BC FOREST INDUSTRY

indeed this item is a vivid example how Corporate Canada - which the
Conservatives, Liberals and NDP all support....and the ideology of TINA &
"free trade/NAFTA" WHich they likewise don't challenge....doesn't give 'two
cents' worth for the workers & communities...but is only concerned with the
bottom line and majority shareholders ---who like absentee landowners
reside --in metropolitan cities...thousands of miles away from where these
communities exist. A sad history....the rape of Canada by Corporate
Canada....the solution is very, very simple: ...the cancellation of thousands of
laws that favor Corporate Canada and Corporations per se...and the
enactment of laws that begin the process of expanding democracy into the
'economic sphere' of
life---'economic democracy'.....this regretably will not happen...until BIG
UNIONS run by Labor Elites who support Corporate Canada and who think
the best they can do is to 'bargin' good wages & benefits for workers get
sacked by workers in all sectors...and new Labor leaders arise who, supported
by workers & communities within which they reside.... decide to press for
economic democracy --that is actual worker ownership & management ---as
is being done in Venezuela & Argentina. (Peter Dimitrov, bcpolitics.ca - I
forgot to sign in)

Your government is going to bat for the "little guy" here...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.cbc.ca/story/business/national/2006/01/12/softwood-060112.html">http://www.cbc.ca/story/business/national/2006/01/12/softwood-060112.html</a><br />
<br />
This will ensure that the poor lumber workers and their families who have lost their jobs, and homes, and virtualy EVERYTHING to the interests of Canada's HUGE lumber companies who are controlled/owned by the leftist/communist Canadian feral (not a typo) government not only in Canada, but in the U.S. as well ...where there are now ghost towns where there USED to be vibrant communities with the sounds of children's laughter, and bustling locals, enjoying providing for their loved ones (even if in a somewhat humble manner) might get some relief from these huge Canadian lumber conglomerate's practices??? Uh, yeah. sure. Okay. Beware the LITTLE GUY for he (or she) does not tend to forget what has been done to their loved ones by these corporate monsters. The little guy is NOT going to forget. Canada better beware the little guy. It's not GWB that you have to worry aboot (eh). It's an army of "little guys" standing up for themselves that's going to rectify the situation with you feral government and it's Canadian big business allies. It's going to be the little guys in BOTH America AND Canada that will eventually have their day with these Trudeau/Mulroney/Chetien/Martin fat cats. Canadian fat cat politicians and corporations have demagoged one nationality of little guys to the other nationality of little guys to gain power through the creation of fear (similar to the Nazi's treatment of the Jews using them as the excuse for all of their societies ills too) and loathing. Got news for ya. The litle guy isn't totaly stupid on EITHER side of the border and they WILL "eat their cake" someday...at the expense of the crooked Canadian politicians trying to pit one against the other while the corporate/party bank accounst get fattened. Peace.

Hi June ,
I know all to well about the corporate mills where I live . At one time there were many smaller mills in the community , and in the surrounding communities , now the huge corporate companies bought many of these mills out or have closed them , they modified to make them to run more efficiently and effectively, meaning more $$$ at the end of the day .

At the mills ,the workers are pushed to the limits now to produce as many board feet as possible in a day , it is unacceptable how they work some of these people. It makes other mills more competitive to keep up the pace .Competition to the end. What is being said around the community is that the logging industry will last about ten more years at the rate they are clear cutting the pine beetle infested wood . It is a real epidemic where I live, left uncontrolled ,and ignored by the bureaucrats for years until most or all of the trees have been badly damaged .

There are some smaller mills in out lying areas who have managed to stay independent , but for just how much longer is unknown .

Driving the highway is unbelievable how many trucks are flowing through to the city , just a steady stream . I see flatdecks with forks on them now, I see trucks with sleepers , which were once highway trucks also modified to haul logs instead of doing long hauling , as this is where the money ,and work is now , shorter trips , less cost for fuel , easier perhaps on their trucks meaning less maintance , which lowers their overhead cost of running their business . There is also an increase in truck drivers coming up north from Vancouver Island for work .

