VICTORIA — Things are looking up for B.C.’s long-suffering forest industry. The Americans are building more homes and Canadian west coast lumber is fetching its highest price since 2005.

In fact, delegates at the 70th Annual B.C. Truck Loggers Convention in Victoria this week broke out in applause when B.C. Minister of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resources Steve Thomson mentioned the price increase.

The Minister also said the government was making more timber available for export, they’re cutting the fee for low- and mid-grade wood and boosting the export fee on some wood.

“It’s been a bumpy ride,” Thomson told the delegates, “but we’ve seen steady recovery through 2010, 2011, and 2012.

“Many analysts are predicting we’re going to have continuing increases in prices. Some people are talking about a super cycle and while we should be cautious, we can all be comfortable with the idea that prices will continue to increase in the spring.”

The news has widespread ramifications, not the least of which will be a demand for trucks, equipment, and workers.

Some experts believe the changes could lead to an additional 4,000 new jobs next year alone.

Patrick Marshall, Chairman of the B.C. Coastal Forest Industry Workforce Initiative, summed up the coming labor-market competition thusly: “One of the things I learned while working on a northern transmission line was you better start learning Tagalog because that’s the principle language of the Filipino community, because that’s where the workers are coming from.”