Forest crisis focus of Prince George community dialogue

Community poll reveals deep concern over BC’s forest economy

With a government seemingly in denial about the state of BC’s forest economy, more than 30 community leaders and representatives of stakeholder groups from the Prince George area gathered today to discuss solutions to the forestry crisis in their region, as a local poll reveals deepening public concern over the state of BC forests.

The working session titled ‘BC Forests. Our Future.’ was organized by the B.C. Government and Service Employees’ Union. Participants included Prince George Mayor Dan Rogers, city councillors Brian Skakun and Dave Wilbur and Fraser-Fort George regional district rep. Warren Wilson, along with representatives from labour unions and non-profit stakeholder groups in the region.

BCGEU president Darryl Walker set the stage for the session by outlining the challenges facing BC’s forest sector – noting that forest sector employment in the Cariboo development region is down more than 40 per cent from a decade ago, with more than 6,500 jobs lost since 2001.

“More than 70 mills have closed across BC and over 40,000 forest sector jobs have been lost since the BC Liberal government came to office,” says Walker. “Over 1000 forest ministry jobs have been eliminated – more than 200 in the Northern Interior region. Compliance and enforcement has been dramatically scaled back, while changes to legislation allow forest companies to effectively regulate themselves.

“We came to Prince George to consult with local leaders, to identify key issues in this region, and work toward positive solutions to help revitalize our forest sector and generate long-term benefits for local communities.”

The BCGEU also shared results from a recent poll of local residents that reveal a community deeply concerned about the effect of forest policy on their lives and the local economy.

Prince George residents are very concerned about the forest economy in their area, with 44 per cent of residents having experienced job loss or reduced hours in their family in the last 2 years. An astounding 99 per cent of residents polled agreed that “the forest industry is important to the well-being of the community,” with 78 per cent saying it is “critically important”.

Of the Prince George area residents polled, 67 per cent said that BC Liberal cuts and de-regulation of the Ministry of Forests has created “a hollowed-out ministry that is no longer able to properly fulfill its mandate to protect and enhance BC’s forests.” Tellingly, 58 per cent of Ministry of Forest workers polled said that the ministry was no longer able to fulfill its mandate.

Fully 85 per cent of community respondents said that Forest Service layoffs are a “bad idea.” A similar 85 per cent believe that the public cannot trust the forest industry to “harvest timber in a sound and sustainable way on their own.”

Meanwhile, budget cuts, de-regulation and re-organization in the forest ministry has taken a heavy toll on staff, with 58 per cent of current forest service workers agreeing that the ministry is not fulfilling its public mandate, and an astonishing 47 per cent saying they are considering leaving the BC Forest Service. The poll is accurate within 6 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

“There is a clear disconnect between the B.C. government's sunny forestry rhetoric and the real experience of the people on the North Interior,” says Walker. “People who live in resource communities have to live with the results of government neglect every day.”

Walker noted that the BCGEU has conducted community dialogue sessions in 4 key BC resource communities since January, consulting with community leaders to develop positive solutions to revitalize the forest sector and re-assert government control over this valuable public resource. 

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