Clark Drops Self-Sufficiency Power Plans
Premier Christy Clark unravelled a key component of her predecessor's energy plan Friday, dropping a requirement that would have forced BC Hydro to spend significant resources between now and 2016 to plan for a worst-case power generation scenario.

"We will redefine the province's self-sufficiency policy to ensure B.C. is well positioned for power expansion, and that Hydro rates remain affordable for families," Clark said Friday as she unveiled her new energy strategy, one aimed at exploiting the province's natural gas reserves.

Clark said the province is abandoning a requirement introduced by former premier Gordon Campbell that BC Hydro have enough energy on hand domestically by 2016 to meet the worst case scenario of a repeat of the lowest water level on record.

She said she is also cancelling a requirement that had obliged BC Hydro to have an extra insurance margin above and beyond the so-called "critical water" levels – where dams are at their lowest – as had been laid out in the Clean Energy Act. Read more.

Governments Announce Oilsands Monitoring Plan
The federal and Alberta governments have announced a joint $50 million-a-year monitoring strategy for Alberta's oilsands that will greatly increase the amount of testing conducted on land, air and water in the region, ministers from both governments said Friday. The program, which was developed with the input of 100 scientists, is slated to begin this spring. By the time the three-year program is fully implemented in 2015, the number of sampling sites will be significantly increased and cover a larger area, the governments announced in a joint news conference featuring federal Environment Minister Peter Kent and provincial Environment Minister Diana McQueen. View the full article.

Pine Beetle Kill Less Than Projected, Says Chief Forester
B.C.'s chief forester painted a mountain pine beetle picture both good and bad Thursday for silviculturalists gathered in Kamloops.

The good news is the historic infestation that destroyed Interior pine stands through the middle of the last decade wasn't as destructive as first feared.

"In 2006, we were projecting a mountain pine beetle kill of 80 per cent of pine by 2013," Jim Snetsinger told a convention of the Western Silviculture Contractors' Association. "Our 2011 models . . . now tell us mountain pine beetle will kill about 61 per cent of susceptible pine by 2021."

Snetsinger was more guarded in his outlook than Interfor's chief forester, who predicted "a golden era" is at hand. View the full story in the Kamloops Daily News.

Forest Industry Welcomes Renewed Software Lumber Agreement
The Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) is pleased that the Minister of International Trade, Ed Fast, has today announced a two-year extension of the Softwood Lumber Agreement along with the US Trade Representative, Ron Kirk.

"The softwood agreement does provide stability and predictability in terms of getting access to our most important market, the United States," says the President and CEO of FPAC, Avrim Lazar. "The industry is of the view that at a time of ongoing market uncertainty, it is a good idea to extend the deal by another two years to provide a degree of certainty in market access to the U.S."

Lazar notes that Canadian forest companies have gone through an economically challenging time with mill closures and the job loss in the face of the global recession and the changing marketplace. The sector has had significant success in diversifying their markets especially in Asia. Wood exports to China have increased by 46 times since 2000 and the sector is now the largest Canadian exporting industry to both India and China. However, the U.S. still accounts for about two-thirds of the exports of Canadian forest products. Click here to view the press release.