Re: Softwood timber royalties in New Brunswick at decade low after system overhaul
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https://davidraymondamos3. Thursday, 20 July 2023 Softwood timber royalties in New Brunswick at decade low after system overhaul | |
Softwood timber royalties in New Brunswick at decade low after system overhaul
Woodlot owners worry royalty reforms mostly benefited industry
But under a complex new timber royalty system set up this year by the New Brunswick government, forestry companies are paying lower royalties now for wood the lumber is made from than they did back then.
That is generating concern the new royalties are designed to benefit industry and will undercut what private sellers of wood will be able to charge mills this year for what they sell.
"I don't think anybody's feeling overly positive as to where we've landed at this point," said Rick Doucett, the president of the New Brunswick Federation of Woodlot Owners about the new royalty system.
The province moved to overhaul timber royalties this year after acknowledging its former policy of charging forestry companies a flat rate for wood cut in public forests had failed to take advantage of a two-year explosion in international lumber prices.
Rick
Doucett, president of the New Brunswick Federation of Woodlot Owners,
says he had high hopes for a new timber royalty system but has been
disappointed by the result. (CBC)
"When a new normal is established, you know, our systems must reflect that," Mike Holland, the natural resources minister, said in May 2022 about the need for changes.
The new royalty system Holland's department created is two-tiered with a base rate paid on timber cut in public forests and a secondary floating rate that rises and falls monthly with the prices of various wood-based commodities.
"Over-performing markets equals higher royalties, under-performing markets equals lower royalties," the province has explained in various presentations about the new system around the province.
The new royalty system in New Brunswick is designed to rise and fall with markets like those for lumber. (Michel Nogue/Radio-Canada)
Independent woodlot owners have long supported royalties that are tied in some way to markets, but there is worry the province has set its base rates too low and placed restrictions on the floating rate that will end up with forestry companies paying lower royalties than they used to, not more, as originally expected.
Doucett said that in early meetings with the province he was expecting much higher charges to be levied than what he thinks the new system can produce.
"It feels like we discussed sort of a ham dinner.and now we're being presented with a bone that has been cleaned by the vultures," said Doucett.
About 60 per cent of the wood cut by companies in public forests in New Brunswick ends up as softwood lumber of some kind.
About one million cubic metres of spruce, fir and jack pine saw logs are taken from Crown land annually. Last year the royalty rate on those was raised for the first time in eight years to $40.60 per cubic metre.
Under this year's new system the base royalty rate for those logs has been dropped almost in half, to $21.83 per cubic metre. Although a floating royalty rate is then added to that amount, it starts out at 75 cents and doesn't increase until lumber prices rise above $637 per 1,000 board feet.
That's significantly below levies charged on softwood saw logs in New Brunswick in the past.
In the 2015 fiscal year, with softwood lumber prices averaging $471 per 1,000 board feet, royalties on softwood logs in New Brunswick were set at $31.09. That's a 37.6 per cent higher royalty than would be charged under New Brunswick's new system at similar lumber prices.
To reach a royalty rate equal to what was charged back in 2015, ($31.09 per cubic metre), lumber prices now have to reach $780 per 1,000 board feet, nearly two-thirds more than lumber prices in 2015.
To reach the even higher royalty rate of $40.60 set on softwood saw logs last year, lumber prices now have to exceed $925 per 1,000 board feet.
However, since the new system went into effect on April 1, lumber prices have been nowhere near those levels, averaging closer to $640.
Kim Jensen is general manager of the Carleton-Victoria Forest Products Marketing Board in Florenceville and worries lower-than-traditional royalties means prices her members can charge mills for wood will suffer accordingly.
"If they're getting Crown wood at a lower price, then they are not going to pay a higher price for private wood, that's for sure," said Jensen.
Dustin Jalbert is a senior economist with the online commodity-price reporting service fastmarkets.com. He said a number of factors can change the outlook, but he expects with no major surprises softwood lumber prices will settle somewhere below $750 per 1,000 board feet for the next few months.
"Yeah, that's probably what we would call it," Jalbertsaid in an interview Tuesday.
Wood
product analyst and economist Dustin Jalbert said he expects softwood
lumber prices to stay close to current levels for the next few months. (Submitted by Dustin Jalbert)
That's higher than historical lumber prices but not high enough to keep royalty amounts in New Brunswick from falling below historical levels.
Another wrinkle in the floating royalty rate is that it is capped at 100 per cent of the base royalty.
That means no matter how high softwood lumber prices go, total royalties paid by companies cannot exceed $43.66 per cubic metre.
That limit happens when lumber prices reach $974 per 1,000 board feet even though during the two-year record escalation of lumber prices amounts regularly exceeded $1,000 and in May, 2021 exceeded $2,000.
Doucett said a cap on how high royalties can go during surging lumber markets was not discussed at any meeting he attended, and he questions why the province would limit revenue to itself if there is another lumber price explosion.
"That's ridiculous," said Doucett.
"If you're selling lumber at $2,000 a thousand board feet, you're making lots of money. Wouldn't the government be getting a little more money out of that?"
New
Brunswick saw, pulp and other mills consume 9 million cubic metres of
wood annually. Most of it is softwood and over half of that comes from
publicly owned forests that companies pay royalties to the province to
cut. (Radio-Canada)
In a briefing to discuss the new system officials with the Department of Natural Resources said a maximum on royalties was set because a minimum was also established.
The department also made the point independent woodlot owners will benefit from the new system because revenue from the floating royalty will be spent exclusively on services for that group.
In an email it also cautioned against comparisons of the old and new royalty systems and said while royalty rates on softwood may be lower, royalties on some hardwoods are up.
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Surprise Surprise Surprise
Jos Allaire
Higgs, call an election NOW!
David Amos
Reply to Jos Allaire
Dream on
Brent Thompson
There will be no "good news" on this site for any story involving the Higgs' government.
Thanks for providing some enlightenment on the approach used to determine fair market value.
Reply to Brent Thompson
Surely you jest
Reply to Don Corey
Welcome back to the circus
Me too
Province promises N.B. forest report by April after seven years of missed deadlines
Green leader says department first promised report in 2016 and raps lack of ‘annual plan’
Tom MacFarlane, the deputy minister of natural resources and energy development, acknowledged that his department has missed several deadlines it gave itself, starting in June 2016, to finish and publish the report.
He made the new commitment after Green Leader David Coon hammered the department for repeatedly promising the report and then not delivering it.
"Delay after delay after delay after delay," Coon said during a meeting of the legislature's public accounts committee.
"The question is, Mr. MacFarlane, what is it you don't want the members of the public and this legislature to know about the state of our forest?"
No annual plan
Earlier in the morning, Coon also forced MacFarlane to admit that the department had not published an annual plan listing its objectives — a plan required under provincial law to be posted on the department's website.
"I'm not aware as to why we haven't published an annual plan," MacFarlane said.
He said the department has been using a mandate letter from Premier Blaine Higgs as a guide — though he didn't realize that mandate letters are kept confidential by the current government.
"I guess I thought they are made public centrally, and I'm told they are not public," he said. "But we have not produced an annual plan."
Mandate letters are given by a new premier to each new minister and their department, outlining the government's priorities.
Liberal premier Brian Gallant made them public for the first time in 2014 but current Premier Blaine Higgs has reverted to not releasing them.
The province's Accountability and Continuous Improvement Act requires departments to publish annual plans laying out their objectives for each fiscal year.
That allows the department, MLAs and the public to compare the plan's objectives to results laid out in a subsequent annual report.
Why plan is needed
With a report but no plan, Coon said, "it's extremely difficult for us to do our work in holding the department accountable in how it uses tax dollars if we don't know what those goals and objectives in the plan are."
The act says departments "shall" prepare an annual plan to "set out the goals and objectives" during a given year and establish "a strategic direction," then "identify objective performance measures" for those goals.
It also says the minister for the department "shall make the annual plan public by publishing it on the department's website" within three months of the start of the fiscal year.
'Delay after delay after delay after delay,' said Green Party Leader
David Coon of a forest report promised seven years ago. (Jacques
Poitras/CBC)
On the state of the province report, Coon said the last one was in 2008 and pointed out the auditor general recommended in 2015 that the department issue new versions more frequently to report on how forests are being managed for ecological sustainability.
Coon said the department committed to a new report by June 2016, told him in 2017 it was "coming soon," assured him in 2019 that it would be tabled in the legislature in 2020, and in 2021 told him it would be ready that summer.
He said there was then another promise it would be done in 2022.
"Certainly there's been a number of things that have impacted our ability to deliver that report," MacFarlane said.
"I can promise you that that report is in draft form right now and we are anticipating to get that out this fiscal year."
Department has other priorities
He blamed "limited staff" for the delay and a focus on other more important programs.
"I can apologize for missing our targets and notions of the past, but certainly we've been prioritizing a lot of our initiatives," he said.
"It's limited resources that we have, and we try to make sure that we're focused on the items that require the highest priority."
Assistant deputy minister Chris Ward added that the raw data that would be used in a state of the forest report is available on the department's online open data portal.
"There's no hiding data," Ward said. "For those that are interested in data, it's online."
The discussion with Coon over missed deadlines is the latest in a series of exchanges between the Green leader and the department.
- N.B. receiving less than nothing on softwood pulpwood after Crown timber royalty changes
- 'Conservation is a priority,' minister tells skeptics of land protection plan
In 2020 he chided MacFarlane for the department for not having produced an emissions-reduction strategy three years after the release of the province's climate change plan.
