BC Biz


Buyers’ tax under review
The Canadian Press - Aug 01, 2017 - BC Biz

British Columbia’s new housing minister says she is reviewing the tax on foreign buyers of Vancouver real estate and the province’s interest-free loan program to first-time homebuyers. In an interview, Selina Robinson says she and provincial Finance Minister Carole James are analyzing whether those measures brought in by the previous Liberal government were effective in […]

At odds over pipeline
The Canadian Press - Aug 01, 2017 - BC Biz

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to meet with Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson this morning, but their once-rosy relationship has been threatened by the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. Trudeau’s government approved the $7.4-billion expansion last November despite Robertson’s staunch opposition to the project, which would see a seven-fold increase in the number of tankers in […]

Shipping container pools
Alanna Kelly - Jul 31, 2017 - BC Biz

Shipping containers are being used in another unique new way by a company out of British Columbia. ModPools are making a splash by converting metal shipping containers into pools and hot tubs that can be installed in minutes. Paul and Denise Rathnam, the founders out of Abbotsford, created the standard eight feet wide and 20 […]

LNG: out of BC into NS
The Canadian Press - Jul 31, 2017 - BC Biz

A Nova Scotia company looking to build a liquefied natural gas terminal on Canada’s East Coast says it’s seeing an uptick in interest since an LNG megaproject slated for the West Coast was scrapped last week. Paul MacLean with Bear Head LNG Corp., a subsidiary of Australia-based Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd., says after more than […]

Christy Clark resigns
Colin Dacre - Jul 28, 2017 - BC Biz

UPDATE: 12:00 p.m. Former British Columbia premier Christy Clark will resign as leader of the provincial Liberal party and give up her seat in Kelowna. Clark made her intentions known in a brief statement on Friday. She said she informed her caucus colleagues about her decision to leave as leader effective Aug. 4. Clark said in […]

Softwood negotiations close
The Canadian Press - Jul 28, 2017 - BC Biz

British Columbia Premier John Horgan says Canada and the United States are close to reaching a softwood lumber trade deal that could come as early as next month. Horgan made the comments Thursday during a conference call from Washington, D.C., following two days of meetings with trade officials from President Donald Trump’s administration and Canada’s […]

Island sawmill closes
The Canadian Press - Jul 27, 2017 - BC Biz

Western Forest Products Inc. says it’s indefinitely curtailing operations at one of its mills on Vancouver Island. The company said in a statement that the Somass sawmill in Port Alberni, where it manufactures western red cedar, has been in limbo since February — before that it only operated with a single shift. Western Forest Products, […]

Softwood deal ‘close’
The Canadian Press - Jul 27, 2017 - BC Biz

B.C. Premier John Horgan says a softwood lumber deal between Canada and the United States is close and could come as early as next month. Horgan made the comments during a conference call from Washington, D.C., where he has been in two-days of meetings with Trump administration trade officials and Canada’s ambassador to the U.S. […]

BC company buys US lumber biz
The Canadian Press - Jul 27, 2017 - BC Biz

Canadian forestry company West Fraser Timber Co. says it has agreed to buy a U.S. lumber business for about US$430 million. B.C.-based West Fraser says it will acquire the operations of the Gilman Companies from the Howard Gilman Foundation and other shareholders. The Gilman Companies are comprised of six sawmills and a finger-joint mill in […]

Horgan talks timber in DC
The Canadian Press - Jul 27, 2017 - BC Biz

Premier John Horgan is set to meet with some of the Trump administration’s top trade officials today in Washington, D.C, where he intends to press to resolve the softwood lumber trade dispute between Canada and the United States. Horgan will have meetings with U.S. Trade Secretary Robert Lighthizer, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and […]