BY PETER EWART
Special to the News
Forestry in B.C. cannot continue in the old way, but new ways have yet to emerge.
The mill closures and layoffs in Prince George, Bear Lake, Mackenzie, Chetwynd, and Fraser Lake are yet one more sign that fundamental change is needed in the management of our forests, as well as in forestry production. For years, the big forest companies have dominated the industry with successive provincial governments under their thumb.
Big companies like Canfor themselves have changed from being owned by forestry people to being controlled by financiers. They are no longer locally or regionally based but are now giant multinationals with operations in other countries and no allegiance to the communities from whence they came and from whence they derive their profit. Like pirates, they ship out to other destinations if their goal of maximum profit is not achieved. Even average profit is not enough in this changed globalized world which these oligarchs dominate.
B.C. has some of the richest and most diverse forests in the world, but they have been squandered by rampant over-harvesting, subsequent shortages of timber, environmental despoliation, failure to diversify products, and a host of other problems. Forest production infrastructure is not consistent with timber supply, in large part because of a lack of reinvestment in production facilities that can extract more value out of the wood.
The result has been catastrophic for many workers and communities, and more looms on the horizon.
So what is to be done? First of all, it is necessary to grasp that the old ways are over and we are in a new situation with our forests and forest industry. Old models won’t work. The big forest companies won’t change their ways. If they are in charge, workers and communities will always be on the edge of a cliff in terms of their economic well-being.
There are areas where new thinking is especially necessary. A key one has to do with who controls forest tenure and forest management. The big forest companies should not be allowed to sit on timber rights, especially after they shut down mills. Instead, other players should be allowed in, whether it local communities, Indigenous peoples, non-profits, worker cooperatives, partnerships, joint ventures, as well as small and medium-sized forestry companies that are based in the region or province and which have no aspirations to becoming giant multinationals.
New governance structures need to be explored, especially ones that give workers and communities more control over the forest resource, rather than far away government bureaucrats or corporate officials in distant boardrooms.
Yes, it is a time to be angry and upset about all the layoffs and mill closures. But it is also a time to expand our imaginations as to what could be possible for our communities and forests. We need province building, not province wrecking.
Peter Ewart is a writer based in Prince George, BC. He can be reached at: peter.ewart@shaw.ca
