Forestry Minister visiting Okanagan to learn about impacts to sector, find solutions

The Minister of Forests is visiting the Okanagan to speak with people in the forestry sector and try to find solutions to issues they face stemming from tariff and duty threats from the United States.

Ravi Parmar arrived in West Kelowna Monday, March 17, where he visited a few forestry stakeholders such as companies and workers, First Nations, and local government.

“It’s an opportunity for me to be on the ground, listening to British Columbians, talking to forest-dependent communities about the challenges and opportunities ahead,” Parmar told Vernon Matters.

“I think we all know too well how crazy it’s been in the last few weeks and months since Donald Trump took the presidency in the United States. I know for forest-dependent communities, we’ve been dealing with the challenges of duties and tariffs for a long time, for three or four decades, as this long-standing battle between the United States and Canada, and to be seeing duties increasing, doubling in size on top of tariffs, we could be dealing with 50 to 60 per cent duties and tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber heading down south.”

He said it was important to meet with people involved in the forestry sector to determine how to mitigate the impacts of those trade threats from the U.S.

“Whether it’s through value-added opportunities, which create more jobs per log, or looking at opportunities to diversify and find new markets,” Parmar said.

“What I’ve heard loud and clear since day one of my trip here to the Okanagan, is British Columbians expect their politicians, whether they’re MLAs, ministers or premiers, stand up for them and deliver for them, not back down and not roll over. That’s what we’re going to be focused on.”

Parmar said he and many across the province want to ensure that there’s a strong forestry sector for many years to come, and find a way to move away from a boom and bust economy and provide stability for the industry.

“What I hate to see is companies hire and then four or five years later lay off workers, that’s not fair to workers,” the Forestry Minister said.

“We need to create stability, and it’s my number one responsibility to stand up for workers and restore confidence in this sector and make sure that we’re planning for the next 100 years.

“I met with the Westbank First Nation, they have a Seven Generation Plan for forestry that ensures that we can create a consistent fibre supply to local mills that delivers to their members and delivers for the communities that they work with and partner with as well.”

Other ideas Parmar heard during his first day in his Okanagan visit included exploring further interprovincial and international trade opportunities, and find more ways to get value out of the timber.

“What we’ve got is good opportunities for investors to make investments in new mills and new value added opportunities,” Parmar said.

“That creates jobs, good paying jobs, family-supporting jobs for people in Vernon, West Kelowna, and right across British Columbia.”

In the short-term, Parmar said the Ministry was looking at ways to speed up the permitting and forest landscape plan processes, ensuring wood fibre was going to the right mills, reviewing B.C. Timber Sales to ensure it could be used as a tool to create long-term plans, and ensuring the province is prioritizing local logs and local jobs.

Parmar is also the Minister Responsible for the B.C. Wildfire Service, and he said the wildfire risks is top of mind for himself and many people in the Okanagan.

“I got a chance to tour over the McDougall Creek fire, which was a smaller fire [in size], but what intensity to have seen the impact that the fire had,” the Minister told Vernon Matters.

“Meeting with the Westbank First Nation, seeing the devastation that fire has caused to their community forests and their economic development opportunities, I know we have to redouble our efforts on wildfire mitigation and making sure we are creating a more resilient land base.

“Also, I’m looking forward to the opportunity to have conversations around how we’re going to be able to protect watersheds in our future. I know because of the hard work of [Vernon-Lumby MLA Harwinder Sandhu], we gave $15-million to protect the local watershed here [at Aberdeen Plateau] and do some really important fire mitigation work. So I’m looking forward to seeing some of that and hearing about the successes, but also looking at opportunities to ensure we’re as prepared as we can for the 2025 wildfire season.”

Parmar was planning to meet with forestry stakeholders in Vernon Tuesday, March 18, then visiting people in other area communities through the week including in Salmon Arm, Kamloops and Merritt.