Logging the globe: The changing context for Canadian forestry

Thank you very much for your kind invitation to talk about the global dimensions of forestry as the context for the Canadian industry. While my primary objective is to describe the nature of global changes in the location of the forest industry, I will also argue that Canadian companies have never been major players in international forestry, and have acted primarily as staples providers for more advanced economies. In the contemporary situation, where new companies in countries that have not previously been engaged in industrial forestry are now becoming competitive, Canadian companies have been slower to restructure their operations than northern European companies. I will express skepticism about the wisdom of continued, and in Alberta, expansion of, dependence on the remaining natural forest cover in Canada.