re a “ae THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER Ny t ww Cae ia y f TOWN'S FUTURE DISCUSSED AT NDP-IWA MEET By LOCAL 1-71 Concern for its future caused the Bella Coola Valley NDP Club to arrange a pub- lic meeting. Speaking to the many present were Ben Thompson from Local 1-71 and John Squire from Local 1-85. While the subject was “Forest Resources,” the dis- cussions probed deeper as other economic possibilities = for the valley were suggested. - B.C. COAST Bella Coola is found on the - B.C. coast 270 miles north of Vancouver and 60 water miles from the Crown Zeller- bach pulp mill at Ocean Falls. = The valley is over thirty miles , long with main settlements located at Bella Coola, Hagensburg and Firvale. Ap- = proximately 1,500 people call . the valley their home. For many years forestry and fish- ing have been the mainstays _- of its economy. Now both ~ these are diminishing with lit- tle taking their place. What future is there for homes, '- schools, hospital, stores and = other businesses when the area is being pushed into idle- ness? - From the days of the ex- ~ plorer, Sir Alexander Mc- Kenzie, to the Norwegian set- tlers of 1890 to the people - resident in the valley today, - all have been imbued with a pioneer spirit. This is the community that built their own road “out” when repeat- - ed efforts to gain government , action failed. This spirit will be crushed if an answer is not sought to a sagging local - economy which at its present . pace could present B.C. with more ghost towns. - NO CREDIT down, over two hundred men employed in logging are now - less than one hundred. A . local sawmill is geared only to cut to immediate orders. Banks, stores, theatre, hair- ~ dressers and all the enter- ~ prises that make up a com- munity can only exist when there is stable employment. ~ No credit allowed is the pres- - ent situation at Bella Coola. ~ Two canneries have shut . camp of another company, closed then because of floods. * Another close camp where a - humber of valley men work, ~ closed early because of quota. ay by one al Pees and stop and today wheels are turn- a. The forestry picture looks grim. The valley lies in the Dean Public Sustained Yield Unit but most of the land of the valley is tied up in Pulp Leases or Private Land. Tim- ber Sales are few and small. Some companies see no future beyond their present logging shows. Crown has reduced its annual cut from 40 to 15 mil- lion board feet. Was the area previously being overcut? Reforestation is being con- ducted but the government Forestry Service is doing even less than industry. It has also been noted that the area has a slow re-growth factor — why is there not a more intensive government effort to explore the area’s problems? Where is the tim- ber, are access roads possi- ble? Should the area be on “close” utilization (which it now is not) to supply the pulp mill? Certainly the Minister of Lands and Forests should have his department take a closer look at this area in view of its economic plight. ACTIVE STUDY The meeting also touched on agriculture, cattle farming, the high cost of waterborne coast- al frieght, the tourist industry, the economics of an all-weath- er road to Williams Lake. Brother Squire brought some unpublicized news to the com- munity that the area was in- cluded in a Provincial Region- al District under “active” study. The committee doing the study, however, was only from the Northern Vancouver Island and immediate munici- palities. The northern main- land area that is within this same Regional District re- quires the attention of the Minister of Municipal Affairs whose department handles these districts. The speakers stated there could be no pat answers to the economic problems of the community. A recommenda- tion was made, however, that in order to know the future possibilities of the valley posi- tive answers would have to be sought to a number of ques- tions. This can only be done by a complete economic sur- vey by necessary research people looking at forestry, fishing, agriculture, the effect of a proper road link, deep sea shipping, etc. If this study is conducted now, some con- structive answers might be found to place the valley on a sound economic footing. If the answer proves to be negative, then this too will be construc- tive since direction can then be placed on relocating _the greatest asset of our Province — active citizens who can live and work in human dignity. JOHN SQUIRE, Local 1-85 recording secretary and former NDP-MLA for Alberni, is shown here with United Church Minister Rev. Michael Boulger, the secretary of the Bella Coola Valley NDP Club, who chaired the public meeting held to discuss the Valley’s future. ARTIST’S SKETCH of the Bella Coola Valley as visualized in the year 1970.