HOSE who think the

Sale of Crown timber

should advance social

objectives like crea-
ting local jobs and new indu-
stry may find little to applaud
in the latest overhaul of B.C.’s
timber selling system.

A new B.C. Timber Sales
branch is being formed to re-
place the old Small Business
Program,

It will continue to oversee
short-term sales of timber — es-
sentially all the wood in B,C,
not tied up in long-term li-
cences to big forest companies.

But its new orders are clear:
control costs and maximize re-
venue for provincial coffers.

“We've been told to get the
Most revenue we can for the
timber for the taxpayers of the
province,” says Norm Parry,
the new manager for B.C. Tim-
ber Sales in this area,
“Generate the best possible
return,”

Parry's office in Terrace is one
of 12 new B.C, Timber Sales of-
fices around the province ~ a re-
duction from 41 Small Business
Program offices.

It marks a return to the district
office here for. him after a stint in
Smithers as acting regional man-
ager,

Parry’s office will oversee the
sale of roughly 570,000 cubic
metres of timber per year in the
Kalum and Kispiox forest districts.

The B.C. Timber Sales branch
doesn’t become fully operational
until April 2003, Parry said, add-
ing there are a number of issues to
resolve.

One is ending the reliance on
the present system that rewards
job-creation when selling timber.

Some timber sales are awarded
on a preferential basis to compa-
nies that promise the timber will
allow them to create new jobs or
maintain existing ones.

But Parry said the new system
is expected to phase out those
sorts of restrictions — which can
trim the price a sale might other-
wise fetch.

“Our new focus is that it has to
be viewed through a commercial
lens as well,” he said.

The so-called Section 21 sales,
granted under that section of the
Forest Act, have for years provi-

‘ded ‘a steady stream of timber to

t

‘phall Vdlue-added rhills,

“ One such mill here is Mo Tak-’

har’s Terrace Pre-Cut mill, It re-
manufactures lumber to specifica-
lions for various other buyers.

Trees for

cash— —
not jobs

Show me the money, Victoria tells
new outfit in charge of timber sales

ate

+
A special report by Jeff Nagel

In the past Takhar has been
awarded timber salés on the basis
of the local jobs his mill creates,
and has traded the logs directly to
Skeena Cellulose in exchange for
a flow of the lumber he needs for
remanufacturing.

The plan to phase out preferen-
tial sales have those mill opera-
tors worried.

If that type of licence disap-
pears, Parry said, mill operators
like Takhar question how they
will be able to compete against
market loggers to get timber or
lumber they need.

The issue is being examined
more closely with an association
of value-added mill operators,
Parry said.

Prices and the softwood lumber
dispute with the U.S. are a part of
the backdrop to the timber sales
changes. :

One key goal for the new orga-
nization is to become a credible
reference point for the costs and
pricing of logs, Parry says.

The province wants to use bid-
ding for timber sales to generate
market-based prices of timber.
Those prices would then be used
to set defensible stumpage rates,
which Victoria hopes would be
immune from challenge by the
U.S. lumber lobby.

B.C. Timber Sales’ third goal is
to provide opportunities for custo-
mers to buy timber in an open and
competitive market.

“There’s  on-
going discussions
about what to do,”
he said.

But he said the
new branch is mov-
ing towards provi-
ding timber for
market logging

to get the

province.”

“We've been told

venue we can for
the timber for the
taxpayers of the

What kind of oppor-

tunities and for
most re- whom will be the big
question on the

minds of many small
forest entrepreneurs
in this area.

The Skeena Com-
munity Timber Trust

with less emphasis
on engineering social and econo-
mic outcomes.

“Here’s the price of the timber,
we build the road up to the edge
of it, and you log the timber,” he
said.

Another change with implica-
tions for mill operators is the pha-
se-out of multi-year timber sales.

