© Fred Miron, president of Thunder Bay,
Ontario Local 1-2693.

In one of the most important dis-
cussions at the National Convention,
delegates spoke in support of IWA
-CANADA’s newly proposed Forest
Policy.

Klaus Offermann, a delegate from
Local 1-405 in Cranbrook and a mem-
ber of the Forestry Environment Com-
mittee which wrote the proposed pol-
icy, said the IWa's position “calls upon
environmentalists to recognize that
people have needs and that we all
have a responsibility to produce some
of the land-based goods that the world
needs.”

Offermann also said the Policy
stands against multi-national cor-
porations who “mine timber here
then shift production to Third World
environments.”

Fred Miron, President of Thunder
Bay Local 1-2693 and also a member
of the Committee said that forestry
and environmental problems are
nationwide and that the IWA should
develop speaker’s notes on the Forest.
Policy to make the union’s presenta-
tion consistent nationwide.

Port Alberni Local 1-85 President
Earl Foxcroft said that Union mem-
bers must go into schools, meet with
community groups, and Chambers of
Commerce to express the IWA’s
position.

Local 1-1000 President Joe da
Costa said the proposed Forest Policy
points union members in the right
direction. He also said it will point the
IWA away from the industry point of
view and help contain the radical part
of the environmental movement.

Ted Delanowski of Kelowna Local
1-423 highlighted the value-added
component of the Forest Policy. By
creating more value-added products
he said, the union can help produce
environmentally sound products, cre-
ate more jobs, and stop the export of
raw, unprocessed logs.

Brother Fernie Viala added an
amendment to the Forest Policy on
recycling. Delegates agreed that the
IWA should push the government and
industry to help sustain existing for-
ests and create employment.

Local 1-85’s Dave Haggard re-
minded the delegates that IWA mem-

CONVENTION

1989

Delegates talk about
new forest policy

bers have been fighting for a sustaina-
ble forest policy for decades.

“We're the only ones who have said
what should be happening in the for-
est (with regards to) reforestation and
silviculture and now all of a sudden
everyone wants to jump on board and
take the credit for what we have done.”

“The industry is going to be real
upset with that Policy,” said_Bill
Routley, Duncan Local 1-80 First
Vice-President. “They are not going
to be willing to dig into their ass
pockets and fhanal out millions of dol-
lars to do what is necessary to being
about these things.”

Brother Routley said the govern-
ment must spend research dollars to
make forest thinning commercially
viable. He said that leaving a whole
stem after thinning is inexcusable.

© Bill Routley, first vice-president of Dun-
can Local 1-80.

The large valley bottoms on north
Vancouver Island, says Routley, are
perfectly suitable for commercial thin-
ning operations.

UNION CALLS FOR
TIMBER AUDITS

IWA-CANADA delegates unani-
mously called for petitioning action to
get provincial governments to do com-
plete public audits of their timber
supplies.

“We don’t know what the hell we've
got left and that’s a disgrace”, said
National President Jack Munro.

“The (B.C.) Minister of Forests says
he can tell you what the inventory is.
The companies say they can tell you
how much wood is there. The problem
is that you can’t believe either one of
them,” said Munro.

Munro then cited the effort by Aus-
tralian Prime Minister Bob Hawke to
have a complete audit before his coun-
try developed a National Forest
Policy.

Wade Fisher, of the Williams Lake,
BC. Local told a story of how five
years ago industry in his jurisdiction
said there was eighty years of timber
left. Today, industry now contends
there is only a fifteen to twenty-five
year cut left whereas the Forest Ser-
vice claims there is twenty to thirty-
five years of logging to go.

In addition to the presentation and
debate of the Forest Policy at the
Third Annual Constitutional Conven-
tion, IWA-CANADA delegates addres-
sed nearly forty resolutions on for-
estry and environmental issues.

Speakers lashed out at the B.C.
government's log export policy.

Duncan Local 1-80’s Bill Routley
urged delegates to help get the public
involved in stopping log exports, not
only on coastal British Columbia, but
in other parts of the province.

“This issue goes to the heart of
rural communities throughout B.C.,”
said Routley. He said that a communi-
ty’s stability relies on the utilization
of resources and that “we've got to get
the message out ... that our long-
term future is at stake.”

Routley cited what is happening to
the community of Youbou at Lake
Cowichan on southern Vancouver
Island where employment at the mill
has dropped by more than 400 mem-
bers since 1970.

Today the mill is working at only
60% capacity. Logs from nearby
TFL#46 have been shipped out of the
country by Fletcher-Challenge Can-
ada and its predecessor British
Columbia Forest Products Ltd.

Local 1-80’s Rod Thomson criti-
cized utilization of wood fibre and
waste in the sawmill sector. Brother
Thomson said that he’s also seen
pulp booms with 30-35% solid wood
recovery.

Companies often run a custom chip-
ping shift when the logs could be used
for value-added products such as spe-
cialty lumber or furniture.

“The greedy companies are just
making a fast buck in pulp,” said
Thompson.

A resolution from Manitoba Local
1-324 was adopted to press the federal
and provincial governments to pass
laws requiring forest companies to
use trees for a proper end use or face
withdrawal of harvesting privileges.

© Dave Wohlgemuth, delegate from
Alberta Local 1-207.

Alberta’s Dave Wohlgemuth ex-
pressed concern of his province's give-
away of more than 220,000 square
kilometres of boreal forest to seven
pulp mill companies, a dozen saw-
mills, and other production facilities.

Alberta has no sufficient inventory
on the growth rate or age of the Aspen

stands given to large forest com-
panies.

© Gary Kobayashi, delegate from Local
1-217 in Vancouver.

Gary Kobayashi, of Vancouver
Local 1-217 repeated to the delegation
that a log should go where it’s most
effectively used. He said there is a
total mix-up in the system where
plywood plants are peeling pulp logs,
sawmills are cutting peelers, and chip-
ping plants are digesting saw logs.

¢ Members of the Resolutions Committee at Convention include (I. to r.) Jim Work,
Local 1-363; Irvin Baetz, Local 1-500; Klaus Offermann, Local 1-405; Lyle Olsen, Local
1-367; Darrel Wong, Local 1-71; Carol Toth, Local 1-417; Dan Clements, Local1-80;
Fred Miron, Local 1-2693; Marvin Rasmussen, Local 1-217; Tony Ianucci, Local 1-700;
Bob De Leeuw, Local 1-207; Mike McCarter, Local 1-1000; Wayne Munro, Local 1-85;
Wade Fisher, Local 1-415 and Gord McIntosh, Local 1-357.

10/LUMBERWORKER/DECEMBER, 1989