It is very political , between greed ,and demand for lumber it will be devastating to see what will happen to the forests ,and employment in another ten years .

On another note :
I loved the stories of the unions ,and how things were long ago . Please ask your friend to write more on this topic , I really enjoyed it . Today certain unions seem unaware of even the labour relation codes , either they are over worked by travelling all over the province or don`t care like they once use to , maybe they have just given up hope .
I recall a union rep I had at one time , she was one tough woman , little Scottish lady , decent , hardworking ,and would fight tooth and nail for every workers rights , today that seems to be a thing of the past . One voice just doesn`t cut it anymore .

My father often talked about his father working in Wayne ,Alberta ,in a mine there, now it is a ghost town . The unions were created there to fight for the rights of miners , who had to carry gas lamps into the mines .Dad mentioned how the men would work sometimes over 12 hours with no breaks .The reason for the unions in the beginning dad said was to create a safer work environment and including breaks in the day for a meal or cup of coffee . These were some great people who did fight to make a difference . As your friend mentioned about men meeting in the evenings ,so not to be seen by others , my grandfather was one of these men also.
Thank-you for posting this June , great story !
Sincerely , Bee

Darreld Rayner has given us a bit of oral history at its best. Many
thanks, Darreld.

Someone should talk about the olden days in north-central British
Columbia where there once were so many small, family-operated
sawmills. B.C. Forest Service would put Timber Sales up for
auction -- affordable for a family with a small sawmill -- and the
family would move onto the patch they had successfully bid on.
They felled the trees and sawed the logs, watched over by regular
visits from the old-style Forest Rangers, so that they adhered to the
rules of forest practise.

With a smallish truck (nothing like the giant trucks of today), these
families hauled their rough-cut, 14-foot lumber to the nearest
sawmill/lumber company, which then planed the lumber and found
bulk sales for it. There must have been hundreds of small outfits at
work this way.

Under the Social Credit government of B.C., when Ray Williston
was Minister of Forests -- there came a tacit decision to begin
squeezing these small operators out of business.

I know some of the old rangers who couldn't stomach the process
of issuing edicts demanding that each small sawmill keep an
unaffordable amount of fire suppression equipment and machinery
standing idly by (fire-fighting being something the BCFS had
always done admirably well).

One by one, the family sawmills gave up, quit, and eventually
abandoned the landscape to bigger and bigger Companies. And
to the pine-beetles.

Interestingly enough , there is a current growth with small companies during this epidemic of the pine beetle infestation . There is also some mills which ran 30 years ago and still are making it work for themselves . There are the small companies who went larger and kept up with the corporate companies like L & M Lumber in Vanderhoof .
No comparison to before , where small communities thrived on the small mills . However ;Upper Fraser Mill stills stands , but the workers were all transferred or moved to other sawmills owned by Canfor . There are few people who still manage to live there , but it is pretty well a ghost town . That area is known as McGregor , it was logged heavily in the 1980`s.

Many people retired years ago who ran small sawmills , resulting in their families working in the bigger mills because this meant a steady income , medical coverage , along with insurance policies , and retirement funds .

Not too many people want to run their own sawmill , it is a hit and miss situation, hardwork , and the overhead is what can make or break you . I have family that work in sawmills over 30 years,and family members that currently runs their own small sawmill , and friends in the community also , the still sell rough cut lumber to mills , individuals for certain projects. Building codes have control now as you are not suppose to contruct a structure without the lumber being planned , and graded first . I see this from a different persective . I also have a friend who is a manager of a mill in town here ,other friends who work for the corporate companies ,one guy I knew ,his dad sold out to Canfor , that is Rustad`s Mill ,I get a lot of first hand information . Canfor bought larger mills , because they controlled the market and these mills could not compete effectively . It is a very contraversal subject .

Sure this is no where near like 50 or even 100 years ago ,of course not, much of the wood was heavily logged back then. What gets me is the government didn`t care what would be left behind for future generations .

