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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1955

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Continued from page I

FOREST HERITAGE

five big companies and USS.
control of B.C. forest lands (see

reproductions on front and back ,

pages of this issue).

“As an organization with a
socialist outlook, the LPP’s view
is that B.C.’s great forest re-
sources could be most. fully
utilized in the people’s interest
in a society free from the pro-
fit. motive and the excesses of
private monopoly,” said the in-
troduction to the brief.
ever, the proposals we put for-
wed are based on recognition
of the fact that we operate
within the framework of »the
capitalist system at the present
time. They are recommenda-
tions which are fully’ realizable
under the present social order.”

B.C.’s forests are the back-
bone of our economy. Whereas
the forest industries accounted
for 30 percent of total provin-
cial production in 1938, by 1951
this proportion had risen to 40
percent, providing direct em-
ployment for 60,000 people with
a total payroll of $195 million.

“Arising from historical con-
ditions, the overwhelming bulk
of forest lands remained under
public control,” said the LPP
brief. “This gave B.C. a great
advantage over the older coun-
tries of Europe where forest
lands passed under private
ownership; or, the United States,
where rapid expansion led to
destruction of large . timber
stands and the grabbing up of
large tracts of forest lands by
private owners.
- “Although many millions: of
acres in B.C. were granted to
private companies in the rail-
road and land grabbing era
during the middle and latter
part of the- 19th century, the
greatest portion of B.C. forest
_ lands remained Crown proper-
a og

The present crisis in forest
policy is due to a sharp depar-
ture in recent years from the
principles which traditionally
guided this province’s forest
policy, the brief contends. A
new kind of forest tenure known
as Forest Management Licenses
is replacing public control by
widespread alienation of B.C.’s

public forest lands to private”
companies.
- A map (Exhibit 1) shows “the
extent to which public forest
lands have already been alien-
ated and the degree to which
other public forest lands may
soon be alienated under Forest
Management Licenses.”

The 23 Forest Management
Licenses already awarded com-
prise 4,843,578 acres. Licenses
are being awarded steadily.

Forest Management Licenses
spur monopoly control of the
forest industry, the brief ee
ed out. :

“In the last five years there
has taken place a tremendous
concentration of control in the

Continued

CRA

Harry Rankin; and for the one-
year term, Horace F. Wain-

Sy

wright.
FOR PARK COMMISSION -

ERS: William J. Douglas,
Charles F. Stevens,

_ (Yhe advanced poll, for citi-
zens who will not be in the
ity on election day, is open
this Friday and Saturday,
December 9-10, at city hall).

“How-

hands of five major companies

—MacMillan-Bloedel and B.C.
Forest Products, Crown-Zeller-
bach and Rayonier, Columbia
Cellulose and Celgar Develop-
ment Co., Powell River Com-
pany, and Canadian Forest Pro-
ducts.”

A map (Exhibit II) shows the
forest areas each of these five
companies have been granted or
are close to being granted.

“The LPP is fully in favor
of forest management aimed at
ensuring a perpetual yield,” the
brief continues. “But we are
opposed to the Forest Manage-
ment License scheme which
hands over effective control of
these forests: to private com-
panies. for private profit.

“It is our opinion that FML
should be abolished and in its
place a government-operated
management plan based on
public working circles to put
into effect which would ensure
proper protection and perpetu-
ation of B.C.’s forests, publicly
and privately-owned.”

The brief went on to stress
that “of the five big monopo-

lies dominating our forest in-

dustry three are outright US.
combinations (Crown-Zellerbach
and Rayonier; Columbia Cellu-
lose and Celgar; Powell River
Co.). The largest single com-
pany, MacMillan-Bloedel, is
under joint Canadian-U.S. con-
trol.

“Outside of MacMillan-Bloe-
del, the three U.S. trusts named
here have acquired nearly 50
percent of all public forest
granted under Forest Manage-
ment Licenses. Out of a total
of 4,843,578 acres awarded, these

companies have acquired 2,356,-.

519s acres. .°. 4

“The rapid expansion of U.S.
control in B.C.’s forest indus-
try, and the seizure by U.S.
monopolies of huge areas of our
richest forest lands, is a mat-
ter of vital importance to the
industrial growth of B.C. and
the welfare of all citizens. It
means that more and more the
development of our forest re-
sources will be at the mercy of
U.S. interests.”

