Al0 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, February 6, 2002

From front

Huge forestry reforms
‘terrifying for workers’

limit in four or five
months, and then shutting
down all logging for the
next four and a half years.

Dewhurst said that
would mean forest compa-
nies no longer have to log
during weak markets, and
could “go like gangbus-
lers” only at limes of high
prices.

“That’s great for a com-
pany,” he said. “They
mothball the facility, lay
everybody off, take their
money and invest it in the
stock market for a while.
It’s not so good for com-
munity stability.”

“Your shareholders are
probably poing to be
happy,” he said. “The log-
gers and mill workers
won’t be very happy.”

Unions are moving to
war footing over the propo-
sals.

“It’s absolutely terrify-
ing for working people,”
says IWA spokesman Dar-
tel Wong. “The main cri-
teria is now profit, irre-
spective of all other
things.”

He says the changes are
so sweeping they ought not
be done without a clear
mandate from the people,
perhaps in the form of a
referendum.

“The people of the pro-
vince own the trees, they
own the property, they own
the land,” Wong said.

MLA says
changes
look bad

SKEENA MLA Roger Har-
tis says he has serious pro-
blems with elements of
proposed forest tenure re-
form.

Many aspects of the
f6Vernment. policy. propo-
sal’ threaten. community
stability, he said.

“Tt really doesn’t give
people in communities any
warm comfort,” Harris
said. “There will be a
higher boom and bust
cycle.”

Harris said the current
system isn’t working, and
change is needed, but he
wants the ministry to go
back to the drawing board.

“1 have concerns about
the whole document,”
Harris ‘said, “I can't sup-
port it. That’s the bottom
line.”

Harris was last week
named by the government
to an MLAs panel that will
study the forestry prapo-
sals.

He said he'll be pushing
for a major rethink of the
current direction laid out
in the proposal document.

“The minister is aware
that a lot of MLAs share
some serious concerns
about these proposals,” he
said.

Harris said B.C. can’t
allow the softwood lumber
talks to dictate B.C. forest
policy.

One area of concern is
utilization.

He said this region in
particular has to ensure all
wood — including poor de-
cadent stands — are being
cut and replaced with
sound second growth.

Allowing companies to
take only the wood they
want seriously threatens
that goal.

He says plans to put the
13 per cent of the forest
base held in the small bu-
Siness program aut to auc-
tion isn’! sufficient to get
representative pricing.

If much more wood was
out for open bid, he said,
he'd be more confident the
system would be more fair.

That might mean some
aspects he considers trou-
blesome now - like break-
ing the link between li-
cences and miils — may
not be as scary,

He said {t’s easy to be
distracted by the immedi-
ate problem of solving the
Skeena Cellulose crisis.

“But if we don’t get this
right the next 20 years wil!
be worse,"

“And they’re not petting
any opportunity to partici-
pate in the biggest
changes in forest policy
that this province has seen
in 50 years.”

Also enraged are small
scale loggers and value-
added operators.

The proposal would eli-
minate the small business
program and put all of its
wood -- 13 per cent of the
timber in the province —
out to wide-open bidding.
The prices fetched would
be used to set stumpage
rates everywhere and cre-
ate a market-based system
to address American subsi-
dy claims,

Those auction sales
would be based on price
alone. Promises of bidders
to provide jobs or invest in
value-added mills are no
longer to be factors in
awarding licences.

Skeena Community
Timber Trust members say
that demolishes their ef-
forts to foster growth of
smaller operators.

“It’s a joke,” says the
trust’s Richard Lindstrom.
“Fellows like myself
would be competing dir-
ectly against the West
Frasers, the Fletchers, the
Weyerhaeusers,”

“J personally feel it
should be thrown right
out,” he said. “It’s a sha-
meful attempt at centrali-
zation.”

He says small operators
cause the government too

Richard Lindstrom
much paperwork, so bend-
ing to big industry. wishes
will help cut ministry costs
and the staff required to
handle smaller sales.

“The government is
doing their very best to
deal with only a couple of
licensees in the province,”
he said. “This is big busi-
ness screaming loud and
clear what they want.”

Other changes laid out
in B.C.’s Proposed Fores?
Policy Changes:

M@ Gone is the 5 per cent
takeback on licence trans-
fers. That timber was then
earmarked for smal] busi-
ness use. However the pro-
vince often waived the 5
per cent rule.

m@ Companies could subdi-
vide their licences, keep-
ing the part they want and
selling off part they don’t
want.

m Companies will be free
to decide what would they
want to log based on com-
mercial considerations.
Critics say that opens up

ON ALL INSTOCK MODELS ONL
OVER 25 MODELS TO CHOOSE FROM

licences to high-grading —
good wood can be taken
now, potentially leaving a
licence timber-poor further
out in the future.

“How are we going to
be able to make a dollar if
they’ve taken all the best
out and left only the re-
jects — it’s not: economic-
ally viable,” Wong said.

“We end up with the
dregs of a forest and |
thinnk that is a critical
mistake.”

Companies could more
easily sell their licences,
which the dacument says
ate to hecome “freely
transferable.”

Dewhurst says that vir-
tually privatizes Crown
forests.

“[ think they recognize
they can't win that politi-
cal argument, thal they
can’t privatize Crown
lands,” he said. “But
they’re doing everything to
privatize the rights to the
resources on those Crown
lands without actually
alienating title.”

Dewhurst predicted it
will concentrate control of
B.C. forests in a few large
corporate hands.

“Who is going to have
the ability to buy one of
these licences? It’s going
to be Weyerhaeuser, LP
(Louisiana Pacific), Can-
for. It’s not going to be Joe
Schmoe the truck logger.”

To read the forest pelicy
document, follow the link at
www. ferracestandard.com

Everyday 250 millian children go ta work.

Forced child labour still exists. While mast are in
developing countries, many can be found in industrialized
nations. So we encourage companies to adopt strong human
rights standards. And that should let you sleep a little better.

Choose an Ethical Funds®
Registered Retirement Savings Plan — ask us how.

er) ethical Rivals
Do the right thing.

www.ethicalfunds.com

Terrace & District
Credit Union

Mutual funds are offered through Credential
Asset Management Inc, Commissions, trail-
ing commissions, management fees and
expenses all may be associated with mutual
fund investments. Please read the prospectus before investing. Mutual funds are
not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not
be repeated. Ethical Funds Inc. has paid for a portion of this ad.

redential™

asset management