On google earth you can find clear cut areas in the Upper Fraser region which is highway 16 East . It has been growing slowly since the 80`s so it might not look as barrin as it once was . At one time there was a satellite photo of it from the moon , the view was a large bald spot.

The history behind the forest industry in BC can be found in books by local Prince George and area writers , people who experienced this first hand , there is also a wealth of information through forestry and through the local libraries.Interestingly enough , there is a current growth with small companies during this epidemic of the pine beetle infestation . There is also some mills which ran 30 years ago and still are making it work for themselves . There are the small companies who went larger and kept up with the corporate companies like L & M Lumber in Vanderhoof .
No comparison to before , where small communities thrived on the small mills . However ;Upper Fraser Mill stills stands , but the workers were all transferred or moved to other sawmills owned by Canfor . There are few people who still manage to live there , but it is pretty well a ghost town . That area is known as McGregor , it was logged heavily in the 1980`s.

Many people retired years ago who ran small sawmills , resulting in their families working in the bigger mills because this meant a steady income , medical coverage , along with insurance policies , and retirement funds .

Not too many people want to run their own sawmill , it is a hit and miss situation, hardwork , and the overhead is what can make or break you . I have family that work in sawmills over 30 years,and family members that currently runs their own small sawmill , and friends in the community also , the still sell rough cut lumber to mills , individuals for certain projects. Building codes have control now as you are not suppose to contruct a structure without the lumber being planned , and graded first . I see this from a different persective . I also have a friend who is a manager of a mill in town here ,other friends who work for the corporate companies ,one guy I knew ,his dad sold out to Canfor , that is Rustad`s Mill ,I get a lot of first hand information . Canfor bought larger mills , because they controlled the market and these mills could not compete effectively . It is a very contraversal subject .

Sure this is no where near like 50 or even 100 years ago ,of course not, much of the wood was heavily logged back then. What gets me is the government didn`t care what would be left behind for future generations .

On google earth you can find clear cut areas in the Upper Fraser region which is highway 16 East . It has been growing slowly since the 80`s so it might not look as barrin as it once was . At one time there was a satellite photo of it from the moon , the view was a large bald spot.

The history behind the forest industry in BC can be found in books by local Prince George and area writers , people who experienced this first hand , there is also a wealth of information through forestry and through the local libraries.

