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From The Green Gold
The Honourable Tom Waterland

Minister of Forests
Parliament Buildings
VICTORIA, B.C.
V8B1X4

Dear Sir: .

Our forests have brought us great wealth. Their enormous size has enabled us to produce “first
growth” wood products for 80 years. Thatis rapidly coming to an end. Except for recent years we
held the opinion that our harvested forest land would all green up, no problem. So we cut and ran.
This despicable treatment of our most valuable resource belies reason.

Our forests have been exploited for 80 years. We like to think that those years are over,
unfortunately facts prove us wrong. If that were not the truth, the Science Council’s report
“Canada’s Threatened Forests” would not have stated — “With the application of research and
the implementation of scientific practises in forest management, it will be biologically and
technically feasible to more than double the yield of Canada’s forested land.”

British Columbia’s economic future has already been severely jeopardized by eight decades of
neglect. I know that other forest workers in this province are willing to help. I know that the
forest industry is embarassed by their past logging practises. As the Minister of Forests and a
Cabinet Minister in the Provincial Government you are the man that must be the catalyst.

It is long past time for drastic change Mr. Waterland. As an IWA member employed in the
forest industry, I earnestly request that timely changes be made. Changes that will — as
professional forester Ian Mahood says — “stop us from having the lowest standard of forestry in
the western world.” We desperately need the immediate planting, juvenile spacing and tender
care of 1,000,000 hectares of presently unproductive forest land.

More than 1,000,000 hectares need reforestation in B.C. As well we are adding 20,000-50,000
hectares annually to the situation. With properly managed forests we have a huge potential for
more employment in B.C. The knowledge that world demand for wood products is expected to

rise by 2-4% annually for the next two decades is good news. Will we be in a position to benefit?
Not if we don’t take immediate action.

Name

Occupation

Address

VANCITY MEMBERS NOTE

te Positive Action

IWA AT
CLC SCHOOL

Left to right: Fred Pomeroy, Vice-President-at-Large,
Canadian Labour Congress; Lyle Pona, Local 1-217;
Blaine Butler-Henderson, Local 1-405; Mike Kokura,
Local 1-85 and Ralph MeMillan, Local 1-357.

DIRTY THIRTIES

Writing in 1959, Julian Symons recalled
the 1931 program of the British National
Government, then dedicated to the gutting
of the social reforms of the preceding Gov-
ernment:

“’.. The economic orthodoxy of the time
demanded deflation, which always makesit
most savage attacks on the poor. In 1931 the
savagery was exercised most obviously
through reduction in unemployment pay...
It was thought that ... the dole ought to pay
for itself through individual contributions
made by those in work and their employers
... the National Government (therefore) ...
cut benefits and increased contributions
until the human bodies did fit the procrus-
tean bed of theory... the practical result was
first to reduce the dole by 10%, and then
further to limit the number who received it
... this confined the period in which the
benefit could be paid to 26 weeks ... (and)
further cuts were made as the lynx-eyed
snoopers made reductions for the earnings
of sons and daughters ...”

“All this, the manner and measure of
it, is hard to imagine for those brought
up under the welfare state’’.

... Hard to imagine in 1959, not so hard to
imagine in 1984...

BCGEU PROTESTS
SUB-CONTRACTING

BURNABY — At a weekend meeting of
Executive Officers of the B.C. Government
Employees’ Union Corrections Component,
a resolution was unanimously passed cal-
ling upon all BCGEU members employed in
corrections centres to “refuse to work with,
participate, cooperate or interface with the
untrained staff of private contractors pro-
viding food services to corrections centres”.

Jack Adams, BCGEU Director of Mem-
bership Service, stated that the corrections
officers were responding to the govern-
ment’s stated intention to contract out food
services in corrections institutes.

Adams pointed out that “the entry of
private caterers into corrections centres will
set up an ideal situation for exploitation of
the inmates, and could even include hostage
situations”.

“BCGEU members of the corrections
service are vitally concerned about this
latest scheme of the government, and intend

‘to maintain this policy of non-cooperation
until the Corrections Branch conducts a full
investigation. The Union wants hearings
held into the potential danger of untrained
non-government workers placing both
themselves and Corrections Branch
employees at risk by their presence in
security institutions”, Adams said.

Lumber Worker/Spring, 1984/7