“We already think falling into a slumpThis will only make the situation worse,” said Tony Stilo, head of the Canadian Economics Department at the University of Oxford. “When you see these fires actually disrupting transportation routes and disrupting the power supply to large population centers, you’re talking about worse consequences.”
Estimates of overall economic impact are based on damage to specific industries, which varies from disaster to disaster.
In recent fires, Shut down some lumber millsFor example, because workers were evacuated. It is not clear how widespread the damage to forest resources will be, but according to Derek Nyver, chief executive of the Canadian Forest Products Association, provincial governments have reduced the amount of timber allowed to be harvested after the large fires. It tends to decrease. Warmer winters are reducing logging in British Columbia as the infestation of pinworms intensifies due to the inability to control pests.
Rising interest rates have weighed on housing construction and timber prices have slumped in recent months, but Canada faces a crisis. housing shortage It works to attract millions of new immigrants. Solving the housing problem will become more difficult if the availability of timber decreases. “While we deal with this issue, there will definitely be supply shortages in Canada,” Mr. Navar said.
The tourism industry has also been hit by fires that broke out as tour operators entered the critical summer season, and in some cases far from the fires. In the peninsular town of Tofino, a popular whale-watching destination off Vancouver Island, business plummeted after a fire cut off access to its only highway two hours away. The road has since reopened, but only one lane can pass at a time, and drivers have to wait up to an hour to get through.
Sabrina Donovan is the general manager of Pacific Sands Beach Resorts and president of Tofino’s local tourism promotion organization. She said the hotel’s occupancy rate has dropped to around 20% from 85% in June, with few bookings for the rest of the year. Employers typically house their employees at home during the summer, but when customers stop coming for weeks, many leave to find work elsewhere, maintaining full service for the next few months. became difficult.