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Remove Logging Industry Propaganda Displays from the new Tsawwassen Terminal<br />
by Ken Wu, Victoria Campaign Director • Thursday August 11, 2005 at 02:19 PM<br />
<br />
<br />
"I almost gagged on my gelato cone when I noticed the government-sponsored logging propaganda displays in the new Tsawwassen Quay ferry terminal yesterday", states a flabbergasted Ken Wu, campaign director of the WCWC in Victoria.<br />
<br />
For Immediate Release <br />
<br />
August 11, 2005 <br />
<br />
Remove Logging Industry Propaganda Displays from the new Tsawwassen BC Ferry Terminal, Wilderness Committee tells BC Liberal government <br />
<br />
"I almost gagged on my gelato cone when I noticed the <br />
government-sponsored logging propaganda displays in the new Tsawwassen Quay ferry terminal yesterday", states a flabbergasted Ken Wu, campaign director of the WCWC in Victoria. "Taxpayer-funded greenwashing of the logging industry’s destruction of old-growth forests is totally <br />
inappropriate at the new ferry terminal. The major logging corporations who funded the BC Liberal Party’s election must be beaming with joy at this slick manouevre." <br />
<br />
Three new, large displays, with highly misleading factoids and photos about the state of BC’s forests are mounted on large wooden structures (cross sections of giant old-growth trees) in a prominent location in the new Tsawwassen Quay, which has replaced the former publicly-owned ferry terminal. The gist of the text and photos conveys the message that "all is well in BC’s forests" and that BC’s forests, wildlife, and endangered species are being managed sustainably - so keep buying ancient forest wood products from BC. <br />
<br />
The Lonsdale Quay Marketing Corporation owns and operates the new Tsawwassen Quay after signing a contract with the newly privatized BC Ferry Corporation. According to Lonsdale staff, the company then signed a "long-term contract" with the BC government who paid them to set-up <br />
the logging displays under the auspices of the BC Market Outreach Network, a BC government initiative to promote BC old-growth wood products around the world. Its website, <a href="http://www.bcforestinformation.com">http://www.bcforestinformation.com</a> , is heavily featured on the new logging displays at the Tsawwassen Quay. <br />
<br />
Some of the key misleading "Facts" promoted on the displays, and a Reality Check, are as follows: <br />
<br />
Logging Spin: "We log a fraction of one per cent of our forests each year." <br />
<br />
Reality Check: We log far more than "a fraction of one percent" when you look at productive forests (ie. the big treed, biologically diverse forests where logging occurs and where the greatest conservation values also occur). About half of BC’s forests are productive ­ the rest are <br />
non-commercial, marginal subalpine, bog, rocky, and northern forests. In addition, a good deal of BC’s productive forests have already been logged. When marginal and logged forests are taken out of the equation, companies log over one percent of BC’s productive forests every year. <br />
That means the rotation age in BC as a whole is lower than 100 years in BC (ie. in 100 years, we cut 100% of our productive forests), in a province naturally covered over vast regions with 500 to 1500 year old trees. ie. we are greatly overcutting our forests and converting them <br />
into younger age classes that never acquire old-growth characteristics before being relogged. <br />
<br />
Logging Spin: "More than half of BC’s forests is protected or will likely never be logged for economic or environmental reasons." <br />
<br />
Reality Check: This statement is carefully crafted to join "economic" and "environmental reasons" together. Again, about half of BC’s forests are economically unproductive (ie. bogs, rocky, subalpine, northern) ­ <br />
that’s the "economic" reason, while only a tiny fraction of BC’s productive forests (8%) is in our parks system. The vast majority of BC’s productive forests are slated for logging. <br />
<br />
Logging Spin: "BC has 12 million hectares of protected lands where no forestry, mining, or industrial development is allowed." <br />
<br />
Reality Check: Most of those 12 million hectares consist of alpine tundra, subalpine marginal forests, and bogs. About 3 million hectares of our parks consists of productive forests. The "12 million hectare" figure misleads readers into thinking that 12 million hectares of <br />
productive forests are saved, since the ferry displays focus on the forest industry which only operates in productive forests. <br />
<br />
Logging Spin: "Research proves wood is the best building choice for the environment." <br />
<br />
Reality Check: The question is not whether wood per se should be used for building, but rather wood from 500 year old ancient trees cut down in endangered forest ecosystems should be used. True, wood per se is renewable, but NOT old-growth forests at the rate of logging in BC. Old-growth forests account for almost 90% of the harvest in BC. It’s <br />
