President’s Safety Award

February 25, 2009

As we reviewed the safety records of our operations this year, it became apparent that this was a year unlike any other. Canfor has always had a strong commitment to safety. We are industry leaders in terms of Medical Incident Rates (MIR) and we can credit this excellence directly to the diligence of our managers and employees who make our workplaces the safest in the forest industry.

Before proceeding to this year’s winners, I have to give an honourable mention to two operations whose commitment to safety was exemplified by their commitment to be the best. PG Sawmill and Radium tied in terms of MIR. The operations take safety so seriously that they calculated the rate to the third decimal point! Both recorded a MIR of 1.47 and for this I felt that they deserved equal praise for their efforts.

The slogan “Safety Comes First Canfor” has clearly transcended into our culture, even in our newer operations. For the first time ever, it is my pleasure to present the President’s Safety Awards to two operations in our New South division. This year, we’ve also decided to create a separate category for our remanufacturing facilities to recognize the differences between these and other operations.

• LOWEST MIR FOR THE YEAR: Camden had the lowest MIR for 2008 with .57;
• GREATEST MIR IMPROVEMENT OVER THE YEAR: Vavenby - MIR of 6.18 in 2007 to 2.04 in 2008;
• LOWEST OVERALL MIR FOR THE PREVIOUS 3 YEARS (2006-2008): Rustad a 3 year MIR average of 2.24

REMANUFACTURING

• LOWEST MIR FOR THE YEAR: Marion had the lowest MIR for 2008 with 0.00;
• GREATEST MIR IMPROVEMENT OVER THE YEAR: Bellingham - MIR of 5.39 in 2007 to 1.78 in 2008

Looking at the company as a whole, Canfor has seen a MIR improvement from 3.08 in 2007 to 2.72 in 2008. It gives me great pleasure to see that despite our commitment to cutting costs we have not sacrificed the most important value of all at Canfor. Safety must always come first and these numbers prove it. Now let’s rise to the challenges of 2009 and make this upcoming year even safer than the last.

Congratulations to all!

Jim Shepard
President & Chief Executive Officer