Conversations That Matter

Ep 435 - British Columbia’s Forestry Woes, Explained Guest: John Brink   In December 2021, Vancouver Sun columnist Vaughn Palmer penned a startling piece about British Columbia’s forest industry. His headline read, “BC forest companies expanding at a rapid pace, but not at home.” That means BC-based forest companies were and continue to invest heavily in wood product production everywhere except the home province they come from.   The flow of forestry capital out of BC is accelerating, including investments made by Canfor, which last year invested $420 million to acquire Alberta-based Millar Western Forest Products. And the rush to get out of BC continues to spiral upward; on the day of this recording, Canfor announced the closing of a pulp line in Prince George, terminating 300 jobs.   It’s not all bad news. John Brink, the founder of the Brink Group company, is a successful entrepreneur who came to Canada with the proverbial 25 cents in his pocket. He went to work at a sawmill north in the 1960s. He set his