During that session, department officials also said New Brunswick would miss its goal of having 2,500 electric vehicles on the province's roads by the end of 2020. There were only 429 at the end of 2019.
On Wednesday, MacFarlane was able to report that the province is on track to meet its next EV target of 20,000 by 2030.
He said supply chains were a problem until last fall but are showing signs of improvement now, with more electric vehicles available for sale now and federal and provincial rebate programs helping to spur sales.
"We're seeing our numbers increase significantly so we're very hopeful that holds," he said.
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"I can apologize for missing our targets and notions of the past, but certainly we've been prioritizing a lot of our initiatives," he said.
"It's limited resources that we have, and we try to make sure that we're focused on the items that require the highest priority."
Didn't take too long to get the Turkey hunt up and running. Is that where all the resources were being used.
That having been said, the lengthy delay by the department in preparing and making public this long overdue report is absolutely inexcusable/unacceptable. We obviously need, asap, a new deputy minister who makes sure that commitments are met on a timely basis (reports, annual plans - which should be made public) and competent in everything else that the position requires. In private industry, he would have been history years ago.
Our forests are primarily black spruce gardens. The industry and NB Power spray to kill everything else off.
NB Forest report
"thars A lot of trees"
Hit print and it's miller time!
Me too
New Brunswick goes quiet on whether forest companies really face $50M royalty hike
Minister mum on whether major increase announced in July is as large as first claimed
What caused the shift is not entirely clear, and so far provincial officials are not answering questions about it.
In a letter released last week criticizing a CBC News story that showed royalty rates on softwood pulpwood are being lowered by the province, Natural Resources and Energy Development Minister Mike Holland said most types of wood taken from provincially owned forests carry higher prices than last year, and forestry companies are paying more.
"Let me be clear, this new fee structure will result in tens of millions of dollars in additional revenue for the province of New Brunswick," says the three-page open letter signed by Holland and released publicly last Friday.
"Total timber royalties could top $100 million."
That's a subtle but potentially significant revision of earlier estimates that the province would receive $50 million this year from increasing royalty rates.
Natural
Resources and Energy Development Minister Mike Holland released a
letter last week suggesting higher timber royalties "could top $100
million" this year. An estimate he gave in July was millions more. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
According to government budget documents, "forest royalties" for the current year were originally projected to reach $68.1 million prior to the change in royalty rates.
Reaching $100 million instead would require $32 million in additional royalty revenue, not $50 million, and in Holland's new letter hitting that lower target is only phrased as something that "could" happen.
Questions to Holland's department about whether the original estimate of companies paying $50 million more for Crown wood this year is still valid or has been revised downward have gone unanswered since last week.
Additional questions about whether the original estimate might have been a miscalculation or misstatement or whether royalty rates were ultimately set lower than first planned have also received no response.
New
Brunswick Finance Ernie Steeves updated his budget numbers in a
first-quarter report in August, but the document included no projections
on revenue increases expected from increased timber royalties. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
In early July, Holland gave multiple interviews to New Brunswick media outlets to announce royalty rates were increasing by $50 million this year.
According to Holland at the time, average royalty rates for companies taking wood from provincially owned forests would be climbing $10 per cubic metre. Multiplied over the five million cubic metres or more companies take for mills each year in New Brunswick, he put the expected revenue increase at $50 million.
"We've instigated an increase for this year, a fairly significant increase," Holland told CBC News. "It could project up to $50 million worth of additional revenue to the province for this fiscal year."
Similar stories appeared in other media outlets in the province, all mentioning the $50 million figure.
However, when new royalty rates took effect in August, the average increase of $10 per cubic metre was not apparent in the regulations.
Single
large trees like this spruce in the Pocologan watershed often carry
multiple royalty rates when found and cut on Crown land. In New
Brunswick this year large trunks used for making softwood lumber have
had royalties increase, but rates on pulpwood made from the smaller tree
tops have gone down. (Submitted by Ben Sweet)
It is a difficult issue to track exactly because in addition to adjusting rates, the province condensed what had been 38 separate timber royalty categories into 20. Despite that, it appears clear enough that average royalties have not increased by the $10 amount quoted in July.
According to figures compiled by the New Brunswick Forest Products Commission, about 60 per cent of the wood taken from Crown land in New Brunswick is spruce, pine and fir tree "roundwood" sent to sawmills and cut into lumber. The average royalty on that material has increased about $9 per cubic metre.
A further 25 per cent of the wood cut on Crown land is poplar and other hardwood used for pulp, and royalties on most of that increased just $2.32 per cubic metre.
Combined, those royalty increases should be worth about $30 million in new revenue if companies cut at normal levels, but it is difficult to see where an additional $20 million would come from.
Some smaller volume species taken from provincial forests like hardwood sawlogs did see royalty charges jump more than $10 per cubic metre, but others fell well below that amount, including softwood pulpwood, which had its royalty rate cut.
In his letter, Holland said he is "serious" about getting "the maximum value for our Crown lands for all New Brunswickers. Whether that includes $50 million increased timber royalties this year, or some lesser amount his department won't say.
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"In a letter released last week criticizing a CBC News story that showed royalty rates on softwood pulpwood are being lowered by the province, Natural Resources and Energy Development Minister Mike Holland said most types of wood taken from provincially owned forests carry higher prices than last year, and forestry companies are paying more.
"Let me be clear, this new fee structure will result in tens of millions of dollars in additional revenue for the province of New Brunswick," says the three-page open letter signed by Holland and released publicly last Friday."
Methinks Minister Mikey doesn't like Mr Jones poking holes in his stuffed shirt N'esy Pas?
Let's see:
Kyle said Holland was a disgrace.
Rather than rebut that statement, your response was that McKenna was a disgrace.
Logical inference is that you were making a parallel comparison between Holland and McKenna.
N.B. receiving less than nothing on softwood pulpwood after Crown timber royalty changes
Timber royalties in New Brunswick increased in August but with one notable exception
The New Brunswick government reset timber royalties as promised last month but not all charges to forest companies went up as the province has been suggesting, including to MLAs last week.
In one case, royalties levied for cutting softwood pulpwood on Crown land have been slashed to levels so low the wood is now effectively being made available for less than free to companies that cut it.
Liberal finance critic René Legacy said that is a surprise to him, especially since MLAs on the legislature's public accounts committee put questions about timber royalties to the Department of Natural Resources and Energy Development just last week.
"We were in committee asking questions and there was no indication this was happening," said Legacy.
René
Legacy, the Liberal MLA for Bathurst West-Beresford and the party's
finance critic, says he is surprised government forestry officials did
not disclose during their appearance before MLAs last week that softwood
pulpwood timber royalty rates have been cut. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
"We never seem to get the complete picture."
According to new regulations filed Aug. 30, the province reset what it charges forest companies to cut trees in publicly owned forests. Most royalty rates on most types of wood have increased but with exceptions.
Amounts the province charges forest companies for spruce, fir and jack pine pulpwood cut on Crown land dropped more than half in August from $7.59 to $3.40 per cubic metre.
Other softwood species used for pulp, like red pine, also fell to $3.40 per cubic metre but from a previous level of $5.50.
Royalty is now less than fee paid to companies
A royalty of $3.40 is too low to generate net revenue for government because of a $3.90 fee the province is required to return to forest companies on every cubic metre of qualifying wood they cut on Crown land. That includes all pulpwood.
The "licence management service fee" is listed in regulations as "compensation for forest management expenses" that companies incur looking after Crown forests on behalf of the province.
Because the management fee owed by the province to companies on every cubic metre of softwood they cut for pulp is now 50 cents higher than what the province gets back in royalties, it has become a net loser on softwood pulp that companies take on Crown land.
That amount varies annually but over the last five years companies have been cutting between 150,000 and 260,000 cubic metres of softwood pulpwood from Crown holdings.
Most
softwood pulpwood in New Brunswick ends up in J.D. Irving Ltd. mills,
such as the company's Saint John pulp mill, after passing through JDI's
chipping operation in Sussex. (Robert Jones/CBC)
The cut in royalty charges on softwood pulp was not mentioned by government forestry officials last week when Legacy and Progressive Conservative MLA Ross Wetmore both asked questions about the subject at the public accounts committee.
Chris Ward, assistant deputy minister of Natural Resources, told Wetmore simply that "higher timber royalty rates" in the province had taken effect.
'Looks to me like a quid pro quo'
Green Party Leader David Coon, who was also at the committee hearing, was also unaware that royalty rates on softwood pulp had been cut.
He worries that will force private sellers of softwood pulp to lower their own prices or lead forest companies to bypass private sellers in favour of accessing more softwood pulp from Crown land.
"It's dreadful. It's another big impact on woodlot owners," said Coon, who wondered if it was done to quiet criticism among forestry companies about rates increasing on other types of timber.
"It looks to me like a quid pro quo."
Most softwood pulpwood in New Brunswick, including most of the softwood pulp cut on Crown land and by smaller woodlots, goes to J.D Irving Ltd.'s Sussex wood chipping facility.
Natural
Resources and Energy Development Minister Mike Holland announced in
July timber royalties in New Brunswick would be increasing. There was no
mention of decreases also happening. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
The company's vice-president of communications, Anne McInerney, referred questions about the royalty changes to the province.
In a written statement, the department said softwood pulp is a small percentage of wood cut in New Brunswick and that prices paid to private sellers of softwood pulp are already depressed with the lower royalty rate following that trend, not leading it.