dishonest to conflate the two and fail to make the necessary distinction between old-growth and tree plantation-produced wood. <br />
<br />
Logging Spin: "When a forest is logged, it is returned to forest. Just two percent of BC’s land has been converted to other uses." <br />
<br />
Reality Check: When an old-growth forest is logged in BC, it is converted into a biologically impoverished tree plantation that lacks the old-growth characteristics and species of the original forest. The question is not whether trees grow back ­ generally, they do - but rather whether or not the same type of forest ecosystem grows back after <br />
logging. Under BC’s system of forestry, it does not. ie. it’s not a "tree" issue, but rather an "ecosystem" or "habitat" issue. <br />
<br />
In addition, the BC Liberal government has doubled the rate of the sell-off of BC’s public forest lands to private real estate developers for golf courses, suburban sprawl, etc., from about $40 million/year during the NDP’s reign to $74 million/year now. They are the leaders in converting our forest lands into "other uses". <br />
<br />
Logging Spin: "One in every five jobs in BC is linked to the forestry industry. Forestry revenues build schools, hospitals, and highways in every corner of BC." <br />
<br />
Reality Check: The BC Liberal government are experts at eliminating the jobs of forestry workers - by expanding raw log exports, eliminating the local milling requirements (appurtenancy) that once existed for companies that cut on public lands, and by revising legislation to undermine the forestry unions. Yes, forestry revenues do fund schools, hospitals, and highways - as do tourism revenues, fishing revenues, and other industries that are often threatened by unsustainable forestry activities in BC. <br />
<br />
Other examples of the logging spin on the displays, (which would require a much longer press release to debunk!) include: <br />
<br />
"Forest activities on BC’s public land must follow strict laws with measures to protect fisheries, wildlife, biodiversity, old growth, soil, and water. Long before a tree is cut, resource professionals must know how this will affect the forest today and decades into the future." <br />
<br />
"Resource managers must accommodate habitat needs to support healthy wildlife populations with special consideration for species at risk." <br />
<br />
"What is the greenest building material? Wood ­ it’s renewable, recyclable, and grows with solar energy." <br />
<br />
The Wilderness Committee is calling on the Gordon Campbell government to immediately remove the blatant logging industry propaganda displays from the ferry terminal or else face a growing public campaign. <br />
<br />
Some of the campaigns that the Wilderness Committee is working on, which the new ferry display runs counter to, include: <br />
<br />
- Expanding our protected areas system throughout BC, for example, on Vancouver Island to include ancient forests in the Upper Walbran Valley, pristine valleys and islands in Clayoquot Sound, East Creek Rainforest, and Nahmint Valley. <br />
- Protecting endangered species such as the spotted owl, mountain caribou, and marbled murrelet which all need old-growth forests to survive. <br />
- Reducing the unsustainable rate of logging, where over 80 million cubic metres of wood is logged each year in BC, while the long-term sustainable rate of cutting is less than half that. <br />
- Stopping the sell-off or privatization of public (Crown) lands throughout BC. <br />
- Banning the export of raw logs. <br />
<br />
"I know I’m not the only one disgusted by the anti-forest protection display funded with taxpayers’ money at our ferry terminal. Everyone who sees this anti-environmental garbage should let their BC Liberal MLA’s know in no uncertain terms what they think about it ­ as well as the <br />
owners of the Tsawwassen Quay," states Wu. <br />
"We need to protect more ancient forests in BC, not slickly rationalize their liquidation and conversion into tree plantations." <br />
<br />
For more info contact: <br />
<br />
Ken Wu, WCWC Victoria <br />
(250) 388-9292<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.wildernesscommitteevictoria.org/">www.wildernesscommitteevictoria.org/</a><br />
<br />
add your comments<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Mr<br />
by Scruffy Dan • Saturday August 13, 2005 at 02:23 AM<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
I just added a much of comments on this to my website. <br />
read them here <a href="http://scruffydan.blogspot.com/2005/08/governmentally-funded-logging-industry.html">http://scruffydan.blogspot.com/2005/08/governmentally-funded-logging-industry.html</a> <br />
<br />
or here: <br />
<br />
This is more politics getting involved in the scientific debate about the “sustainability” of the current forestry practises in British Columbia. One of the most astounding facts of how BC’s forests are managed is that the annual allowable cut (AAC) in British Columbia is determined by economic factors, and not by ecological factors. What this means is that when the AAC is being determined managers ask how much wood does the forestry sector need this year; instead they should be asking how much wood can we take we sustainably take out of the forest. <br />
