British Columbia is choking its own forestry sector by keeping fibre permits locked down. Looser, faster approvals would keep mills open and jobs in Canada. The BC Council of Forest Industries, or COFI, says last year’s harvest slid to 35 million cubic metres, 42 percent below the annual allowable cut, the legal cap and 10,000 jobs vanished.
Shrinking Log Pile
Sinclar Group just cut output 40 percent at three northern mills, parking 350 direct jobs because fibre was missing, not buyers. In the company’s notice, president Greg Stewart said, “The significance of this action should not be underestimated,” adding that weak log flow and new U.S. border tariffs, a border tax, made matters worse. His view tracks with COFI data: harvest volumes have fallen by half since 2014 while policy steps such as old-growth deferrals and slow cutting permits clogged supply. Each lost log load means less cash for loggers, truckers, and small towns that depend on mill taxes.
Fix The Rule Book
Victoria controls almost all timber because 94 percent of BC forest land is Crown land. The province decides cutting levels, hands out cutting permits, and approves road work. When those steps stall, firms pay wages while crews wait or they stop shifts. COFI chief Linda Coady warned that “additional transition measures are needed within the next 60 days to address current challenges in approval and permitting systems,” and she linked each mill closure to permit delays. Her call still hangs in the air 17 months later.
Speeding up permit reviews, bundling minor amendments, and issuing longer term cutting licences would give mills a clear log runway. Ottawa cannot fix this; the provincial forest minister alone signs the permits and can order staff to clear the backlog. Clearer rules also deter foreign funds that buy distressed mills for their power credits and land, then ship profits abroad. Keeping control at home matters because forestry remains BC’s largest goods employer outside Metro Vancouver.
Cutting red tape will not end the softwood dispute, yet it beats watching mills close while legal fibre sits in the woods. If Victoria trims process steps by early 2026, mills keep running and communities keep tax revenue. If it does not, expect more auctions of BC mills to foreign owners who see cheap assets and captive power sales. A faster permit pen is the cheapest rescue plan on offer, and the province holds that pen.