"The softwood pulpwood market has been relatively weak and the Department of Natural Resources and Energy Development has seen significant volume of material either left in the woods during harvest operations or used instead as roundwood biomass," said the statement.
"The Department expects this new rate to better reflect fair market value and result in better utilization of this resource."
The department also said other higher-value wood with higher royalty rates are cut at the same time as softwood pulp, earning more than enough so "the Crown is never losing money."
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New Brunswick forest companies using publicly owned trees to face higher charges
2 years into record lumber prices, province moves to increase 2015 royalty rates
Details are scarce, including the size of the increase being considered.
But in an interview Monday, Mike Holland, the minister of natural resources and energy development, said two years of elevated lumber prices convinced him royalty rates on Crown timber are not adequately compensating the province for what it supplies industry.
"We need to be able to move forward and put together systems that are good for all concerned and reflect where that [lumber] pricing winds up," Holland said.
"When lumber goes from 200 bucks per thousand board feet to 1600 bucks … we need to create some sort of a mechanism that reflects that, as far as it relates to the benefit to the province."
Natural
Resources and Energy Development Minister Mike Holland said New
Brunswick's seven-year-old timber royalties are too low given what's
happened with the price of lumber. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
For the last two years, record lumber prices have been enriching New Brunswick forestry companies but have done little to raise revenues for those who supply the trees the lumber is made from.
Slightly more than half of the wood New Brunswick forestry companies use in their operations is owned by the province. The rest comes from a variety of sources, including industry's own forest holdings and thousands of smaller independent suppliers.
Earlier this month, Statistics Canada reported lumber production in March in New Brunswick was worth $180.7 million, a record for that month. That raised total lumber production for the fiscal year ended in March to $1.6 billion.
That amount is $700 million more than New Brunswick forest companies made from lumber in the 2020 fiscal year, but without paying any more in timber royalties to the province for the wood it used.
According to New Brunswick budget and public accounts documents, the province earned an estimated $70.3 million in royalties and fees on Crown trees in the 2020 fiscal year but $68.1 million in the year just ended in March. despite the increased earnings they made possible.
New
Brunswick lumber mills earned $3 billion in revenue over the last two
fiscal years as prices for wood soared. It's $1.2 billion more than
mills made in the two years before that although prices they paid for
Crown wood they used did not change. (CBC)
Holland said New Brunswick will not necessarily adopt royalty rates on Crown timber that change monthly or quarterly to match rising and falling lumber prices, the way some provinces do, but he acknowledged New Brunswick royalties have fallen out of step with current lumber prices.
"When a new normal is established, you know, our systems must reflect that," Holland said.
"I have never been a fan of chasing commodity pricing … but when we see prices move in a direction, when you get to a baseline you've got to catch up with that."
Current royalty rates on New Brunswick timber were set in July, 2015. In that year lumber prices in North America averaged $282 US per 1,000 board feet, well below the $883 US they averaged over the past year.
British
Columbia Finance Minister Selina Robinson released figures in February
showing timber royalty revenues in that province are running $558
million above budget as high lumber prices triggered higher royalty
rates. (Mike McArthur/CBC)
Last year in British Columbia, Canada's largest forestry province, Crown royalty rates were more than triple what they were in 2015, as the government made sure to share in the financial windfall. But in New Brunswick, rates never moved.
That has confounded observers of the province's forest industry, who don't understand why the province would not raise the price of its trees as lumber companies made more and more revenue from them.
It also frustrated those who sell their own trees to mills and who complained they could not get better prices while government charged so little.
"Everyone seems to be quite dumbfounded by the situation," Rick Doucet of the New Brunswick Federation of Woodlot Owners said last fall.
"You could collect that money, put it in the coffers of the province, and the mills themselves will still be doing quite well," Doucet said. "So there was an opportunity there to do something, and it's quite perplexing as to why they didn't move on it."
Adam
Sheparski is president of Acadian Timber. It's the third-largest
landowner in New Brunswick after the province and J.D. Irving Ltd., but
earlier this month Sheparski told investors he had heard nothing about
provincial plans to raise what it charges for trees. (Adam Sheparski/LinkedIn)
Holland said his department has been studying what to do about timber royalties for more than a year, but industry insiders do not appear to have been given much advance notice that a change is coming.
One of the largest sellers of trees in New Brunswick is Acadian Timber Corp. of Edmundston.
It is the second largest non-Crown owner of forest property in New Brunswick behind J.D. Irving and sells timber to mills for both pulp and lumber processing.
Two weeks ago, its president, Adam Sheparski, told investors on a conference call that the company has been pressing the province to charge more for its trees for some time but had not heard there was a plan to do that.
"There has been some quiet conversations ongoing," said Sheparski. "The continued pressure is there but nothing official as yet."
Lumber prices fell up to 35 per cent on futures markets last week, and although Holland acknowledged the province could have made more money from lumber pricing spikes over the last two years had it acted sooner, he said it took time to develop a comprehensive policy that will work in New Brunswick.
"I feel strongly that we did adopt the right approach," said Holland.
"We did exactly what we said we were going to do. Examine the tumultuous situation and come out the other end with something that's systematic."
Holland said details of the new plan are to be released within a month, he said.
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Surging lumber prices generate better prices for New Brunswick trees — in Maine
Sellers claim stagnant timber royalties keep wood a bargain for local mills
Linda Bell, the general manager of the Carleton-Victoria Forest Products Marketing Board in Florenceville, N.B., said prices being paid for saw logs at mills across the border are up to 70 per cent higher than in New Brunswick. That makes the longer hauling distances and increased paperwork required to serve U.S. mills worthwhile, she said.
"What we're seeing in Maine is is an increased demand and increased pricing," said Bell, who estimated a quarter of softwood cut by private sellers in her area is now leaving the province.
"The price of lumber is up and their markets are really good."
Pleasant River Lumber in Maine is one of the companies buying softwood from New Brunswick to run its mills (Pleasant River Lumber/Facebook)
Prices for lumber in North America have almost tripled since August and are nearing record levels set last spring.
A series of shocks to lumber supplies, including historic flooding in British Columbia in November and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, have taken turns roiling markets.
Russia is a significant global exporter of softwood lumber.
Much of its trade is with China, but tightening sanctions on Russia have "goosed" nervous lumber markets that were already elevated, according to wood product analyst Dustin Jalbert, who is with the online commodity price reporting service fastmarkets.com.
Wood
product analyst Dustin Jalbert said a number of factors have been
pushing lumber prices higher for months with the Russian invasion of
Ukraine the latest event making traders nervous. (Submitted by Dustin Jalbert)
"Russia is probably the largest softwood timber resource on the planet and there's a lot of lumber production," Jalbert said in an interview.
"This Russia Ukraine situation is only adding to the fear out in the marketplace that there's not going to be enough building material supply as we head into the prime home-building season."
In New Brunswick, forestry companies have been setting revenue records during the pricing bumps, but those who cut and sell trees have complained for more than a year that little of that bounty has been making its way back to them or flowing to the province.
New Brunswick mills are supplied mostly from timber cut on publicly owned Crown land.
Russia
is a major lumber exporter and sanctions imposed on the country
following its invasion of Ukraine have caused worry in lumber markets. (Maksim Levin/Reuters)
Private sellers contend that because the New Brunswick government does not raise the price it charges for trees to match rising lumber prices as most provinces do, prices they can charge mills as a result are kept artificially low.
"When they're getting subsidized rates from Crown and a lot of their supply comes from Crown they don't need our wood," said Bell.
"Therefore, the price is down and the demand is just not there."
Last month Statistics Canada reported New Brunswick forestry companies rode elevated prices for a variety of wood products, mostly lumber and plywood, to a record $2.6 billion in sales in 2021.
Softwood
logs are loaded for processing at the J.D. Irving Ltd. sawmill in
Chipman. New Brunswick wood product mills made a record $2.6 billion in
2021 but paid the same timber royalty rates they did in 2016. (Gerard Sirois/GNB)
That was $1.3 billion higher than sales in 2016 even though prices charged to forest companies by the province for the use of Crown wood in both years were identical.
That's different from most provinces, which move what they charge for trees up and down with the price of lumber to connect the value of trees to the value of goods they are turned into.
In British Columbia, timber royalties have more than doubled in three years as lumber prices have risen.
B.C. has made $558 million more from timber royalties than it was budgeting this year alone, and those royalties are set to jump again on April 1, when rates are next updated.
Next door in Alberta, timber royalties change even faster. They have jumped five times since September and in March hit prices four times higher than what New Brunswick is currently charging.
"Timber dues rates are based on the current market prices of forest products," the province explains on its website.
"These charges ensure Albertans receive fair compensation for the use of publicly owned forest resources."
Historic
flooding in British Columbia in November that paralyzed transportation
routes such as Highway 7 at Ruby Creek is one of several factors that
have been pushing lumber prices up for the past seven months. (B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure)
Last year, New Brunswick Natural Resources Minister Mike Holland criticized timber royalty systems that rise and fall with lumber prices even though every province west of New Brunswick uses some form of floating charges.
Holland said New Brunswick's "stable steady" approach, where it set rates back in 2015 and has not changed them since, has been better over the long term.
"I've explained it several times that if we had to follow that model of chasing the commodity from 2015 that Alberta did, because of the significant swings not just high but low, there would been over $50 million over that five-year period that we as New Brunswick would have left on the table," Holland told reporters last spring.
But that analysis no longer holds.
Alberta timber royalties have averaged more than double New Brunswick's in the last year because of high lumber prices. They would have raised $100 million more than New Brunswick rates could raise had they been used instead.
