Who we are?
The Canadian Wood Council CWC is the national association representing manufacturers of Canadian wood products used in construction. Through its member Associations, the Council represents those manufacturers.
How we add value
The Canadian Wood Council enables the selling of Canadian wood products through programs and services focused on creating market access and demand. CWC increases the use of Canadian wood by assuring their broad regulatory acceptance. The Council ensures that North American construction can make maximum use of Canadian wood products with guidelines, tools and education. With wood being increasingly sought after for its high performance and green building attributes, the Council’s mandate is more than ever critical as it works with regulators, design and building professionals to specify wood in today's modern building systems. Not only does the Council contribute to the financial well being of Canada’ wood industry, it also ensures the well being of communities where the industry operates. The Canadian wood industry is vital to Canada’s economy which includes generating a significant number of direct and indirect jobs from coast to coast!
Mission and Vision
Mission
We make it easy to sell Canadian wood products by increasing market access and expanding market demand.
Vision
Wood wins by enabling people to build with, live with, and embrace Canadian wood products.
History
The Canadian Wood Development Council (CWDC) was formed in 1959 to bring eastern and western lumbermen together to plan a joint trade promotion program. As a national non-profit federation of forward-looking associations of the forest products industry, the CWDC was dedicated to the promotion of lumber and wood products. Getting organized and getting the programme rolling were the main activities in 1960. The Council was incorporated, and the organizational meeting of the first directors was held on January 12th. Shortly afterward, a special meeting of members admitted by the first directors was held, by-laws adopted, officers elected, and all the necessary corporate arrangements made for signing officers, head office, auditors, personnel corporate seal, and so forth. The first President of the Canadian Wood Development Council was C.E. (Ted) Smith, and the first Executive Director, G.C. (Cleve) Edgett.
In 1964 it was decided to change the name of the Council to Canadian Wood Council / Conseil canadien du bois. An Executive Committee was appointed, and Finance, Promotion, Technical and Advisory Committees were named. Funding the programme and dealing with financial arrangements were major items of consideration for the fledgling corporation. National Forest Products Week was a major part of the promotional programme in the sixties. Livability Unlimited, as well as Wood Data Manuals Nos. 1 and 2, were some of the major publications of the Council. Distribution of publications was in the order of 350,000 copies per annum. A National Builder magazine was devoted to wood. The technical programme of the Council centered on fire matters and the activities of H.E. (Hugh) Thompson as staff fire specialist, and on the field work done by Charles Davies of the Vancouver field office (at BCLMA). Cooperation with the work of the federal Forest Products Laboratories and of the Canadian Institute of Timber Construction was fostered.
In 2004 the CWC underwent a review of its mission and vision which led to the reaffirmation of the following core areas:
- Be the authoritative Canadian source for industry solutions to wood construction issues. Leverage this role in a way that increases wood’s market share.
- Provide leadership on issues of consequence impacting consumption of wood.
- Develop consensus of wood product industry on key issues. Be integrated with Forintek initiatives, and those of other important industry supporters and partners.
- Maintain the North American focus, but assist in positioning Canadian products in offshore markets. Promote where substitutes are threatening and engage policy decision-makers regarding the use of wood in major projects. Develop the sustainable advantages of wood.
- Provide education for new and practicing architects and engineers. Ensure that tomorrow’s decision-makers are familiar with wood and its capabilities.
- Continue to function as a communicator of technical information in tools, words and graphics that are easily understandable and useable by the target audience. Actively participate at all levels of the building industry to ensure that it understands the products and capabilities of the wood industry.
