Provincial Forestry Advisory Council
Supporting forestry workers and advancing forest stewardship in B.C.
Introduction
The Provincial Forest Advisory Council (‘PFAC’ or ‘the Council’) is an independent Council tasked with providing recommendations to the B.C. government on advancing forest stewardship, while supporting communities and workers that rely on forests.
Members of the Council are a diverse group of subject-matter experts who were jointly chosen by the B.C. government and BC Green caucus, under the Cooperation and Responsible Government Accord 2025, for their expertise, experience and commitment to forestry in BC and all those that rely on a healthy ecosystem and vital forest sector. The members were formally announced by the Ministry of Forests on May 15, 2025. Learn more about the Council members here.
“When we couple sustainable land stewardship with realizing most of the value of our forest resources within British Columbia, we support an economy that relies less on this unstable external environment. The Council will focus on major actions that will build on existing work and outreach to move as quickly as possible to realize this long-term vision.”
– Garry Merkel, Co-Chair of the Provincial Forest Advisory Council
“A sustainable economy and a healthy environment are interconnected, not opposing forces. They work together to support forest stewardship and economic stability. The Council is focused on creating an actionable plan towards a unified, prosperous region, facilitating transformation in the forest sector that sustains our environment and meets future demands.”
– Shannon Janzen, Co-Chair of the Provincial Forest Advisory Council
Our Objective
The Provincial Forest Advisory Council (PFAC) objective is to recommend a new, more stable system that fosters resilient communities, supports sustainable economies and supports forest ecosystems. In pursuing this goal, PFAC is empowered to provide timely oversight, conduct assessments, and provide informed advice, recommendations and guidance on forestry in B.C.
See the Council’s Terms of Reference for more information including background, scope of work and governance and management.
Strategic Requirements
Consistent with the terms of reference, the Council’s work will support the advancement of the following strategic requirements for BC forestry:
- A transition to co-governance with First Nations;
- A path for effective regional land stewardship; and
- Identifying the structural requirements for a viable wood products industry that is profitable, supports jobs and communities.
These strategic requirements are grounded in the recognition that the economy and the environment are interconnected and need to be considered together:
- A healthy environment supports a long-term healthy economy, and
- An unhealthy economy can result in choices that create an unhealthy environment.
Our Work
In order to provide strong recommendations, the Council is conducting targeted engagement that first seeks to understand and articulate the underlying issues affecting forestry in B.C.
Throughout the course of its work, the Council will:
- conduct an independent identification of the systematic requirements to achieve the Council’s objectives;
- create an actionable and implementable plan to address those requirements; and
- make recommendations for ongoing and responsive oversight to facilitate an effective transition to a new, more stable system.
PFAC recommendations will build from the recommendations of the recent reviews and existing engagement, and consider, and be consistent with:
- The principles of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and
- Supporting the evolution of the Old Growth Action Plan as a living document that targets ‘how’ as opposed to the ‘what.’
The outcome of PFAC’s work will be recommendations the form of:
- An Interim Report (target timing: end of September 2025)
- Our understanding of the problem plus an initial vision of where we want to end up.
- A Final Report (target timing: December 2025)
In both cases, these reports will be provided to the B.C. government and the Green Party House Leader and will be made available to the public as soon as practicable (up to 45 days after the report has been provided to government).