That means over the last six years New Brunswick's royalty system raised $50 million less from forestry companies than Alberta's system would have.
Natural
Resources and Energy Development Minister Mike Holland said last year
that New Brunswick made $50 million more over five years from timber
royalties than if it had tied rates to lumber prices like Alberta. Over
six years the amount has flipped to $50 million less. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
Holland's office did not immediately respond last week to a request for comment about the current resurgence in lumber prices or whether the province might reconsider its position not to tie the price of trees in some way to the price of lumber, given revenues other provinces have been raising.
Bell hopes the province does consider it.
She said higher prices New Brunswick sellers are getting for their logs in Maine than they can get at home tells her prices locally are artificially low.
She believes higher timber royalties imposed during strong lumber markets would be affordable for companies, raise more money for the province, and let local sellers charge amounts similar to what other jurisdictions pay.
"They have no Crown wood. They're on an open market," Bell said about the trade for logs in Maine.
"We're seeing pricing closer to fair market values there, than what we see in New Brunswick."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
In 2018 Mikey Holland said "I hear constantly, 'Yup you want my vote and I'm not going to see you again for four years."
Premier of Ontario | Premier ministre de l’Ontario<Premier@ontario.ca> | Sat, Jan 21, 2023 at 1:45 PM |
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The words of the Minister overseeing NB Power causes me to wonder if he has bothered to visit the warming centre in his riding that the new Village of Fundy Albert has set up https://davidraymondamos3. Friday, 20 January 2023 Power remains out for hundreds after linesman's death in southeast NB https://www.cbc.ca/news/ Power remains out for hundreds after linesman's death in southeast NB WorkSafeNB still investigating the accident that also injured a second worker Mia Urquhart · CBC News · Posted: Jan 19, 2023 6:18 PM AST Thick ice coats power lines and a power pole.Power infrastructure is still covered in ice on Thursday in a part of southeast New Brunswick where a linesman died Tuesday night. (Shane Fowler/CBC) About 800 customers are still without power in the area where an N.B. Power linesman died on Tuesday night while trying to restore power after an ice storm. N.B. Power's website shows an ongoing outage in an area near Hopewell Rocks. The estimated restoration time is between 8 and 9 p.m. Friday. As a result, the new Village of Fundy Albert has set up a warming centre at 9 Bicentennial Rd. Mayor Bob Rochon said the warming centre will remain open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. until power is restored. He said it's being powered by a generator. In addition to being able to charge devices, residents can grab a coffee and sweets, he said. N.B. Power was asked if the delay in restoring power to the area was due to the ongoing investigation into the death, but spokesperson Marc Belliveau referred inquiries to WorkSafeNB. Tree limbs bent to the ground with the weight of a layer of thick ice. Many trees bent, cracked or snapped completely under the weight of the ice. (Shane Fowler/CBC) Laragh Dooley, a spokesperson for WorkSafe, did not answer a list of questions sent on Thursday afternoon. "At this time all we can tell you is that WorkSafeNB continues to investigate this tragic incident," she said in a brief emailed response. "We cannot comment on the injured workers condition, only to say it was serious. Our thoughts are with the families of both workers." A map shows a red x in the southeast corner of the province of New Brunswick.The X indicates the area where an N.B. Power linesman was killed on Tuesday night after falling from a pole. A second man was taken to hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries, according to an RCMP spokesperson. (Google maps) Few details are being released about what happened Tuesday night in the woods in Curryville. Cpl. Kevin Glode of the Caledonia detachment of the RCMP said officers responded to the call just before 8 p.m. Tuesday. He said two workers had fallen from a power pole in the woods. One of them died at the scene and the other was taken to hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries. Power lines covered in ice. Power lines in the southeast corner of the province remain coated in a thick layer of ice. This was the scene on Thursday. (Shane Fowler/CBC) Glode said police determined there was "no criminality" involved in the incident and turned the scene over to investigators with WorkSafeNB. Resident Caitlin Rutledge, who lives on the Caledonia Mountain Road, was out of power for almost four days — from early Monday morning until Thursday. She said the scene left in the ice storm's wake was "apocalyptic." "There was a bunch of power lines down. They're all up now. But our phone line actually got ripped out of our house. All our bushes are destroyed. There's a bunch of fallen trees in our backyard. Lots of damage done within the whole area." An ice-covered tree over a power line. Cleanup from this week's ice storm continues in the Fundy Albert area in southeast New Brunswick. (Shane Fowler/CBC) She said pretty much everything is encased in an inch of ice. While the majority of residents lost power, Rochon, the mayor, said some residents are on a different grid. "But for the most part, everyone from Riverside Albert down to Alma are without power." Heavy equipment are still in the area. This was the scene in the area on Thursday. A thick layer of ice remains on almost everything. (Shane Fowler/CBC) Rochon said transmission lines to the community are "still coated in ice." He said the higher elevations were particularly hard hit "and the infrastructure basically crumbled." "The only storm of this magnitude that I recall was back in the 1980s, when I was here as a police officer, and it was probably as bad if not worse than this. "But I haven't seen anything of this magnitude for quite some time." ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mia Urquhart Mia Urquhart is a journalist with CBC New Brunswick, based in Saint John. She can be reached at mia.urquhart@cbc.ca. With files from Shane Fowler CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices 11 Comments David Amos Methinks this is going down Minister Mikey Holland's neck of the woods yet we have not heard a peep from him yet N'esy Pas? https://www.cbc.ca/news/ Some residents in Fundy Albert under boil-water advisory Problem caused by a power outage affecting distribution system CBC News · Posted: Jan 20, 2023 1:10 PM AST Residents of the Riverside-Albert have been told to boil water before consuming. (Olivia Stefanovich/CBC) A prolonged power outage impacting a water distribution system has prompted the Village of Fundy Albert, in southeastern New Brunswick, to issue a boil water advisory for some residents. Residents in Riverside-Albert should boil water for at least one minute before consuming. This includes when using water for "mixing juice, dental hygiene, washing vegetables, making ice or any other activity requiring human consumption." The municipality is also advising that infant formula be prepared using bottled water, and young children should be sponge-bathed to avoid any inadvertent consumption. Residents on well water are not impacted by the advisory. The village said the advisory would be in place until further notice. CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices 2 Comments Hugh Smith Power outage, Picture of electric stove, Boil water advisory. Hmm.....something doesn't add up David Amos Reply to Hugh Smith Methinks Minister Mikey Holland's electric stove must be working just fine N'esy Pas? https://www.cbc.ca/news/ Fundy Albert customers expected to have power back Sunday: N.B. Power Outage still affecting about 630 customers CBC News · Posted: Jan 21, 2023 11:29 AM AST Heavy equipment are still in the area. N.B. Power trucks in the area on Thursday. The utility predicts power will be restored on Sunday. (Shane Fowler/CBC) A prolonged power outage still has more than 630 customers without power in the Fundy Albert area of southeastern New Brunswick. Dominique Couture, an N.B. Power spokesperson, said in a statement that restoration work is underway in Albert County, but "due to the complexity of the repairs required, this may take time." She said the utility expects power to be restored to customers sometime on Sunday. N.B. Power is working with New Brunswick's Emergency Measures Organization, said Couture, to provide support to those affected. A warming centre at 9 Bicentennial Road in Riverside-Albert has been set up since Jan. 18. Power lines covered in ice. On Thursday, power lines in the southeast corner of the province remained coated in a thick layer of ice. Fundy Albert's mayor said there was a lot of damage from ice. (Shane Fowler/CBC) Fundy Albert Mayor Robert Rochon was at the warming centre Saturday morning when speaking with CBC News. "The people in rural Albert County, where we are, are quite resilient," he said. Rochon said it is now Day 6 of no power for some residents. As of Saturday, the plan is to keep the warming centre open until 9 p.m. He said there will soon be warming centres in the Village of Alma. Rochon said the concern is for the community's elderly and vulnerable populations. Power remains out for hundreds after linesman's death in southeast NB Some residents in Fundy Albert under boil-water advisory "Some of them have been without power for up to six days now," he said. "In some cases, their homes are getting quite cold." Rochon said N.B. Power crews appear to be working "feverishly" to restore power, but he said there was a lot of damage because of ice at higher elevations. Man in ball cap and camoflauge-coloured jacket. Fundy Albert Mayor Robert Rochon said the community's warming centre will now be open until 9 p.m. (Shane Fowler/CBC) On Wednesday, an N.B. Power lineman died while working to restore power to the area. Another was seriously injured. On Friday, residents of Riverside-Albert were advised to boil water for at least one minute before consuming because of a water-distribution system issue caused by the power outage. CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices Deja Vu Anyone??? https://www.cbc.ca/news/ 'We've been virtually ignored': Albert County demands government attention Candidates say tourism potential won't be realized without basic services like clean water and cell service Vanessa Blanch · CBC News · Posted: Sep 13, 2018 9:41 AM ADT Green Party candidate Moranda van Geest said with government investment, the Pollett River could become a major tourist attraction in New Brunswick. (Vanessa Blanch/CBC) In a riding that includes some of New Brunswick's most iconic places, candidates in Albert, say voters are demanding an MLA who will improve basic services in their area. "Albert County doesn't have much infrastructure," said Green Party candidate Moranda van Geest. "We can make it more special and different than any other place but we've been virtually ignored by the government." Vote Compass: A political guide to the 2018 provincial election The area has been a reliable one for the Progressive Conservative Party, whose candidates have won every election since 1999. PC candidate Mike Holland said voters in Albert want an MLA who will listen to people in rural communities. These unique "camo signs" have been requested by supporters by a ratio of 3:1 over his "suit signs." (Vanessa Blanch/CBC) Going door-to-door in the riding, which stretches from Salisbury to Alma to Elgin, PC candidate Mike Holland has spoken with many voters who don't feel their voices are being heard in Fredericton. "I hear constantly, 'Yup — you want my vote and I'm not going to see you again for four years.'" "We're sitting on a gold mine in the Albert riding. I believe that non-resident dollars coming to our riding in the form of tourism — that's so much better than … a New Brunswick taxpayer funded dollar," he said. 