Over the years the Council has evolved and accomplished many things including:
- Harmonization of lumber grading
- Increases in building code opportunities
- Increased use of SPF in NA construction
- Easy to reference design tools in both print and electronic format
- Award-winning technology transfer programs
- Expanded reach of building professionals
But none of these accomplishments would have been possible without the involvement of the Council’s talented staff, Officers and Directors. Following are the faces of 50 years of leadership overseeing the construction industry’s access to high performing wood products resulting in outstanding NA residential and non-residential buildings:
Our Program
CWC Regulatory and Engineering Program
CWC’s work in codes and standards involves working with regulatory authorities throughout North America. The objective is to ensure access of wood products in buildings regulated by structural, fired, acoustic and energy criteria, and to ensure that code requirements remain practical and affordable. Examples of the results of codes and standards work include increasing the area an height permissible of certain wood buildings, reducing the separation required between buildings, adding the option of building with wood through the use of sprinklers, etc. In order to achieve this, CWC represents the industry on building code committees and the Canadian Commission on building and Fire Codes. CWC also represents the industry in standards, in particular, providing secretariat and technical support for wood design standard. In order to achieve its goal of Net Win for Wood in Codes and Standards, CWC staff represents the Canadian Wood Industry in the following Codes and Standards organizations:
- National Building Code of Canada
- Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes
- Part 3 Standing Committee on Fire Safety and Occupancy
- Part 4 Standing Committee on Structural Design
- Part 9 Standing Committee on Housing and Small Buildings
- American Society for Testing & Materials
- C11 on Gypsum and Related Building Products
- E6 on Building Performance
- D7 on Wood (Vice-Chair)
- E5 on Fire Standards
- E33 on Environmental Acoustics
- E47 on Biological Effects and Environmental Fate
- E50 on Environmental Assessment
- Canadian Standards Association
- Strategic Steering Committee on Structural Design
- Technical Committee on Engineering Design in Wood (Secretariat)
- Technical Committee on Scaffolding for Construction Purposes
- Technical Committee on Construction of Preserved Wood Foundations (S406)
- Technical Committee on Canadian Highway Bridge Code (S6)
- Technical Committee on Seismic Risk Reduction (S832)
- Strategic Steering Committee on Forest Products (Chair)
- Technical Committee on Solid and Engineered Wood Products
- Technical Committee on Wood Preservation
- Technical Committee on Durability in Buildings
- Canadian Advisory Committee to ISO TC 59 SC3 WG12 on Sustainability
- National Lumber Grades Authority
- American Society of Civil Engineers
- LRFD Wood Design Committee
- Underwriters Laboratories of Canada
- S100a Fire Test Committee
- Canadian Advisory Committee to ISO TC92 on Fire Safety
- National Fire Protection Association
- Sprinkler System Installation Criteria
- Building Construction and Safety Code – Fundamentals
- Safety to Life Code – Fundamentals
- Fire Tests
- General Storage
- Society of Fire Protection Engineers
- Task Group on Fire Exposures to Structural Elements
- Task Group on Performance-Based Fire Safety Analysis and Design
- Task Group on Computer Model Evaluation
- Task Group on Design Performance Criteria
CWC Technology Transfer and Market Development Program
Wood Fairs, Seminars and Conferences
- Description
- Educational events held in several city centers throughout NA
- Includes technical seminars, trade shows on how to build and design with wood
- Reaches +5,000 building professionals per annum and deliver +20,000 continuing education hours per year on wood design
WoodWorks Software
- Description
- WoodWorks Design Office is the only comprehensive wood design software in NA with +6,000 licenses in operations, primarily with engineering firms
- A structural design software suite produced with technical guidance from industry and design engineers
- All Canadian modules are design in accordance with the Canadian Standards Association’s (CSA) O86 Wood Design Standard. All U.S. modules are designed in accordance with new National Design Specifications (NDS®) standards
Publications and Design Tools
- Description
- Publications on fire safety design in buildings to help designers apply the fire safety requirements of the National Building Code of Canada (NBCC)
- Books and design tools to facilitate structural design of wood elements in wood frame buildings
- Reference books and tools in accord with US and Canadian building codes covering spans for common species of both Canadian and U.S. dimension lumber
WoodWORKS!