<br />
Logging Spin: "We log a fraction of one per cent of our forests each year." <br />
<br />
Reality Check: We log far more than "a fraction of one percent" when you look at productive forests (ie. the big treed, biologically diverse forests where logging occurs and where the greatest conservation values also occur). About half of BC’s forests are productive ­ the rest are non-commercial, marginal subalpine, bog, rocky, and northern forests. In addition, a good deal of BC’s productive forests have already been logged. When marginal and logged forests are taken out of the equation, companies log over one percent of BC’s productive forests every year. That means the rotation age in BC as a whole is lower than 100 years in BC (ie. in 100 years, we cut 100% of our productive forests), in a province naturally covered over vast regions with 500 to 1500 year old trees. ie. we are greatly overcutting our forests and converting them into younger age classes that never acquire old-growth characteristics before being relogged. <br />
<br />
<br />
As I mentioned above the AAC for BC’s forests is not based on ecological data. Also alarming is if a forestry company does not log 99% of its AAC in a timber farm licence (TFL) the government can take the TFL tenure from that company and give it to a company that is willing to log all of the AAC. Does this seem odd to anyone??? Even if a company knows it should protect a large area in its TFL, it won’t in order to ensure that the TFL is not given to another company. <br />
<br />
Logging Spin: "More than half of BC’s forests is protected or will likely never be logged for economic or environmental reasons." <br />
<br />
"Reality Check: This statement is carefully crafted to join "economic" and "environmental reasons" together. Again, about half of BC’s forests are economically unproductive (ie. bogs, rocky, subalpine, northern) that’s the "economic" reason, while only a tiny fraction of BC’s productive forests (8%) is in our parks system. The vast majority of BC’s productive forests are slated for logging." <br />
<br />
<br />
One issue about this stamen that was not discussed in the article is that when they talk about economically viable the forestry companies are referring to today, and we all know that markets change and technology advances. So any forest that is not economically viable will be left alone for now… but what will happen tomorrow is anyone’s guess. <br />
<br />
"Logging Spin: "BC has 12 million hectares of protected lands where no forestry, mining, or industrial development is allowed." <br />
<br />
Reality Check: Most of those 12 million hectares consist of alpine tundra, subalpine marginal forests, and bogs. About 3 million hectares of our parks consists of productive forests. The "12 million hectare" figure misleads readers into thinking that 12 million hectares of productive forests are saved, since the ferry displays focus on the forest industry which only operates in productive forests." <br />
<br />
<br />
In BC lots of majestic mountains and glaciers are legally protected from forestry. This protection is not needed since THERE ARE NO TREES IN THERE AREAS! If you look at the amount of legally protected old growth valley bottom you will quickly see that very little of it has any kind of protection. <br />
<br />
Well that’s my rant… for now<br />
<br />
scruffydan.blogspot.com/<br />
<br />
add your comments<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
logging spin<br />
by Ray Harper • Friday September 02, 2005 at 11:37 AM<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
You Guys SUCK.<br />
<br />
<br />
add your comments<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Facts and Statistics countered with Nouns and Adjectives?<br />
by Nat Coe • Saturday January 14, 2006 at 02:41 AM<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
100_0184.jpg, JPG image, 2032x1524<br />
<br />
Why would you try and debate facts (statistics) with verbal statements such as "most" and "almost" and "might"? <br />
<br />
Statistics are out there and to counter them with opinion instead of other statistics make you look like brainless baboon. <br />
Don't try and mislead the public with lousy information. The government put those signs up in order to counter your poor and misleading information Mr. Woo. All of the protected lands do include 'unproductive forests'-yes. However, they are also protected from Ski Hill Development, mining, and yes, future forestry operations that may see value in those current "unproductive forest" <br />
<br />
One must remember that opinions are opinons and facts are facts. To debate one against the other is un-productive and un-intelligent. <br />
<br />
<br />
add your comments<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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Ancient Forests Page Home Page