'Drinking water is non-negotiable' While Hopewell Rocks and Fundy National Park alone bring in thousands of visitors, the neighbouring village of Alma struggles with near-constant boil-water orders. "It's the 21st Century. Drinking water is non-negotiable," Holland said. Under boil order again, Alma finds need for water fix becoming urgent Liberal candidate Catherine Black pointed out that the population of the Alma area grows to nearly 3,000 people during the summer months, and for local businesses trying to serve them, a good water supply is key. "They're a small community of less than 300 people — obviously they don't have the tax base to be able to fix the problems themselves." Liberal candidate Catherine Black isn't deterred by the fact that the riding of Albert has been held by the Progressive Conservative Party for nearly 20 years. (Vanessa Blanch/CBC) Black said she's already speaking with Liberal MP Alaina Lockhart about how the problem could be solved, although she cautions voters to temper their expectations for their next MLA. "Whoever gets this role, we can't fix everybody's problems immediately and four years, while it seems like a long time, there's only so much you can move forward." Lack of cell phone service 'ridiculous' Van Geest, who lives in Elgin, is also pushing for what she considers basic services. What is now a trickle of tourists who come to enjoy the Pollett River, could be a wave for this "Class A" river, she said. Gordon Falls is a popular spot along the Pollett River in Elgin for hikers and swimmers during the summer months. (Vanessa Blanch/CBC) "We would like to see a public park here in Elgin — which would be a great boost to the economy and also if we have a public park it will save lives because numerous accidents always happen here in this river." With sites like the Gibson Gorge and Gordon Falls attracting hundreds of visitors, who jump from the steep banks into the cold water during the hot summer months, van Geest wants a safe way down to the river for everyone. Gibson Falls dangerous, warns fire chief "You can see they put their own lives in danger to try to get these people out and they want to build a safe way down but it's always fallen on deaf ears. So this is an opportunity to bring it to the forefront." Elgin Fire Department Chief Kent Steeves has been pushing for a new cell phone tower for the area, and asking for government support to get it. Elgin chief steps up call for cell service in Albert County Van Geest says it's just another example of the basic infrastructure the area needs if it's going to reach its potential. Moranda van Geest points to the rock ledge people jump from. The Green Party candidate wants the Pollett River protected. (Vanessa Blanch/CBC) "I find it a bit ridiculous," she said. "We had somebody from Rhode Island … and they said, 'There is an app here to go on the bike trails.' Well good luck using your app — we don't have cell phone service." The other candidates in the Albert riding are Betty Weir for the NDP, Sharon Buchanan for the People's Alliance of New Brunswick and James Wilson, who is running as an independent. CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices https://davidraymondamos3. Thursday, 19 January 2023 Province promises N.B. forest report by April after seven years of missed deadlines https://www.cbc.ca/news/ Province promises N.B. forest report by April after seven years of missed deadlines Green leader says department first promised report in 2016 and raps lack of ‘annual plan’ Jacques Poitras · CBC News · Posted: Jan 18, 2023 3:52 PM AST Tom MacFarlane, the deputy minister at the Department of Natural Resources and Energy Development, acknowledged his department missed several of its own deadlines for the report. (Jacques Poitras/CBC) A report on the state of the province's forests that was first promised almost seven years ago should finally be public before April 1, a committee of the legislature was told Wednesday. Tom MacFarlane, the deputy minister of natural resources and energy development, acknowledged that his department has missed several deadlines it gave itself, starting in June 2016, to finish and publish the report. He made the new commitment after Green Leader David Coon hammered the department for repeatedly promising the report and then not delivering it. "Delay after delay after delay after delay," Coon said during a meeting of the legislature's public accounts committee. "The question is, Mr. MacFarlane, what is it you don't want the members of the public and this legislature to know about the state of our forest?" No annual plan Earlier in the morning, Coon also forced MacFarlane to admit that the department had not published an annual plan listing its objectives — a plan required under provincial law to be posted on the department's website. "I'm not aware as to why we haven't published an annual plan," MacFarlane said. He said the department has been using a mandate letter from Premier Blaine Higgs as a guide — though he didn't realize that mandate letters are kept confidential by the current government. "I guess I thought they are made public centrally, and I'm told they are not public," he said. "But we have not produced an annual plan." Mandate letters are given by a new premier to each new minister and their department, outlining the government's priorities. Liberal premier Brian Gallant made them public for the first time in 2014 but current Premier Blaine Higgs has reverted to not releasing them. The province's Accountability and Continuous Improvement Act requires departments to publish annual plans laying out their objectives for each fiscal year. That allows the department, MLAs and the public to compare the plan's objectives to results laid out in a subsequent annual report. Why plan is needed With a report but no plan, Coon said, "it's extremely difficult for us to do our work in holding the department accountable in how it uses tax dollars if we don't know what those goals and objectives in the plan are." The act says departments "shall" prepare an annual plan to "set out the goals and objectives" during a given year and establish "a strategic direction," then "identify objective performance measures" for those goals. It also says the minister for the department "shall make the annual plan public by publishing it on the department's website" within three months of the start of the fiscal year. 'Delay after delay after delay after delay,' said Green Party Leader David Coon of a forest report promised seven years ago. (Jacques Poitras/CBC) On the state of the province report, Coon said the last one was in 2008 and pointed out the auditor general recommended in 2015 that the department issue new versions more frequently to report on how forests are being managed for ecological sustainability. Coon said the department committed to a new report by June 2016, told him in 2017 it was "coming soon," assured him in 2019 that it would be tabled in the legislature in 2020, and in 2021 told him it would be ready that summer. He said there was then another promise it would be done in 2022. "Certainly there's been a number of things that have impacted our ability to deliver that report," MacFarlane said. "I can promise you that that report is in draft form right now and we are anticipating to get that out this fiscal year." Department has other priorities He blamed "limited staff" for the delay and a focus on other more important programs. "I can apologize for missing our targets and notions of the past, but certainly we've been prioritizing a lot of our initiatives," he said. "It's limited resources that we have, and we try to make sure that we're focused on the items that require the highest priority." Assistant deputy minister Chris Ward added that the raw data that would be used in a state of the forest report is available on the department's online open data portal. "There's no hiding data," Ward said. "For those that are interested in data, it's online." The discussion with Coon over missed deadlines is the latest in a series of exchanges between the Green leader and the department. N.B. receiving less than nothing on softwood pulpwood after Crown timber royalty changes 'Conservation is a priority,' minister tells skeptics of land protection plan In 2020 he chided MacFarlane for the department for not having produced an emissions-reduction strategy three years after the release of the province's climate change plan. During that session, department officials also said New Brunswick would miss its goal of having 2,500 electric vehicles on the province's roads by the end of 2020. There were only 429 at the end of 2019. On Wednesday, MacFarlane was able to report that the province is on track to meet its next EV target of 20,000 by 2030. He said supply chains were a problem until last fall but are showing signs of improvement now, with more electric vehicles available for sale now and federal and provincial rebate programs helping to spur sales. "We're seeing our numbers increase significantly so we're very hopeful that holds," he said. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jacques Poitras Provincial Affairs reporter Jacques Poitras has been CBC's provincial affairs reporter in New Brunswick since 2000. He grew up in Moncton and covered Parliament in Ottawa for the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal. He has reported on every New Brunswick election since 1995 and won awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association, the National Newspaper Awards and Amnesty International. He is also the author of five non-fiction books about New Brunswick politics and history. CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices 60 Comments David Amos Methinks we should not hold our breath waiting for another April Fools Joke the NB Power rate hike due that day will be enough to cause a lot of folks to faint anyway N'esy Pas? David Amos Content Deactivated Methinks its rather amusing watching all the comments come and go N'esy Pas? Greg Meahan DMs know what is made public and what is not. It is not credible that this one did know his mandate was private. Not at all. That or he is completely and utterly incompetent. It is one of those situations where there is no in-between. David Amos Reply to Greg Meahan Go Figure Kyle Woodman Where is Mike Holland? The buck stops with him. Does he even live in New Brunswick anymore? David Amos Reply to Kyle Woodman Who cares? Jimmy Belafonte Report findings- Irving is grifting NB. David Amos Content Deactivated Reply to Jimmy Belafonte LOL David Amos Reply to Jimmy Belafonte Thats my favourite comment today Jim Johnston Content Deactivated Forest management in NB is a joke. Essential information is held back and it is very difficult to clearly analyze it. It comes down to the fact that we pay more out to manage the forest than we receive in revenue from selling the wood. The only viable solution