. Parry. said .selling timber. in

. shorter term blocks is: important

because it’s impossible to accura-
tely price timber that’s to be log-
ged over a number of years,

has argued the small
business program had litle pa-
tience for small operators and
didn’t sell enough timber in
amounts suitable for small opera-
tions.

Parry says the new B.C. Timber
Sales branch will have flexibility
on the sizes of timber sales.

He predicts a spectrum of sales

.in varying sizes = geared to custo-

mer demand. ue

“Let's look at the business
case for doing large sales and
small sales and make a range of

sales to meet the needs of the
customers,” he says.

However he does not forsee a
major shift towards smaller sales.

- It’s no coincidence that the
new name B.C: Timber Sales has
eliminated the word '“small” ‘from
the old Small Business Program.

Parry says many of the bidders
for timber are large and mid-sized
logging operations,

Dealing with larger operators is
often more cost effective for the
branch. °

Paperwork can take an identi-
cal ‘amount of time whether it’s
for a small chunk of timber or a
large area, Parry said.
~ “We are selling timber and we
are to be cost-effective,” he said.

“Our mandate is not to grow
new businesses, but to react to the
clientele we have,” Parry added,
“It’s not focussing on the smaller
operators.”
~. Parry takes issue with claims
from criti¢s that the small busi-
fess program wasn’t small en-
ough.

' "I think we did respond and
have put up smaller sales,” he
said, “But I don’t think we’re gra-
vitating to that part of the spec-
trum. That will be one part of
what we do.”

Small-scale salvage permits
may continue, where it’s conduc-
ted on a commercial basis or for
forest
health rea-
sons, he
said.

The new
orga niza-
tion will
Operate on
what Parry | -
describes Ly
as more
commer-
cial footing =™
and will be Norm Parry
structured
to mimic a forest company.

“We are structuring our organi-
zation to reflect economies of
scale,” he said,

He said separating B.C, Timber
Sales’ management from the for-
est service, which oversees regu-
lations and enforcement, will help
address perceptions that the tim-
ber sales agency could get favour-
able treatment over any forest
practices violations.

Markets and the difficult econ-
omy here are also problematic.

“Just generating revenue will
be a challenge for this area,”
Parry said. Lopes chery

“We're in an area that may re-
quire some different approaches,”
he said. “We'll be looking at
doing that.”

BETTER
DAYS: Terrace
Pre-Cut mill
owner Mo Tak-
har watches in
1996 as a
worker sorts
lumber when
the mill was
running at ca-
pacity. Takhar
is now wrestling
with both the
Skeena Cellu-
lose shutdown
and planned
changes 10
timber sale po-
licy. FILE PHOTO

Value-added mills fear timber loss

MO TAKHAR’s Terrace Pre-Cut
mill is all but shut down.

It’s been starved of the flow of
lumber it used to get from Skeena
Cellulose since the forest compa-
ny mothballed its operations a
year ago as it fell into bankruptcy
protection.

But even if Skeena Cellulose
solves its labour impasse and re-
starts operations, Takhar and the
24 employees who work at his
mill face an uncertain future.

That’s because the province’s
new vision for timber sales in B.C,
doesn’! include preferential treat-
ment for value-added mills.

Takhar’s mill started out small
in 1985, but he added to it, in-
vesting more money and hiring
more workers as conditions of
successive timber sales.

Those Section 21 sales gave
tights to cut blocks of timber for
five years. They were awarded on
a points, system that favoured bid-
ders who promised to build new
plants or invest in expansions em-
ploying more workers.

‘When it’s running, Terrace Pre-
“Cut re-cuts lumber from Skeena
_ Cellulose to metric sizing and
specifications for Japanese and
wy

the timber or not,” he said.

Korean customers, and does cus-
tom-planing for Skeena Cellulose.

Terrace Pre-cut turns its log-
ging rights over to Skeena Cellu-
lose in exchange for the lumber it
needs to operate.

