Campbell made important commitments as opposition leader q

“We have had this position for some time,” said the speaker. “We don’t believe we should be exporting fibre when have people that are looking for work — when we are not getting the kind of investment...”

“There’s no question that many people have been forced to try and get special permission from the government to increase log exports because of where government policies were headed in British Columbia. We want a competitive, vital, forest industry in the province and I don’t think log exports isa vital component of that...,” he added.

Later, during a question and answer period he was asked: “What is your reaction to the TLA’s (Truck Loggers Association’s) call for log exports from both private and public lands? Does your party have a position that log exports from both public and private lands are essential to achieve freer trade in forest products? That refers to the Americans and finding an end (to the softwood lumber dispute),” asked the speaker.

“J know the Truck Loggers have called for that. Our party’s position has been that we are not in favour of log exports. What we are in favour of is an economic environment that says to our mill operators and our business owners is that they can be successful in the province of British Columbia.

“T can’t tell you how many people have said we have to move to log exports because we can’t do anything in B.C. We want to change that. We want people to be saying to us ‘Yes, we are going to use our product the best way we can.’ Until we’ve reached that stage, I’m not in favour of log exports,” said the feature speaker.

‘That was Liberal opposition leader Gordon Campbell, at the annual

Truck Loggers Association convention in Vancouver January 2000.

Not long before, the TLA had made a submission to the Forest Policy Review commission headed

e In January of 2000 Mr. Campbell said he wanted I.W.A. members to have growing pay cheques, spoke against log exports, and said no to privatizing Crown lands.

by Jobs and Timber Advocate Garry Wouters, calling for free log exports from the province.

On another big issue of tenure reform and the privatization of Crown land in the province Mr. Campbell was clear.

The question: “What is your feeling towards the government offering more Crown lands for privatization?”

Said Campbell: “I think the tenure

Photo courtesy HEU

issue that we've all identified, you've identified across the province is one that I’m looking forward to getting Mr. Wouters’ report on.

“I am not some one who says we should go out and disperse our public assets. I do think that what we have to do is provide for long-term security so that we can encourage the kind of private sector investment that’s necessary to maximize the productivity of the land-base.

“J know that in other areas we have identified where there's four times more put into the land-base and intensive silviculture and land that (in) the province of British Columbia. That’s the kind of private sector investment that we want to find and I think we can do that.

“Pm not someone who says ‘let’s go and sell off the Crown lands,” said Campbell. Be

When Campbell was in opposition he said those words. More than one I.W.A. member at the TLA convention probably looked on those comments favourably.

However it didn’t take long, following the Liberals’ overwhelming election win on May 16, 2001, for Campbell and his government to appoint Peter Pearse, the author of a Royal Commission on the forest industry, to do an analysis of what he thinks is wrong with government polices on the B.C. coast.

Appointed by government in mid- September, Pearse said he will be “looking very closely at those regulations that make it difficult to create an efficient industry here.”

At least two of those regulations that Pearse views as flawed are log export restrictions (on both federal and public lands) and the tenure system.

Pearse believes, according to the Vancouver Sun, that “regulations

that tie timber to local manufacturing facilities with the purpose of creating community

stability” are flawed. The article pointed out that aay layers in the coastal industry woul

ike to have a “market-based” stumpage system where about half of the coastal harvest would be sold on the open market.

Pearse also remarked in the article that the result would be a smaller industry, less restricted by government regulations. That could very well mean fewer jobs.

But at the 2000 TLA convention, Campbell said a Liberal government would establish a working forest land-base that would secure more jobs, not less. On that working forest ec base he said a Liberal government would establish “timber targets.”

“With those timber targets we can increase productivity and when we can increase productivity of the land, we increase the number of jobs and we increase security for communities,” he said.

So union members can think about what might come and what was said.

At the TLA, Campbell said he was on the side of working people.

“Since 1995, as I mentioned, we watched as 20,000 people have lost. their jobs in the forest industry,” he said, a statistic far-fetched by any measure.

“There’s a whole bunch of these people that beloue to a union. I understand it’s called the I.W.A. We're on their side,” he added.

“The (NDP) government said they were on their side and they lost their jobs. We want those people back at work. We want union workers to have growing pay checuees We want them to have a bright future,” said Campbell. a

LW.AA. locals

continued from page seven

In the joint press release Fisher joined Brothers Carroll and Davies to denounce the policy changes being brought on by the Liberals.

“We’re now feeling the pain because of the actions of the U.S. Commerce Department and the American softwood lobby. However, the changes the British Columbia government could be making would be equally destructive to small communities and workers,” stated Fisher.

“We hope the government will consult more directly on these pending changes and not just give lip-service. We’re not interested in turning the clock back and having these changes adversely affect us over the long haul,” he concluded.

