By Oli Herrera

FORESTRY FUTURE

Province’s economic plan lacks clear goals for forestry sector

Feb 17, 2022 | 4:49 PM

PRINCE GEORGE—During the province’s hour long press conference Thursday, forestry was not mentioned once. While the industry is mentioned in the government’s 40-page report, the goals outlined are vague. As northern communities battle with curtailments and closures, leaders are worried about the lack of clear goals to fix the forestry industry.

One production line at the Plateau Sawmill in Vanderhoof is now shutting down permanently–affecting 70 jobs. Canfor said the Taylor Pulp Mill would undergo a six-week curtailment. Which is estimated to reduce production by at least 25,000 tonnes.

Canfor has said it would provide support for workers of the Vanderhoof site–including offering jobs at other sites.

“For us as a community, we’ve been concerned about this for a while. Certainly we had seen this coming.” said Mayor Gerry Thiessen, District of Vanderhoof.

The pandemic wasn’t friendly any industry. The province acknowledged that in its press conference on Thursday, outlining its plan to invest back into B.C.’s Economic Plan.

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“The stronger B.C. Economic Plan is about looking ahead 10, 15 years. It sets two big goals for B.C. to achieve over the long term: inclusive and clean growth.” said Ravi Kahlon, BC Minister of Jobs.

Inside the province’s 40-page report, vague goals included increasing local control, and advancing reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. Government is also looking to have more “made-in-b.c.” manufacturing–effectively reducing incoming shipments of raw logs, but no exact details were laid out. Compare that to other industries such as infrastructure and manufacturing which had some clear goals.

“It’s extremely disappointing what this government has done with forestry. Forestry is one of the four founding industries of our province. It was the backbone that build so many communities and so many of the quality of life that we have today. Yet, this government seems to be hellbent on wanting to kill it, destroy it.” said MLA John Rustad, Nechako Lakes.

Rustad for says that the industry is in dire need of saving–citing lack of investors from wanting to come to the province due to high production costs. He says that workers should have a better idea of what the future of their careers looks like.

“It’s the value added sector that actually has come out and said that they’re going to be hit the hardest by the policies and approaches that this government is doing. It’s clear to me that they have an agenda.The agenda that they have is around their environmental movement and their enviroment wing, and they are willing to sacrifice our forest sector and all the jobs for families and communities that it supports.” said Rustad.

The success of the economic plan will be determined by 11 key indicators, not just GDP. Which productivity levels and after-tax household income.4.

*Correction: The original version of this story stated the entire Plateau sawmill was being shut down when in fact one production line is being shut down, eliminating 70 jobs. The two remaining production lines will remain open, as will the sawmill.