British Columbia Launches BC Timber Sales Review

On Wednesday, British Columbia announced that it has launched a review of BC Timber Sales (BCTS) to ensure the province’s forestry sector is continually evolving to overcome challenges and create a guideline for a stronger, more resilient future.

In a statement, BC Minister of Forests Ravi Parmar said, “Forestry in BC is in transition, and the people and communities who rely on our forests—who are bearing the brunt of ongoing challenges—want change now. That’s why I have asked Lennard Joe, George Abbott, and Brian Frenkel to look at the opportunities to leverage BCTS to set BC’s forest industry up for the next 100 years.”

The launch of the review recognizes the significant pressure the forest sector is under, from declining allowable annual cuts (AAC), difficulty accessing fiber, global economic conditions, and heightened environmental and trade-protection efforts, the Ministry of Forests said.

Building on the ongoing work of BCTS, as well as recent forestry-sector engagement, the review will provide recommendations about how BCTS can:

• Create forestry-sector growth, competition, and diversification
• Provide predictable and reliable market access to fiber
• Diversify access to fiber for the manufacturing sector, including value-added facilities
• Strengthen partnerships with First Nations and communities
• Provide more jobs for contractors, workers, and communities
• Lead in innovative, sustainable forest management and silviculture practices

The review will be led by the Ministry of Forests with support from the newly formed expert task force consisting of Abbott, Joe, and Frenkel. It will use the Provincial Forestry Forum, a group that brings together all interests in the forestry sector, including contractors, value-added manufacturers, industry, and labor. Work will begin immediately. Action will be taken within six months of launching the review.

“Our work to get more value out of our forests is a top priority as we grow the BC wood-manufacturing sector,” Parmar said. “That’s why we are doubling the amount of BCTS volume that is dedicated to value-added manufacturers, from 10% to 20%. That’s about 1.1 million m³ in 2025 alone.”

Managing roughly 20% of the province’s public timber supply, BCTS has an integral role in the success and resiliency of British Columbia’s forestry sector. In 2023, BCTS launched the Value-Added Manufacturing Program that ensures small and medium-sized secondary manufacturers have a dedicated fiber supply.

Additionally, the province is changing the criteria for the Value-Added Manufacturing program to enable groups of manufacturers to bid together within the program, benefiting more workers and communities around BC.