But the new B.C. Timber Sales
branch has signalled it wants to
eliminate those. special timber
sales and move to wide-open bid-
ding for wood.,

“It's going to affect all the
small remanufacturing: mills in
B.C.,”" Takhar said,

Takhar said provincial govern-
ment officials claim putting more
timber out for open bidding will
work to make il easier to buy tim-
ber on the open market, —

But he has his doubts.

“If you have to just buy it on
the open market, it’s expensive,”
Takhar said. “We can’t compete
with the big companies.”

He said it will also kitl ‘any
prospect for construction of new
value-added plants,

“Nobody is going to stick their —
neck out to build a new plant be-
cause you don’t know if you'll get

Banks would never finance a .
mill if its operator depends on.

buying timber from year to year
on the open market, he said.

Skeena MLA Roger Harris
agrees value-added mills like
Takhar’s will be in deep trouble if
they have to buy wood on the
open market.

“They will be bidding against

easier.”

In many parts of the province,
he added, there isn’t enough unal-
located timber available to satisfy
all the value-added mills.

Permanent licences for value-
added mills also put greater re-
sponsibility for replanting on those
‘mills, because they’ve

people with a lot deeper
pockets,” he said,

He hopes that wan't
happen.

A better solution,
Harris says, is to allow
value-added mills to buy
their own permanent te-
nure,

Allowing licensees to
subdivide and sell off
unwanted parts of their
licences is one idea the
province is exploring as part of te-
nure reform,

Harris said the present system
of five-year licences for value-
added mills isn't secure enough
right now. .

“This is an ongoing fight for
them,” he said. “At the end of

five years when their Wood sup-
“plies run out they’re back saying

‘I need more fibre’.”

"We teed to make their life

Roger Harris

become timber growers
as well as harvesters,
Harris said.

Harris also argues the
section 21 licences
worked well when they
_ | were needed to foster the
- — value-added industry, but
‘they make less sense
today.

He said they force pro-
spective new operators to
run around and build new plants
rather than use existing ones.

The province. hasn't come to:
any firm decisions yet on what
will happen with access to timber
for value-added mills, Harris said.

‘Meanwhile the uncertainty re-
mains.

“IT don't know what will

happen,” Takhar sald. “We hope

we'll. somehow keep the door
open.” mS

for what he did for us.

weekend.

CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD

The Mail Bag

What's your strategy?

Dear Sir:

I'm sitting on my double bed, a bed made for two,
there’s no one on the other side, so this is where I do
most of my thinking. | was looking at my recent trip
to Cranbrook, I had so much fun. If only life was like
a camera, we would be able to freeze time,

I think of the world. Why is itso messed up? |
have a poster of the Russian Revolution, which I
made for a project, on my wall and it triggered
something. You know, the Revolution will never
really be over, Lenin isn’t even buried yet.

The U.S. government/military, says they don’t
nepatiate with terrorists. No, no they don’t. They just
kill the terrorists risking the live of their soldiers, our
soldiers, innocent bystanders, and humanitarian aid
workers.

And our Canadian military is helping them do this.
For what? All the U.S. ever does is make wus
Canadians look -bad. What has the U.S. done recently
in our battle with lumber tariffs? They don’! deserve
our help in Afghanistan, al least not after four of our
soldiers were killed by an American bomb.

Now, as for justice, there is no such thing. Rapists
can get off in five years, depending on their lawyers.
Would you like to let a rapist go an know it could be
done over and over again?

How about a child who gets abused, beat by his
father and his mother doesn’t care. How does this
child receive justice while the government is passing
him through foster home after foster home. Does
anyone cate about how this child feels?

“Be coal. Stay in school,” says the government.
Why? So they make money off the 30 per cent tuition
hike. Give someone with the ambition to learn the
chance to learn and they can’t because someone else
put a high price on education.

