¢ As part of their campaign, Youbou workers counted truck after truck of logs leaving the Cowichan. Valley, many destined for export. TimberWest pushes for unfettered log exports When the National Bank’s Daily Bulletin hit the streets on October 20 of last year it revealed that TimberWest was making plans to become a “relatively pure private timberlands play.” TimberWest had, reported the newsletter, hired lobbyists to challenge 1906 federal log export restrictions on private lands under the North American Free Trade Agreement. The document revealed that the company had lobby- ists pushing the federal government to lift those restrictions, which says that local log buyers get first dibs on the logs before they can be exported. Read the National Bank Financial Bulletin: “TimberWest has currently hired lobbyists and a legal firm to assist in challenging this trade restriction under NAFTA (firms with greater than 50% foreign ownership can challenge restrictive trade policies on behalf of their for- eign shareholders). Success in this initiative would provide important benefits for Timber- West, allowing the company to increase log exports, the most lucrative part of the busi- ness. If TimberWest succeeds in getting the federal Liberals, through the office of international trade minister Pierre Pettigrew, to abolish those restrictions, Local 1-80 president Bill Routley says that any of the wood that’s coming off Gepuyate land and is going through Youbou would be classified as export wood. TimberWest cuts about 2.4 million cubic meters of wood on private lands. All of it would be up for export if the federal government gets rid of the 1906 restrictions. “That giant flushing sound that (U.S. presi- dential candidate) Ross Perot talked about in 1993 wouldn’t only be between the U.S. and Mexico, it would be between Canada and the U.S.,” he said, predicting larger than ever log exports. Routley says that Weyerhaeuser, which acquired over 210,000 hectares of private land (50,000 of which are locked into a TFL) when it purchased MacMillan Bloedel in 1999, is the other major multinational which would benefit. “They (TimberWest and Weyerhaeuser) got major control on the Coast,” said Rick White- ford. “All of the other independents know that. They are very much in the shadow of the two majors that control fibre supply.” Brother Routley cited a recent study prepared for independent forest companies which included Mill and Timber, Richmond Plywood, Primex 8/LUMBERWORKER/DECEMBER, 2000 Forest Products and Delta Coastland. Read the report: “Proponents for change in export controls may claim that more logs har- vested as a consequence of lifting export con- trols would lead to an increase in employment. The independents would argue that the public perception of exporting raw logs means export- ing jobs is true.” TimberWest and Weyerhaeuser are both after two main log export markets: the U.S. and Japan. The report cited by Routley said those foreign log buyers are purchasing the same grades and species that mills in B.C. would use to produce lumber for export to those markets. “Selling those logs to export markets reduces our ability to sell our lumber products,” says the report. In August of this year, Local 1-80 detected that the federal government was actually going to adhere to TimberWest’s wishes and iit the 1906 log export restrictions on timber harvested on private land. J.P. Sullivan, head of the Independent Sawmilling Association wrote to Members of Parliament on August 21, 2000 to protest against that taking place. “We feel that the Feds will trade off the export of raw logs as they think that the Americans will take off the softwood lumber (quota) agree- ment,” said Whiteford. The Canada - U.S. Softwood Lumber Quota Agreement expires at the end of March next year. Brother Routley said “really we know there has been a delay (in getting rid of the 1906 fed- eral export law). The (federal) election was called after that.” Routley says that the local has learned that a bill has been drafted to do what TimberWest and Weyerhaeuser want, which is freely permit the export of logs from private lands without going corouet the bi-weekly listing procedure and that will cause a significant seaaetion in fibre available to the independents, so much so to a point where the local has been informed that “there’s probably 8 mills that could close.” No doubt a major company like Weyerhaeuser might cherry pick the leftovers. Routley says that TimberWest’s announce- ment to permanently close Youbou on January 31, 2001, the federal government’s imminent the Fight For eer removal of the 1906 log export restrictions, and the expiry of the softwood lumber agreement on March 31, 2001 are no coincidence. “They are all very much hand-in-glove approaches,” said Routley. “What could happen is a domino effect of mill closures that the I.W.A. hasn’t seen since the late 1970's.” Whiteford said that if TimberWest is able to walk away from Youbou and keep the TFL, other companies on the Coast, including some independents, could follow suit. ° Bucked and ready for bundling are prime second growth fir logs, ready for export at Timber- West’s Shoal Island log processing yard.