Wood First Resolution/Bylaw & the City of Quesnel

Earlier this year, the BC Legislature passed the Wood First Act. Following up on that, Quesnel City Council has passed the following motion:

THAT WHEREAS BC's forest industry as an integral part of the community ofQuesnel is developing new markets and new opportunities for wood products as a long-term strategy for a sustainable wood industry;

AND WHEREAS the BC Government has passed a Wood First Act to facilitate a culture of wood by requiring the use of wood as the primary material in all new provincially funded buildings, in a manner consistent with the British Columbia Building Code;


AND WHEREAS the City of Quesnel has supported both the Union of BC Municipalities and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities in adopting
resolutions to build a wood culture in BC and across Canada;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Quesnel will continue to support the ongoing development of its wood culture by:


- Being a wood champion and supporting the BC government’s Wood First Act
by adopting this Wood First Resolution and developing a Wood First Bylaw that
will establish a long-term strategy for building with wood in Quesnel;

- Selecting wood champion designers and builders for all municipal buildingprojects so that the opportunities for building with wood cost-effectively are maximized;

- Ensuring all requests for proposals will request excellence in building with wood as a key qualifying criterion;

- Seeking those who can find practical, efficient, versatile and cost-effective
building and design solutions through the use of wood, the most sustainable,
natural and renewable building material grown under the sun;

- Ensuring that all municipal construction projects in Quesnel receiving either
public or wood industry financial support optimize the structural and architectural
use of wood. Comparisons to the cost of building with other competing materials
will take into account all long-term and life cycle benefits to BC of building with
wood


I have forwarded this Resolution to Williams Lake's Deputy Mayor (Councillor SPS Rathor) and asked to put this forward to Williams Lake Council as well. If Quesnel Council intends to pass a "Wood First" Bylaw to support their local forest industry, then Williams Lake Council should do the same here and for the same reasons