This is a theater where life is the main feature and

yes you do have to pay to see it. Accessories (snacks)

cost extra. So yes, us teens are §.0.L. Yes, life is
unfair and everything does have a price. What are we
going to do about it, or should | say what can we do
about it? Well, we can make the best of this life
we're given and when something comes in the way,
depending on what it is, walk through it. Fight it.
Don’t run away. .

Life could be compared to.a game of chess. It’s all

The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, September 18,2002 - A5 ~
a ee

stralegy and hard concentration. If you're careless, -

checkmate, you're stuck.

Or, it could be compared to Monopoly (which may ;

be more accurate). A game of chance, but in reality
there is no “get out of jail free” card.
Which are you living? Strategy or chance?
Heather Janes, Terrace, B.C.

A maligned surgeon
Dear Sir:

I think Doctor Kuntz is one of the most maligned °

persons | have ever known, To my brothers and

myself he is a combination hero/wizard and a truly”

gifted orthopedic surgeon par excellence.
., 1 was falling with my brother Murray one day when
a’55-1b. limb came out of a tree and fell 80 feet dead

center on his head. The W.C.B, couldn’t find anything

wrong on the x-rays, then after a couple of weeks he
was cut off and told to go back to work, which he did.

When he couldn’t bend his neck anymore to look
up a tree he went to Dr. Kuntz who found that Murray
had a broken vertebra in his neck. Dr. Kuntz operated
and fixed the bones with his own method that later
got him into trouble with the W.C.B.. They had told
my brother to go back to work because all that was
wrong with him was old age. He was 47.

What the W.C.B. and our other bureaucrats have
done to Doctor Kuntz reads tike a Stephen King
horror story, When the big arrogant bureaucratic
W.C.B. wheel started to roll towards. him he didn’t
have a chance. There should be a special medal cast

for him. 1 don’t think there are many of us who would |

stay sane after what the W.C.B, and other medicrats

have put him through.

He cperated on my lower back; 1 have been in
constant pain for years after a denied compensable
accident. | stepped on a piece of loose bark and fell
20 feet or so into a dry creek bed of large boulders.

. The W.C.B’s opinion — congenital misaligament.

Doctor Kuntz successfully operated on me and the :

pain was pone. Before } left the hospital he had a talk -

with me, he said, “...in the little time ] have known
you Allan, ] can see that you are a stubborn person

and will try to go back to work as a faller - do not do’

. it. Take two years to let your back heal and then find |

a different occupation that doesn’t include carrying a—

chain saw on a 70 degree slope all day.”

Now in a case like this, if the W.C.B. would help :

that but I had to go back falling in six months.

You would be amazed to see some of the slips,
whacks, falls and slides my back stood up to. I got 30
more years out of it. When [ was 65, a 36” diameter
tree fell on me that folded me up like a closed jack
knife, after my son Ted dug me out I thought of

’ enough to feed your family you might be able to do .

Doctor Kuntz and said out loud, “...you should be real _

proud of that one.” ;

I couldn’t stand but I could crawl and did so for *
one kilometer, with the help from my sons, to get out.

That was when [ took Dr. Kuntz’s advice.

I can only hope that the W.C.B. gets so top heavy
that if falls and people like him and £ can get their
rightful dues. Trying to reason with the WCB. is rather

like attempting to sepatate fly crap from pepper in the -

dark while wearing boxing gloves.
The only thing you might accuse Dr. Kuntz of is

that he dared to be different. With his high top.
moccasins and his fringed buckskin jacket, he didn’t.

come across as your average orthopedic surgeon.
To myself and many, many more of his patients he
is a kind and caring.man and we will never forget him

Allan Kennedy, Terrace, B.C.

- About the Mail Bag
. The.Terrace Standard welcomes letters, Our

address is 3210 Clinton St., Terrace, B.C. V8G
5R2, You can fax us at 260-638-8432 or e-mail

|. us at standard@kermods.net. No atiachmenis,

please. We need your name, address and
phone number for verification.,Our deadline Is
noon Friday or noon Thursday If. it's a long

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