- Description
- A national, industry-led initiative, spearheaded by CWC to promote the use of wood in NA commercial, industrial and institutional construction
- The vision of Wood WORKS! is to have a wood culture in NA, where wood is our first choice and best value building material for all types of construction
- Operates in regions across Canada and is currently expanding in the US. The 2010 Vancouver Olympics are targeted by WoodWORKS given that the Premier of the Province of British Columbia declared that the Olympic buildings would prominently feature Canadian wood products
Technical Bulletins and Fact Sheets
- Description
- Easy to reference bulletins and fact sheets cover specific topics related to the use of wood in construction i.e. thermal characteristics of light frame assemblies
Case Studies and Building Specifications for Model Wood Structures
- Description
- Provides detailed information for wood construction, code requirements and cost comparison
- Includes detailed construction drawings and concise descriptions for how to build with wood
NA Wood Design and Building A 3 prong program
- Technical magazine - Description
- Exclusively about wood use in architecture and construction
- Wood news and new products
- Quarterly magazine that reaches +150,000 NA design and construction professionals
- Awards - Description
- Only NA program to recognize, award and publicize excellence in wood architecture, and to publicly acknowledge the importance of architecture using wood products to our society
- The Wood Design Awards is an established means for building professionals using wood to gain recognition for their work
- Jury selected from top architects from Canada and the U.S.
- Publication - Description
- Photographs, detail drawings and concise descriptions of the winning NA Wood Award projects
- Features leading NA innovation in architectural design and building craft using wood
Education A 3 prong program
- Continuing Education - Description
- Online seminars for professionals seeking wood design information on topics such as fire and codes, lateral design and wood, engineered wood products, architecture and wood
- Targets architects, engineers, builders, city officials, students and professors seeking continuing education credits
- University and College Education – Description
- Provides educational resources for professors to facilitate teaching wood engineering and design
- Online support material for professors and students
- National student engineering competition where students are challenged to design and build with wood products
- Bi-Annual NA Conference for professors involved with use of wood in construction education
- Research - Description
- Provides support to those undertaking research related to the use of wood in construction
CWC Member Services
The Council delivers a number of specific engineering, educational and tech transfer services exclusive to its members. These are described in the section Membership – Member benefits.
Board of Directors and Advisors
The business and affairs of the Council are managed under the authority of a Board of Directors. The Board is composed of ten to sixteen Directors from various geographical regions of the country and representing the various wood products member of the Council. Directors are elected at the Council’s Annual General Meeting and serve for a minimum 2 year term. The Board appoints Advisors to assist with its work and they are usually from the various client groups with whom the Canadian wood industry does business. The Council Bylaws stipulate an annual general meeting of members to elect the Officers, Directors, Auditors and Annual Report and an semi-annual meeting to approve the Corporate Plan and budget. The Board appoints a President as the Council’s Chief Executive Officer and delegates Board approved powers, duties and responsibilities incident to the execution of the Council’s business. The 2007-2008 Board of Directors and Advisors are:
Chairman: Bill Love / Tembec Inc
Chair Audit, Finance & Risk Management: Stewart Marcoux / Domtar
Chair US Affairs Committee: Lynn Embury-Williams / Canfor
Chair Membership Committee: Diana Blenkhorn / Maritime Lumber Bureau
Directors: Jean-Guy Gravelle / Bowater
Jim Todd / Weyerhaeuser
Hank Starno / Manufactured Housing Institute
Tim Polanski / Tolko
Neil Shelley / Alberta Forest Products Association
Mary-Anne Dalkowski / Wood Preservation Canada
Barry Schick / AcuTruss Industries
Kent Fargey / Western Archrib
Board Advisors: Lewis Nakatsui / Lincolnberg Homes
David Wassmansdorf / Passport Homes
Danny Karch / Rona Inc
Juan Salinas / Carleton University
Larry McFarland / McFarland & Associates
Paul Fast / Fast & Epps
