B.C. forestry company to spend $29M on upgrades to Vancouver Island worksites
B.C. forestry company to spend $29M on upgrades to Vancouver Island worksites

A B.C. forestry company is spending nearly $29 million on upgrades to its mills and facilities on Vancouver Island.
On Wednesday, Western Forest Products Inc. (WFP) announced it was upgrading its worksites in Ladysmith, Nanaimo and Chemainus.
Some $12.3 million will go towards adding a new kiln at the Saltair sawmill in Ladysmith. There are currently three kilns at the site, and the new continuous kiln will allow the mill to dry more lumber at a time while also reducing energy consumption, according to WFP.
Meanwhile, roughly $7.9 million will go towards the company's facility in Duke Point, Nanaimo.
The funding will be used to purchase new equipment for the facility, including a machine stress rated lumber grading machine, which can assess lumber grade quality for use in fabricated products like roof trusses, mass timber and glulam.
The remaining $8.3 million will be used on "other capital investments," according to WFP, including a new "value-added division" for its Chemainus worksite.
WFP says all three investments are underway, with equipment expected to come online by 2023.
"Congratulations to Western Forest Products on these substantive value-added investments on Vancouver Island," said B.C. Jobs Minister Ravi Kahlon in a statement Wednesday.
"These projects will strengthen our province’s position as a world leader in mass timber and developing value-added wood products," he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
How to get into the housing market if you're gen Z or millennial
For millennial and gen Z Canadians, owning a home in this real estate market might seem like a pipe dream. In an exclusive column for CTVNews,ca personal finance contributor Christopher Liew offers some strategies to consider if you can’t afford the housing market yet.

No damage reported after 4.6 magnitude earthquake off Vancouver Island
A 4.6 magnitude earthquake has struck off the coast of Vancouver Island.
Housing correction in Toronto could end up becoming 'one of the deepest of the past half a century,' RBC warns
A housing correction which has already led to four consecutive months of price declines in the previously overheated Greater Toronto Area market could end up becoming 'one of the deepest of the past half a century,' a new report from RBC warns.
Environment Canada extends heat warnings for several provinces across the country
Environment Canada has extended heat warnings in a number of provinces, as unseasonably hot conditions continue across the country.
Study connects climate hazards to 58 per cent of infectious diseases
Climate hazards, such as flooding, heat waves and drought have worsened more than half of the hundreds of known infectious diseases in people, including malaria, hantavirus, cholera and even anthrax.
Masks will not be mandatory in Ontario schools next semester
Students in Ontario schools will not be required to wear masks come the fall semester, the Ministry of Education confirmed Monday.
Forest fire has been burning for close to two weeks in central Newfoundland
A state of emergency remains in place for central Newfoundland, as well as a provincewide outdoor fire ban, as a long-burning forest fire continues to grow.
Efforts to feed Beluga whale in France's Seine fail so far
Efforts to feed a dangerously thin Beluga whale that has strayed into the Seine River in France have failed so far and experts are now trying to get the whale out of the river lock where it is stuck, environmentalists said Monday.
China extends threatening military exercises around Taiwan
China said Monday it was extending threatening military exercises surrounding Taiwan that have disrupted shipping and air traffic and substantially raised concerns about the potential for conflict in a region crucial to global trade.