British Columbia's Ancient Rainforests - A Global Treasure !

Rare and Majestic:
Temperate forests have been identified by the World Resources Institute as the most endangered forest type on the planet. Temperate rainforests only ever covered 0.2% of the world's land surface originally covering western coastal areas of Norway, Ireland, Scotland, Turkey, New Zealand, Tasmania (Australia), Chile and the west coast of North America, extending from northern California through British Columbia to southern Alaska. Within a narrow band of the rugged coast of British Columbia lies one of the most ecologically important forests in the world. It is home to a quarter of the world's remaining ancient temperate rainforest.





These majestic forests are the result of 10,000 years of post glacial evolution and contain some of the oldest trees on earth. Dramatic landscapes abound: deep fjords, breathtaking mountains, giant trees as old as 1,500 years, and lush forest understories. It is a place where wolves, salmon and bears all thrive. This rainforest is truly a global treasure.

Tragically, 50% of BC's ancient rainforests have already been destroyed. Only 20% of the original large pristine rainforest valleys on the coast of BC remain intact. Logging is planned for the majority of these in the next 5-10 years. The BC Ministry of Environment has concluded that one out of eight species in the province is at risk of extinction, and that logging is one of the major threats endangering species. Most of Canada's species at risk are found within two forest zones which have been degraded with high rates of clearing and fragmentation, BC's temperate rainforests is one of those areas.

The remaining ancient temperate rainforests are vital for species habitat, climate regulation and bio-diversity. The biological riches of areas such as the Great Bear Rainforest, Clayoquot Sound and Haida Gwaii continue to be under threat.

"World Class Logging"
Ninety percent of logging in BC is of ancient forests and 97% of
logging in the temperate rainforest continues to be by clearcutting.
This is contrary to public perception that clear-cutting is a thing of the past.

Clearcutting causes two kinds of fundamental damage, one long lasting, the other permanent. The long lasting damage is to the soil, the permanent damage is to the biological diversity.

(Dr. C. Pielou, eminent BC scientist)





The volume of wood cut in BC is a staggering 71 million cubic metres/year (enough to fill logging trucks encircling the globe one and a quarter times). One third of this originates from these rare coastal rainforests. Ministry of Forest figures show that the present rate of cut is unsustainable.

The BC government and logging industry claim that their logging standards are "World Class" although BC still has no Endangered Species legislation. The BC government has eroded forest practices legislation with over 1000 changes to the Forest Practices Code since its introduction in June of 1995.


Jobs and Communities

Natural Resources Canada estimates that there are 337 forest-dependant communities in Canada. A further 1,294 are felt to have some reliance on the logging industry. This information may not be completely up-to-date as a number of the listed communities have already seen mill closures over the past 3-5 years.

Since 1997, 21,500 people have lost their jobs in the BC logging industry. Eight BC mills permanently closed in 1997 and 1998. It is estimated that a further 30,000 people will lose their jobs in the logging industry in the coming years. BC has one of the worst jobs:volume of wood cut ratios in the industrialized world. High tech is expected to surpass logging in terms of revenue generation by 2004.

BC has one of the worst ratios of employment to volume of wood cut in the world, especially among industrialized countries. BC generates only one third of the jobs that the United States does and one half of the jobs that Sweden does for the same amount of wood cut. BC’s poor employment ratio can be attributed to:

high levels of mechanization,
minimal manufacturing and processing within BC, and
the increase of raw log exports.
There has been a dramatic increase in raw log exports over the past three years. The export of logs and minimally processed wood from coastal communities also exports community jobs. If BC were to employ the same number of people/volume wood cut that Washington State does, it could maintain the number of people employed in the logging industry and reduce the amount of forest it cuts fivefold. If it were to replicate Switzerland's efforts we could reduce the amount of wood cut by 10. Instead of shipping wood across the US border to be made into window and door moldings, furniture and other value added products we could supply local mills and manufacturers with the wood supply required for a vibrant manufacturing sector in BC.


Table 1. BC's job to volume of wood cut ratio is one of the worst in the world.

First Nations and resource-based communities that rely on the rainforest and its fisheries are profoundly affected by clear-cutting and over-cutting. Logging continues on aboriginal lands, in spite of the fact that First Nations in BC have never ceded title of their traditional territories. Traditional and commercial fisheries are increasingly restricted as salmon stocks decline. Scientists attribute 30% of the decline in salmon stocks over the past two decades to the destruction of salmon habitat. Industrial logging undermines opportunities for local communities to develop ecologically and economically sustainable economies. Options for community controlled, sustainable forestry operations, community fishing or tourism operations are severely impacted by industrial logging.




