemptions for trust funds
• a Wood-First Policy
• expand six-storey wood-frame construction
• expand B.C. Wood-First Policy to a national strategy
• a Commercial Forest Reserve
• Woodworkers' Lien Act review
• increase access to fibre supply
• bioenergy tenure and pricing

Radar Guns To Monitor All
Forest Service Roads
Radar guns will now be used to monitor and enforce safety on all provincial Forest Service Roads, it was recently announced. The ministry has purchased six new radar guns, for a total to 10, giving all three forest regions an additional two radar guns each. The ministry will then work in co-operation with the RCMP to train two to three Compliance and Enforcement Officers per district, for each of the 29 forest districts, in their proper use. In conjunction with radar guns, the ministry will also place three speed boards, one per region, in different locations around the province to increase driver’s awareness of their speed. Other recent resource road safety initiatives undertaken by the Ministry of Forests and Range include: road infrastructure improvements, a pilot project to standardize radio call procedures and road signage. As well, TruckSafe has expanded its Vehicle Identification Plates Program to make it simpler and easier to report unsafe driving incidents. See the News Release.