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A government-commissioned review of forestry in British Columbia is calling for the system to be razed and rebuilt with a focus on trust and transparency about the state of the province’s forests, shifting away “from managing harvest volumes to managing lands.”
The final report from the Provincial Forestry Advisory Council released Monday says trust has been eroded by inconsistent forest data controlled largely by industry and government.
It calls for the creation of a transparent forest inventory based on laser measurements with a new independent body to manage the information.
“We’re here because we have a system that is built on an era that no longer exists,” said Shannon Janzen a co-chair of the advisory council.
“There has been too much change, there has been too much disruption around us that we need to step ahead, accept our reality, and be able to adapt so that the communities themselves have power over their future.”
The 80-page report says there also needs to be an arm’s-length assessment of high-value old growth trees to reduce conflict and ensure everyone is working from the same reliable data.
The authors of the report, including industry representatives and academics, pitch a model that would change who makes decisions about lumber allotment, taking that power away from the provincial government and shifting it to regional bodies that manage defined areas.
Peter Wood, a professor at University of British Columbia’s faculty of forestry and environmental stewardship, said he was pleased to see the need for more transparency and better information sharing included in the report. But, he said questions remain about the involvement of the Forest Practices Board — the independent forestry watchdog.
“There are some very interesting ideas in here … but I think still there are some major details that are left out that are quite critical,” he told CBC’s BC Today.
LISTEN | UBC forestry professor on provincial review:
BC Today26:07Future of B.C. forestry
A new independent report from the Provincial Forestry Advisory Council has been released saying that B.C’s current forest management system is failing to meet the needs of communities, First Nations, businesses, and the environment. UBC Forestry professor Peter Wood reacts to the report and we ask how B.C’s forestry industry should be rethought.
Co-chair Garry Merkel described the proposed model as being “a little bit like school boards,” with decision-makers who are connected to the communities.
He said under the current model decisions are largely driven by people outside of the communities “trying to think about what they need and what they want,” while also dealing with changing rules that come with each provincial government that is elected.
Janzen, a former chief forester, said the use of area-based land management is not a new idea and is already in Ontario and Alberta. The model would de-centralize power and give decision-making authority to people who live in the impacted regions.
“It is not about government as much as it is about the people on the ground who actually have to step up and figure out how they can sort of form their own destiny here,” she said.
Forest Minister Ravi Parmar would not commit to implementing the report’s recommendations, telling reporters on Monday that he has to consult with other ministries.
“Government will be looking at those recommendations in detail and as part of the broader work that we’re doing to restore confidence in British Columbia’s forest sector,” he said.
Minister of Forests Ravi Parmar is pictured on Aug. 6, 2025. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
Thousands of forestry workers have lost their jobs as mills has closed across the province with timber supplies drying up and the U.S. government increasing tariffs and fees on Canadian softwood.
The report calls for publicly accessible, reliable data to form the foundation for land management decisions. It says a “robust” inventory must be created based on the use of LiDAR technology, which uses lasers to analyze forests, including tree heights, canopy density and terrain.
“Trust is eroded by inconsistent data currently controlled largely by industry and government,” it says.
“To support evidence-based decisions, the province must transition to external, expert driven, transparent and service-oriented data management and delivery.”
Green Party MLA Rob Botterell, who was at the news conference with Parmar on Monday, said in a statement that the report “offers a monumental reset for British Columbia’s forests.”
“B.C.’s forest-management system will face worse ecological degradation, instability, heightened conflict, declining public trust, and the loss of communities from permanent mill closures. The real risk is pretending a system that has failed workers, communities, and forests for decades will suddenly start working,” he said.
The opposition B.C. Conservatives said the report, which estimates implementation of the recommendations could take five years, “ignores industry realities and doubles down on governance restructuring.”
Forests critic Ward Stamer said in a statement that the report’s core recommendations emphasize new structures, additional oversight bodies, and long-term frameworks, while largely ignoring the immediate barriers preventing wood from getting to market.
“Instead of streamlining permits or cutting red tape, this report actually recommends creating yet another oversight body,” he said. “It barely addresses regulation or permitting in any meaningful way. That tells forestry workers exactly where they stand.”