It's difficult to market a vibrant tourism economy with a viewscape like this


Ancient Forests Page Home Page

Loggers from the International
Timber Compnay camp
near Campbell River, 1926
D-04857
The forest industry is the most important industry in British Columbia, producing more wealth, jobs and government revenue than any other industry.


However, because of the isolation of British Columbia in the nineteenth century, and the special character of its geography and forests, the exploitation of the those forests came much later than in the rest of Canada.


The climate and forest on the coast and in the interior of the province are very different from one another. The coast, with its mild and wet climate, and steep mountain slopes has dense and productive forests of large trees such as Douglas fir, Sitka spruce and cedar.

The interior of the province has a drier and colder climate and is less mountainous in some areas. The forests there are somewhat less productive and the consist of very different kinds of trees. This has meant that there are, in effect, two different forest industries in the province - the coast and the interior.

First Nations peoples used the forests to provide food, clothing, building materials, and tools. During the fur trade period the traders mostly used the forests to construct log buildings.


The Stamp Mill at
Port Alberni in 1864
A-04513
On the coast the tall and straight trees were much desired for masts on sailing ships. These remained the main purposes of the forests during the gold rush period of the 1850s and 1860s, with the addition of small sawmills to produce lumber for the construction of buildings and paddlewheel steam boats.

The earliest exploitation of the forests took place on the coast and by the time Canada entered Confederation in 1871 the coast had a well established industry of logging and lumbering.


Horses dragging logs from the
forest on the B.C. Coast, 1904
A-07086
In those early years only those trees close to the sea were logged as the technology did not exist to access them farther inland or up the slopes of steep mountains. Markets for lumber included Australia, Hawaii, Chile, and Shanghai (China).


The building of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the 1880s required large amounts of timber and lumber for the construction of rail lines, bridges, buildings and temporary structures.


Ship loading lumber at
the Moody Sawmill on Burrard Inlet
in the 1860s
A-00397
This period saw the first major development of a forest industry in the southern interior of the province. On the coast, production concentrated around Burrard Inlet. After completion of the railway in 1887 the forest industry in British Columbia went into decline until the late 1890s.






Continued...






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Section Two

The immigration boom on the prairies, that started in the late 1890s and continued up to the eve of World War I in 1914, gave the forest industry its first Canadian export market.


Sawmill at Prince George, 1910
B-00354
During this period the main logging areas in the province were in the south west mainland, southern Vancouver Island, and areas close to the railway lines in the southern interior.



Loggers on the coast, 1926
D-04875
Early logging was hard manual work. Trees were cut down by axe and manual saws and the logs were dragged out of the forest by horses or oxen. At the water's edge the logs were formed into booms and towed to sawmills located along river banks or by the ocean. Mills on the coast were larger and more modern than those in the interior.



Logs on rail cars in the Comox
area of Vancouver Island, 1926
D-04873
Gradually new technology was introduced into the forest industry, especially on the coast where trains were used to haul logs out of the forest and to the mills. This meant that logging was no longer restricted to areas close to water.



Logging train near
Powell River, 1926
D-04907

Logging train near
Powell River, 1926
D-04906




By the 1920s logging trucks had been introduced but were not common for many years. Today the forest industry mainly uses trucks to haul logs to mills and lumber is exported out of the province mostly by ship and train.



Logging operations near Qualicum
on Vancouver Island, 1953
I-28498
The forest industry in the interior expanded into the north slowly, but grew more rapidly after the end of World War II.


The forest industry also includes pulp and paper. The first small pulp mill in the province was in the Alberni Valley on Vancouver Island in the 1860s. Since then the industry has grown to include large mills all over the province that make British Columbia one of the world's largest producers of pulp and paper.


Pulp mill at Port Alberni
in the 1930s
B-08102

Pulp and paper mill at
Ocean Falls on the B.C. coast, 1916
I-47056




Over the years there has been frequent concern in British Columbia about over cutting of trees and destruction of forests. In the early days forests were seldom replanted after the trees were cut. That is no longer true but the controversy continues over how much to cut and how much to leave as untouched forest land.







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