ON THE PRAIRIES

In Alberta the effects of anti- dumping are yet to be measured. Canfor’s Hines Creek and Tolko High Level are going on all cylinders as are Weyerhaeuser sawmills in Drayton Valley and Grande Cache.

Weldwood Hinton bush crews are also on the job.

“When you see duties of these levels it’s probably just a matter of time before they affect our operations,” said Local 1-207 president Mike Pisak. “We’re deeply concerned about this.”

Saskatchewan Local 1-184 Paul Hallen said that “we are already concerned about the countervail duty and to add the anti-dumping to that makes it overwhelming.”

The local membership at Meyarhaeuscr sawmills in Big River and Carrot River, are already taking down time in late 2001 (see article

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.UMBERWORKER/NOVEMBER, 2001

page 16).

A meeting with Norsask on November 2, revealed that the company plans to maintain production levels until Christmas, and is uncertain about what will follow.

In Manitoba, Local 324 reports that the Tolko mill in The Pas indefinitely laid-off 300 I.W.A. members on November 7.

“We’ve asked the company for a return date and they won’t give us one. They also won’t say what shift configuration will be coming back,” said financial secretary Doug Northcott.

“We get concerned for some of the younger members especially people in higher personal debt-load situations. Older members are generally more financially stable to withstand layoffs,” he added.

The company gave countervailing and anti-dumping levies and market conditions and the price of lumber as the reasons for the shutdown.

Woodlands crews are working where provincial forestry regulations have been relaxed to let loggers leave a 4” top in the bush. Areas where they may leave a 3” top, many of which are closer to The Pas, have been down since October 26.

Brother Northcott hopes that there will be a move to put crews back to work that are operating in the 3” top areas with the utilization of the tops in the Tolko pulp mill for chipping.

Elsewhere in the local, Roblin Forest Products in Roblin, is in a devant situation. Perimeter Lumber of Winnipeg, which exports hardwood and high-value softwood, also has laid off part of the crew because the of the softwood CVD and anti-dumping tariffs.

“This is ridiculous because the softwood they sell is priced in excess

of $2,000 per 1000 board feet and is not used in housing construction,” said Brother Northcott.

IN NORTHERN ONTARIO

Thunder Bay Local 2693 president Joe Hanlon, said the union hasn’t heard anything from employers yet, but that he expects to soon.

The local is in contract negotiations with Buchanan Forest Products at the company’s mills in McKenzie and Atikokan.

“The Buchanan management is telling us they have no time to negotiate right now as they are fully focused on the softwood lumber issue, trying to resolve market problems and deal with the countervail and anti-dumping duties,” said Brother Hanlon.

“These duties are extremely serious for us if they stay on for any length of time — we’re going to be faced with some very tough situations,” he said, noting that the local expects a hard set of negotiations with Domtar at the company’s mill in White River.

In other news, Longlac Wood Industries’ plywood and waferboard plants have announced indefinite down time starting November 9 as a result of what the company claims are lack of markets and competition. Approximately 450 union members are affected.

The Weyerhaeuser plywood plant in Nipigon closed in mid-November until the rest of the year, throwing 175 members on the unemployment roles.

In Local 2995, president Damien Roy said 88 I.W.A. members at Tembec’s Kirkland Lake sawmill were advised on November 5 that there will be a shutdown until mid- January. The company was hit with a 10.76 percent anti-dumping duty

and claims that the Kirkland Lake operation is not economically viable. The company also informed the I.W.A. that, during the next couple of years, it intends to reduce the total number of production lines at it Ontario mills from 11 to 6.

At the other operations in Hearst, Timmins and Cochrane there are no special requests of the company.

The local will start sawmill negotiations with the Domtar Timmins and Lecours Lumber in Calstock after Christmas.

In north central Ontario Local 1000 president Joe da Costa reported that things are moving along as per usual.

The Tembec Mattawa sawmill, which cuts both softwood and hardwood, is ticking along.

“It could change but it hasn’t yet,” commented Brother da Costa.

IN NEW BRUNSWICK

Even though the Maritime provinces were exempt from the CVD in mid-August, they have also been hit by the anti-dumping levies.

“The U.S. seems to want everything their own way and don’t want to cooperate,” said Local 306 president Pat Hogan.

The local started negotiations for a first collective agreement wit! Lakeburn Lumber at Dieppe, near the Moncton airport. Contract talks started in May. In September both sides met with a mediator to no avail and the local is preparing for a strike vote.

Hogan said the Canadian government should slap duties on exports of raw resources to the U.S.

“We support the rest of Canada on this matter even tough we were exempt from the countervail duty,” added the local union president. m

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