I see is to keep what we want for recreational and environmental issues and sell off the rest to the federal government who could use it to settle up with our First Nations. David Amos Content Deactivated Reply to Jim Johnston Surely you jest John Grail Guessing this isn't a top priority for the Irvings... Jos Allaire Reply to John Grail It is! a priority They don't want a report. David Amos Content Deactivated Reply to Jos Allaire Methinks that order can be found within MacFarlane's confidential mandate letter from Higgy N'esy Pas? Jack Bell Reply to John Grail If Irving is against it, then you know it's good for NB Jos Allaire Reply to David Amos You got it Dasvid! David Amos Content Deactivated Reply to Jos Allaire BTW I have no doubt lots of folks heard MacFarlane mention the confidential mandate letter on CBC this morning Peter Churcher Content Deactivated David Coon is always trying to find a conspiracy. I doubt that if we ever had him lead the province that he would do any better. One simply has to drive around our Province and despite reports to the contrary we do have a lot of trees. Tens of thousands of acres of trees. Rosco holt Content Deactivated Reply to Peter Churcher Allot of trees that is shipped to the states. Peter Churcher Content Deactivated Reply to Rosco holt Yes but without the forestry business and there revenue it brings in we would be a lot worse off. Dan Lee Content Deactivated Reply to Peter Churcher what revenue? we are paying them to cut our wood...... jesus Robert Buck Content Deactivated Reply to Peter Churcher I think you missed something on the revenue the forestry brings in. Ask the private woodlot owners. Peter Churcher Content Deactivated Reply to Dan Lee Not to debate the obvious but the forestry industry also employs thousands of New Brunswickers and yes they do pay us money to harvest timber on Crown lands. Do you advocate that we get rid of one of our only industries? Dan Lee Content Deactivated Reply to Peter Churcher they pay us? hen....sh..t.........we pay them to cut......plant.......pour poison on them........i can show you plantations of a certain company with big big timber........ Al Clark Content Deactivated Reply to Peter Churcher Well there ya go. NB Forest report "thars A lot of trees" Hit print and it's miller time! Pshew that was 7 yrs haaaard work Dennis Atchison Content Deactivated Reply to Peter Churcher Yes. My interview with Ken Hardie, then the General Manager of the Small Woodlot Owners Federation, detailed clearly how we citizens were subsidizing big industry and as you say, "... paying them to cut our wood". Here is the interview in case no one believes "facts" ... https://www.youtube.com/watch? Don Corey Content Deactivated Reply to Dan Lee Yes, the forest industry does pay royalties. No, we don't "pay them to cut". Yes, the department reimburses Licensees for necessary silviculture conducted on crown lands; that has been the case since the Crown Lands and Forests Act back around 1981, so nothing new here. As to the "poison", that's your word for it.....not mine. James Hickey Reply to Don Corey we lose money on our crown forests , how can anyone lose money selling wood Don Corey Reply to Dennis Atchison Ken Hardie is a smart guy, but he also has his own agenda; and it's generally in conflict with the forest industry. Then there is the department, which sets annual crown royalty rates. The "facts" are far more complicated than Hardie's take on the situation. However, he is absolutely right on about royalty rates (especially for sawlogs.....softwood and hardwood). They are way TOO LOW. James Hickey Reply to Don Corey who do you work for Don Corey Reply to James Hickey I'm retired. No, I didn't work for Irving, or DNR, but I do know what I'm talking about. Don Corey Reply to James Hickey Good question. Our crown lands should be managed as a net source of revenue to the province. For example, what used to be Fraser Freehold land (over 700,000 acres) in NW NB is now owned and managed by Acadian Timber. They generate a significant profit every year, selling their wood to mills in NB and Maine as well as providing recreational opportunities (at a cost) to the public. David Amos Reply to Don Corey Amen David Amos Content Deactivated Reply to Don Corey "I'm retired. No, I didn't work for Irving, or DNR, but I do know what I'm talking about." Me too David Amos Content Deactivated Reply to Peter Churcher Say Hey to Mikey Holland for me will ya? Tell him I know why he never voted for me. David Amos Content Deactivated Reply to Dan Lee Amen David Amos Content Deactivated Reply to Dennis Atchison Methinks its interesting that you are allowed to promote yourself N'esy Pas? David Amos Reply to Rosco holt Bingo Richard Ames Irving doesn't like to share information. As leader of the Green Party, he should know that. Rosco holt Reply to Richard Ames Just like the Irving Premier. Data shmata. Sam Smithers Content Deactivated Reply to Richard Ames PCs getting data delivered that the Liberals did not, what else is new. James Hickey Content Deactivated Reply to Rosco holt Frank McKenna and bud bird started the giveaway so do not blame higgs although he has not fixed it David Amos Content Deactivated Reply to James Hickey What you say is true about Franky Boy and his many cohorts not just his buddy Bird. However our little Lord promised if he were to be elected to reverse the foul play practiced against private woodlot owners and their fellow stakeholders in Crown land but never did and no government has done so since. Methinks Higgy is just the latest ringmaster in this circus N'esy Pas? David Amos Content Deactivated Reply to Sam Smithers I heard that your hero Higgy has no respect for data David Amos Reply to Rosco holt Well put David Amos Reply to Richard Ames Yup Archara Goldehere Reply to Sam Smithers 7 years late wow come on lol you are very funny if you think this is ok lol https://www.cbc.ca/news/ New Brunswick goes quiet on whether forest companies really face $50M royalty hike Minister mum on whether major increase announced in July is as large as first claimed Robert Jones · CBC News · Posted: Sep 28, 2022 9:00 AM ADT New Brunswick applies 20 different royalty rates to trees cut on Crown land, down from 38 last year. In July the province said it expects to earn an additional $50 million from rate increases but won't confirm that is still what is expected. (Submitted by Ben Sweet) The New Brunswick government says forestry companies will pay "tens of millions of dollars" more in timber royalties this year than last year, but it appears to have backed away from a widely circulated claim in July that extra revenue for the province could reach $50 million What caused the shift is not entirely clear, and so far provincial officials are not answering questions about it. In a letter released last week criticizing a CBC News story that showed royalty rates on softwood pulpwood are being lowered by the province, Natural Resources and Energy Development Minister Mike Holland said most types of wood taken from provincially owned forests carry higher prices than last year, and forestry companies are paying more. "Let me be clear, this new fee structure will result in tens of millions of dollars in additional revenue for the province of New Brunswick," says the three-page open letter signed by Holland and released publicly last Friday. "Total timber royalties could top $100 million." That's a subtle but potentially significant revision of earlier estimates that the province would receive $50 million this year from increasing royalty rates. Natural Resources and Energy Development Minister Mike Holland released a letter last week suggesting higher timber royalties "could top $100 million" this year. An estimate he gave in July was millions more. (Jacques Poitras/CBC) According to government budget documents, "forest royalties" for the current year were originally projected to reach $68.1 million prior to the change in royalty rates. Reaching $100 million instead would require $32 million in additional royalty revenue, not $50 million, and in Holland's new letter hitting that lower target is only phrased as something that "could" happen. Questions to Holland's department about whether the original estimate of companies paying $50 million more for Crown wood this year is still valid or has been revised downward have gone unanswered since last week. Additional questions about whether the original estimate might have been a miscalculation or misstatement or whether royalty rates were ultimately set lower than first planned have also received no response. New Brunswick Finance Ernie Steeves updated his budget numbers in a first-quarter report in August, but the document included no projections on revenue increases expected from increased timber royalties. (Jacques Poitras/CBC) In early July, Holland gave multiple interviews to New Brunswick media outlets to announce royalty rates were increasing by $50 million this year. According to Holland at the time, average royalty rates for companies taking wood from provincially owned forests would be climbing $10 per cubic metre. Multiplied over the five million cubic metres or more companies take for mills each year in New Brunswick, he put the expected revenue increase at $50 million. "We've instigated an increase for this year, a fairly significant increase," Holland told CBC News. "It could project up to $50 million worth of additional revenue to the province for this fiscal year." Similar stories appeared in other media outlets in the province, all mentioning the $50 million figure. However, when new royalty rates took effect in August, the average increase of $10 per cubic metre was not apparent in the regulations. Single large trees like this spruce in the Pocologan watershed often carry multiple royalty rates when found and cut on Crown land. In New Brunswick this year large trunks used for making softwood lumber have had royalties increase, but rates on pulpwood made from the smaller tree tops have gone down. (Submitted by Ben Sweet) It is a difficult issue to track exactly because in addition to adjusting rates, the province condensed what had been 38 separate timber royalty categories into 20. Despite that, it appears clear enough that average royalties have not increased by the $10 amount quoted in July. According to figures compiled by the New Brunswick Forest Products Commission, about 60 per cent of the wood taken from Crown land in New Brunswick is spruce, pine and fir tree "roundwood" sent to sawmills and cut into lumber. The average royalty on that material has increased about $9 per cubic metre. A further 25 per cent of the wood cut on Crown land is poplar and other hardwood used for pulp, and royalties on most of that increased just $2.32 per cubic metre. Combined, those royalty increases should be worth about $30 million in new revenue if companies cut at normal levels, but it is difficult to see where an additional $20 million would come from. Some smaller volume species taken from provincial forests like hardwood sawlogs did see royalty charges jump more than $10 per cubic metre, but others fell well below that amount, including softwood pulpwood, which had its royalty rate cut. In his letter, Holland said he is "serious" about getting "the maximum value for our Crown lands for all New Brunswickers. Whether that includes $50 million increased timber royalties this year, or some lesser amount his department won't say. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Robert Jones Reporter Robert Jones has been a reporter and producer with CBC New Brunswick since 1990. His investigative reports on petroleum pricing in New Brunswick won several regional and national awards and led to the adoption of price regulation in 2006. CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices 90 Comments David Amos Content Deactivated Oh My My "In a letter released last week criticizing a CBC News story that showed royalty rates on softwood pulpwood are being lowered by the province, Natural Resources and Energy Development Minister Mike Holland said most types of wood taken from provincially owned forests carry higher prices than last year, and forestry companies are paying more. "Let me be clear, this new fee structure will result in tens of millions of dollars in additional revenue for the province of New Brunswick," says the three-page open letter signed by Holland and released publicly last Friday." Methinks Minister Mikey doesn't like Mr Jones poking holes in his stuffed shirt N'esy Pas? Kyle Woodman Mike Holland sold out our resources in exchange for a Turkey Hunt for him and his buddies. What a disgrace. Lou Bell Reply to @Kyle Woodman Former Premier McKenna sold out Anglophone NBers for votes . What a disgrace Lou Bell Reply to @Kyle Woodman The former Liberals attempted to pilfer an uNDISCLOSED 130 MILLION taxpayer dollars for their " Phonie Games " Lou Bell Reply to @Lou Bell: That's a disgrace Kyle ! Kyle Woodman Reply to @Lou Bell: Do you have any new material? Fred Brewer Reply to @Lou Bell: So in your books McKenna and Mike Holland are both a disgrace. Thanks for the admission Lou. Brian Buchannon Reply to @Lou Bell: Yes, both liberals and cons have been bad for us, on this I agree Lou Bell Reply to @Fred Brewer: Comprehension isn't that hard Fred . Never said it and it's not there , but you go ahead and spin it ! Fred Brewer Reply to @Lou Bell: Let's see: Kyle said Holland was a disgrace. Rather than rebut that statement, your response was that McKenna was a disgrace. Logical inference is that you were making a parallel comparison between Holland and McKenna. David Amos Content Deactivated Reply to @Kyle Woodman Methinks she and her buddy Cardy must have ran out of butter tarts N'esy Pas? Lou Bell Dom and justin just gave millions OF OUR MONEY to the Irvings in the port of Halifax !!! Dom had to confirm he is good friends with Jim Irving in his personal disclosure after he was elected ! Liberals need to TRY HARDER !!! Michael Cain Reply to @Lou Bell Jim is forestry, isn't he? Dan Stewart Reply to @Lou Bell LOL..So, what about this story Lou? You need to try harder.. Lou Bell Reply to @Dan Stewart Another Liberal enabled CBC story , just another " nothing burger " from the CBC , as usual . Lou Bell Reply to @Michael Cain And also in shipbuilding . Try to keep up . Dan Stewart Reply to @Lou Bell LOL.. Yep.. thats the typical excuse a good Con likes to use when they can't really defend their parties actions... No surprise there right lou? David Amos Content Deactivated Reply to @Dan Stewart Methinks Lou understands why I feel honoured by the fact that Higgy and all the other PCs who live in Fundy Royal and sent me butter tarts have never voted for me N'esy Pas? https://www.cbc.ca/news/ N.B. receiving less than nothing on softwood pulpwood after Crown timber royalty changes Timber royalties in New Brunswick increased in August but with one notable exception Robert Jones · CBC News · Posted: Sep 23, 2022 8:00 AM ADT A stump from a recently cut spruce tree in Charlotte County. On Crown land, New Brunswick has cut royalties on softwood pulp so low the wood has become cheaper than free to companies that cut it. (Robert Jones/CBC) The New Brunswick government reset timber royalties as promised last month but not all charges to forest companies went up as the province has been suggesting, including to MLAs last week. In one case, royalties levied for cutting softwood pulpwood on Crown land have been slashed to levels so low the wood is now effectively being made available for less than free to companies that cut it. Liberal finance critic René Legacy said that is a surprise to him, especially since MLAs on the legislature's public accounts committee put questions about timber royalties to the Department of Natural Resources and Energy Development just last week. "We were in committee asking questions and there was no indication this was happening," said Legacy. René Legacy, the Liberal MLA for Bathurst West-Beresford and the party's finance critic, says he is surprised government forestry officials did not disclose during their appearance before MLAs last week that softwood pulpwood timber royalty rates have been cut. (Jacques Poitras/CBC) "We never seem to get the complete picture." According to new regulations filed Aug. 30, the province reset what it charges forest companies to cut trees in publicly owned forests. Most royalty rates on most types of wood have increased but with exceptions. Amounts the province charges forest companies for spruce, fir and jack pine pulpwood cut on Crown land dropped more than half in August from $7.59 to $3.40 per cubic metre. New Brunswick hikes Crown timber fees 30 per cent Higher prices for everyone selling wood to New Brunswick mills expected soon Other softwood species used for pulp, like red pine, also fell to $3.40 per cubic metre but from a previous level of $5.50. Royalty is now less than fee paid to companies A royalty of $3.40 is too low to generate net revenue for government because of a $3.90 fee the province is required to return to forest companies on every cubic metre of qualifying wood they cut on Crown land. That includes all pulpwood. The "licence management service fee" is listed in regulations as "compensation for forest management expenses" that companies incur looking after Crown forests on behalf of the province. Because the management fee owed by the province to companies on every cubic metre of softwood they cut for pulp is now 50 cents higher than what the province gets back in royalties, it has become a net loser on softwood pulp that companies take on Crown land. That amount varies annually but over the last five years companies have been cutting between 150,000 and 260,000 cubic metres of softwood pulpwood from Crown holdings. Most softwood pulpwood in New Brunswick ends up in J.D. Irving Ltd. mills, such as the company's Saint John pulp mill, after passing through JDI's chipping operation in Sussex. (Robert Jones/CBC) The cut in royalty charges on softwood pulp was not mentioned by government forestry officials last week when Legacy and Progressive Conservative MLA Ross Wetmore both asked questions about the subject at the public accounts committee. Chris Ward, assistant deputy minister of Natural Resources, told Wetmore simply that "higher timber royalty rates" in the province had taken effect. 'Looks to me like a quid pro quo' Green Party Leader David Coon, who was also at the committee hearing, was also unaware that royalty rates on softwood pulp had been cut. He worries that will force private sellers of softwood pulp to lower their own prices or lead forest companies to bypass private sellers in favour of accessing more softwood pulp from Crown land. Surging lumber prices generate better prices for New Brunswick trees — in Maine N.B. fixes to wood pricing system not enough to satisfy U.S. "It's dreadful. It's another big impact on woodlot owners," said Coon, who wondered if it was done to quiet criticism among forestry companies about rates increasing on other types of timber. "It looks to me like a quid pro quo." Most softwood pulpwood in New Brunswick, including most of the softwood pulp cut on Crown land and by smaller woodlots, goes to J.D Irving Ltd.'s Sussex wood chipping facility. Natural Resources and Energy Development Minister Mike Holland announced in July timber royalties in New Brunswick would be increasing. There was no mention of decreases also happening. (Jacques Poitras/CBC) The company's vice-president of communications, Anne McInerney, referred questions about the royalty changes to the province. In a written statement, the department said softwood pulp is a small percentage of wood cut in New Brunswick and that prices paid to private sellers of softwood pulp are already depressed with the lower royalty rate following that trend, not leading it. "The softwood pulpwood market has been relatively weak and the Department of Natural Resources and Energy Development has seen significant volume of material either left in the woods during harvest operations or used instead as roundwood biomass," said the statement. "The Department expects this new rate to better reflect fair market value and result in better utilization of this resource." The department also said other higher-value wood with higher royalty rates are cut at the same time as softwood pulp, earning more than enough so "the Crown is never losing money." ABOUT THE AUTHOR Robert Jones Reporter Robert Jones has been a reporter and producer with CBC New Brunswick since 1990. His investigative reports on petroleum pricing in New Brunswick won several regional and national awards and led to the adoption of price regulation in 2006. CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices 123 Comments David Amos Methinks the silence of the Private Woodlot Owner Associations is deafening N'esy Pas? Gil Murray Department of Natural Resources = Irving subsidiary. Bought years ago. David Amos Reply to Gil Murray Yup donnie hicks A lot of that free pulp fibre is going straight to Macon Georgia,Irving new tissue 470 million plant built in 2019.And 400 million expansion in 2022.Thats a lot New Brunswick natural resources leaving our province making jobs for americans.Irvings invested one billion there since 2017.All that wood should stay in N.B.What a shame David Amos Reply to donnie hicks Well Put Sir Kyle Woodman Remember when Higgs said we were broke and everyone had to tighten their belt. Well I guess he only meant people who don’t run in his circles. Ken Grant Reply to @Kyle Woodman: Don’t believe anything Higgs says. David Amos Content Deactivated Reply to Ken Grant Methinks many folks would agree that its not wise to believe anything any politician says. Thats why so many of us don't bother to vote N'esy Pas? Fred Brewer Does Higgs not realize the permanent damage he is doing to his reputation and to his party? In the next election, the Liberals could run a soup can for Premier and I would vote for the soup can rather than vote for the Cons. Ken Grant Reply to @Fred Brewer: The Libs have done the same. The one family will always prosper at the expense of the peasants David Amos Reply to Ken Grant Oh So True Brian mcknight The Higgins Corporate Junta clearly rewards its benefactors. David Amos Content Deactivated Reply to Brian mcknight Yup Fred Brewer This has to be the clearest indication to date, that NB is owned by the Irving Empire. When are we changing our provincial name to Irvingland? David Amos Reply to @Fred Brewer Hmmm Robert Buck Only in New Brunswick!!!! Bill Smith Reply to @Robert Buck: nah, in Ontario we pay the US to take our excess electricity while the prices for Ontarians keep climbing David Amos Reply to Bill Smith Wow https://www.cbc.ca/news/ Surging lumber prices generate better prices for New Brunswick trees — in Maine Sellers claim stagnant timber royalties keep wood a bargain for local mills Robert Jones · CBC News · Posted: Mar 07, 2022 7:00 AM AST New Brunswick forest owners say prices paid by mills for logs in Maine are up to 70 per cent more than in New Brunswick. They blame low New Brunswick timber royalties for undercutting prices (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press) International lumber prices are surging again and private sellers of wood in New Brunswick say that's been helping them get better prices for their softwood logs. In Maine. Linda Bell, the general manager of the Carleton-Victoria Forest Products Marketing Board in Florenceville, N.B., said prices being paid for saw logs at mills across the border are up to 70 per cent higher than in New Brunswick. That makes the longer hauling distances and increased paperwork required to serve U.S. mills worthwhile, she said. "What we're seeing in Maine is is an increased demand and increased pricing," said Bell, who estimated a quarter of softwood cut by private sellers in her area is now leaving the province. "The price of lumber is up and their markets are really good." Pleasant River Lumber in Maine is one of the companies buying softwood from New Brunswick to run its mills (Pleasant River Lumber/Facebook) Prices for lumber in North America have almost tripled since August and are nearing record levels set last spring. A series of shocks to lumber supplies, including historic flooding in British Columbia in November and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, have taken turns roiling markets. Russia is a significant global exporter of softwood lumber. Much of its trade is with China, but tightening sanctions on Russia have "goosed" nervous lumber markets that were already elevated, according to wood product analyst Dustin Jalbert, who is with the online commodity price reporting service fastmarkets.com. Wood product analyst Dustin Jalbert said a number of factors have been pushing lumber prices higher for months with the Russian invasion of Ukraine the latest event making traders nervous. (Submitted by Dustin Jalbert) "Russia is probably the largest softwood timber resource on the planet and there's a lot of lumber production," Jalbert said in an interview. "This Russia Ukraine situation is only adding to the fear out in the marketplace that there's not going to be enough building material supply as we head into the prime home-building season." In New Brunswick, forestry companies have been setting revenue records during the pricing bumps, but those who cut and sell trees have complained for more than a year that little of that bounty has been making its way back to them or flowing to the province. New Brunswick mills are supplied mostly from timber cut on publicly owned Crown land. Russia is a major lumber exporter and sanctions imposed on the country following its invasion of Ukraine have caused worry in lumber markets. (Maksim Levin/Reuters) Private sellers contend that because the New Brunswick government does not raise the price it charges for trees to match rising lumber prices as most provinces do, prices they can charge mills as a result are kept artificially low. "When they're getting subsidized rates from Crown and a lot of their supply comes from Crown they don't need our wood," said Bell. "Therefore, the price is down and the demand is just not there." Last month Statistics Canada reported New Brunswick forestry companies rode elevated prices for a variety of wood products, mostly lumber and plywood, to a record $2.6 billion in sales in 2021. Softwood logs are loaded for processing at the J.D. Irving Ltd. sawmill in Chipman. New Brunswick wood product mills made a record $2.6 billion in 2021 but paid the same timber royalty rates they did in 2016. (Gerard Sirois/GNB) That was $1.3 billion higher than sales in 2016 even though prices charged to forest companies by the province for the use of Crown wood in both years were identical. That's different from most provinces, which move what they charge for trees up and down with the price of lumber to connect the value of trees to the value of goods they are turned into. In British Columbia, timber royalties have more than doubled in three years as lumber prices have risen. B.C. has made $558 million more from timber royalties than it was budgeting this year alone, and those royalties are set to jump again on April 1, when rates are next updated. Next door in Alberta, timber royalties change even faster. They have jumped five times since September and in March hit prices four times higher than what New Brunswick is currently charging. "Timber dues rates are based on the current market prices of forest products," the province explains on its website. "These charges ensure Albertans receive fair compensation for the use of publicly owned forest resources." Historic flooding in British Columbia in November that paralyzed transportation routes such as Highway 7 at Ruby Creek is one of several factors that have been pushing lumber prices up for the past seven months. (B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure) Last year, New Brunswick Natural Resources Minister Mike Holland criticized timber royalty systems that rise and fall with lumber prices even though every province west of New Brunswick uses some form of floating charges. Holland said New Brunswick's "stable steady" approach, where it set rates back in 2015 and has not changed them since, has been better over the long term. "I've explained it several times that if we had to follow that model of chasing the commodity from 2015 that Alberta did, because of the significant swings not just high but low, there would been over $50 million over that five-year period that we as New Brunswick would have left on the table," Holland told reporters last spring. But that analysis no longer holds. Alberta timber royalties have averaged more than double New Brunswick's in the last year because of high lumber prices. They would have raised $100 million more than New Brunswick rates could raise had they been used instead. That means over the last six years New Brunswick's royalty system raised $50 million less from forestry companies than Alberta's system would have. Natural Resources and Energy Development Minister Mike Holland said last year that New Brunswick made $50 million more over five years from timber royalties than if it had tied rates to lumber prices like Alberta. Over six years the amount has flipped to $50 million less. (Jacques Poitras/CBC) Holland's office did not immediately respond last week to a request for comment about the current resurgence in lumber prices or whether the province might reconsider its position not to tie the price of trees in some way to the price of lumber, given revenues other provinces have been raising. Bell hopes the province does consider it. She said higher prices New Brunswick sellers are getting for their logs in Maine than they can get at home tells her prices locally are artificially low. She believes higher timber royalties imposed during strong lumber markets would be affordable for companies, raise more money for the province, and let local sellers charge amounts similar to what other jurisdictions pay. "They have no Crown wood. They're on an open market," Bell said about the trade for logs in Maine. "We're seeing pricing closer to fair market values there, than what we see in New Brunswick." ABOUT THE AUTHOR Robert Jones Reporter Robert Jones has been a reporter and producer with CBC New Brunswick since 1990. His investigative reports on petroleum pricing in New Brunswick won several regional and national awards and led to the adoption of price regulation in 2006. CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices | |
N.B., E3C lM2. TeL 450-0308 (H), 458-6842 (W), e-mail- rdoucett@nbpower.com
Residents near NB Power spraying want better notice
Rural residents say NB Power didn’t do enough to notify them of herbicide spraying in their area
Wayne Webb of Wirral says he and his wife awoke to the sound of heavy spray trucks early on July 11.
NB Power lines that were sprayed with herbicide run through Wayne Webb's property. (CBC)
"I never dreamed they'd do this so close to our homes," said Cheryl Webb.
"We only live about 400 feet from this line."
The couple say they own the land the NB Power transmission line is on, and though NB Power has right of way, they never saw a warning about the herbicide spraying.
Wayne Webb was only given an explanation of what the crews were doing after he spoke to a woman in an NB Power truck guarding access to the area being sprayed.
"I asked her about my berries and she told me that I could eat them in 24 hours," said Wayne Webb.
Anyone with half a brain knows you don't spray chemicals on berries and then eat them 24 hours later.
- Wayne Webb
"But anyone with half a brain knows you don't spray chemicals on berries and then eat them 24 hours later."
Deborah Nobes, a NB Power spokesperson, wrote in a statement that "notices were published in English and French newspapers in advance of the treatment."
The newspaper ads are in accordance with the spraying permit requirements NB Power has from the province.
CBC News searched dozens of back issues of papers before finding the English notice in the Telegraph Journal. It was published on May 16, almost two months before the July 11 spraying in Wirral, and located after NB Power provided information on where to look.
The NB Power notice states in part, "The program this year will take place from June 22nd to August 7th, 2015."
It does not name all of the communities that would host spray teams or list specific dates when spraying would take place.
Rick Doucett, NB Power's manager of transmission, vegetation and environmental support, said the utility is looking at making improvements to its public notification protocol in light of the concerns being expressed.
"What we have done since we've been discussing this is we're looking at out public notification criteria and how we're going to get this information out to people in a more user-friendly format," said Doucett.
"We're going to be looking at a strategy to get the public notification out in a more widespread fashion."
Cheryl
Webb says she would have done whatever she could to stop herbicide
spraying on NB Power lines near her home had she known about it. (CBC)
None of those in attendance said they had.
Cheryl Webb said had she known the herbicide program was approaching, she would have tried to stop it.
"I would have parked myself down here or laid on the road," she said.
"I would have done whatever I could to keep them from spraying. I would have not allowed it. I would have sat down here and called my neighbours and we would have stood in front of them. Anything to get them to stop."
Community fears have been directed at the usage of herbicide Vision Max.
NB Power has approval from the Department of Environment and Local Government to use the herbicide despite its main ingredient being recently classified as a probable carcinogen by the research branch of the World Health Organization.
Nobes's statement says the product is approved by the Pesticide Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) a branch of Health Canada and properly administered on the transmission lines.
"The product is applied by licensed applicators at labelled concentrations considered essentially non-toxic to humans and wildlife. It is water soluble, mixed at 96 parts water to four parts product, with approximately two litres applied per acre."
Good talking to you Rick Please notice the other Rick Doucet got this email |
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Rick Good Talking to you again FYI I could Have lestened into you meeting because you pocket dailed me after we ended our cal (I didn't) |
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Thu, Oct 12, 2017 at 6:49 AM
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