The LPP prefers to see Can-
adian industries developed by
Canadian. companies, but recog-
nizes “that companies employ-
ing Canadians to process Cana-
dian raw materials is of ad--
vantage to Canada even if
owned by foreign capital. What
we are opposed to is U.S. capi-
tal seizing control of the sources
of raw materials and carting
them off to be processed in the
U.S:

“Our view is that foreign
capital should be required to
establish factories in Canada to
process resources here, and that
control of basic raw materials
should not be allowed to pass
into foreign hands.”

Dealing with thé develop-
ment of manufacturing of wood
products in the province, the
brief pointed out that vast
markets are available, especially
great new markets in China and
India.

Closing section of the LPP
brief advanced a new forest
policy in the people’s interest,
which would: embrace measures
for public control, management
of the forest crop to ensure a
perpetual yield, devéloping of
processing and manufacturing,
increased revenue to the public
treasury and establishment of
the necessary machinery for
proper administration.

MacMillan-Bloadal (\achuding

ete
WHE: dQ Gow Zaher and

3, Columbia Cellulose and
Celgor Developrnent Company.

= Powell River Co. (including
3 "Kitimat Pulp and Paper. \56

Tim 5. Canadian Forest Products

isi]

‘eo hancorrs mate it} 7 os
st
Re > ee! i EE es
| rie .
FuLlo— Be : |
“BRITISH COLUMBIA ‘ ba = F
ot
: S Ay Reco = W
ji MAP SHOWING FOREST MANAGEMENT LICENCES ’ bead RI
AWARDED or NEAR APPROVAL Feb. 98 Pi
to FIVE BIG COMPANIES. -— Fam,.2u.
4 z
16 Bs 134 Es ths

EXHisy

BRITISH COLUMBIA

Seale
es

a MAP) SHOWING
GROWING U. CONTROL 4.8. FOREST LANDS
Blea FOREST MANAGEMENT LICENCES.

INDEX 1.

EM.L. to U.S Companies ,
awarded and in advanced

slage of approval?

F.M.L. awarded fy amsluan
Com S_Now ui Us.
SSenr 3 ine fading Those

i advanced PERO \y

is shown by these maps pero mipanyiny the LPP brief to the Sloan Commission.

desi accuses Bennett
of ‘election trickery’

Voters in Vancouver Centre will have to act promptly to make sure their names
are on the voters’ list as a result of Premier W. A. C. Bennett’s snap decision to hold
the provincial byelection on January 9. The byelection is necessitated by the death of
Social Credit MLA George Moxham to which the Speaker’ s attention was officially drawn

November ~30.

Heated bus
BCER has $ 64 excuse .

= BURNABY, B.C.
The B.C. Electric won’t heat
its bus shelters at the Kootenay
Loop and Edmonds because “it
would encourage loiterers.’”,
, This is the reply Burnaby
Municipal Council received from
the company when it presented
ratepayers’ demands for. heat
in the bus shelters. The letter,
signed by BCER Transportation
.Manager -Sigmundson, asserted
that the proposal could not be
_accepted because the expense
entailed was not justified, =

. would set a precedent and,

shelters?

it were acted upon, it would
encourage loiterers.

When the Kootenay Loop
shelter was first ‘built the
BCER did not apparently con-
sider doors necessary either,
and it was only ratepayers’
protest that forced the company
to instal doors.

Since then ratepayers’ as-
sociations have repeatedly pro-
tested that passengers are
forced to wait long periods in the
unheated shelters, particularly
at night. Presumably the com-
pany considers them “loiterers.”

In 1953 ee “were 41,323
flames on Vancouver Centre
voters’ list. Now there are only —

27,313. Ken Morton,- provincial —

registrar of voters, said 200
centres for registering voters —
would be opened in the riding
this week. ig

Nigel Morgan, LPP pro- —
vincial leader, commented that.
Bennett had shown “a lack of
consideration for voters” bY
calling the snap election 2?
accused the premier of “electio® —
trickery” to avoid discussion
important issues.

He said the LPP nominating
conference would be held this
Monday, December 12, 8 P-™

in the LPP Vancouver C0
ence room, 9 East Hastings: —

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — DECEMBER 9, 1955 — PAGE 12