According to new figures released by Natural Resources Canada, BC ranks in the middle in terms of both the number of people employed in the sector and its contribution to provincial GDP

From his office in New Westminster, Probyn Log vice-president Bill Markvoort is about as far from the woods as you can get, but he is at the hub of a business that keeps the coastal forest industry humming

In a series of conversations with workers and business operators, The Province and Resource Works explore the contributions that trade, industry and natural resources make to the British Columbia economy

In a series of conversations with workers and business operators, The Province and Resource Works explore the contributions that trade, industry, and natural resources make to the BC economy. This week, we talk with Alan Chen, sales manager for Long Hoh Enterprises Canada, a small  lumber manufacturer serving a unique niche market

Is Canada leading the world in natural resource development? And what does this question mean for how British Columbia approaches the extraction of its non-renewables and renewables?

When it comes to the engine powering future growth in Canada, prepare for a fuel switch: the indebted Canadian consumer is tapped out and will have to be replaced by an increase in exports, especially to emerging markets in Asia

Resource Works senior research fellow Philip Cross discusses the groundbreaking research related in his 7 Myths of the BC Resource Economy report on the Bill Good radio show

A 10 percent boost in BC’s natural-resource economy would mean an extra $2.137 billion in the province's’s GDP, an extra $4.5 billion across Canada, and more than 39,000 new jobs for British Columbians.

And 55 percent of those jobs would be in the Lower Mainland.

All this and much more from Philip Cross, former chief economic analyst for Statistics Canada.

He says that a 10 percent boost in our natural resource output is indeed realistic.