Fewer trees, higher costs blamed for devastating downturn in B.C. forestry industry

  • 📰 globeandmail
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 54 sec. here
  • 2 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 25%
  • Publisher: 92%

United States News News

United States United States Latest News,United States United States Headlines

Companies have announced shutdowns or curtailments in more than two dozen mills in the province, putting hundreds out of work and slashing economic growth predictions

“Something needs to change immediately or these small communities that don’t have other employers are going to wither and die,” said Marty Gibbons, president of United Steelworkers Local 1-417, based in Kamloops, B.C.The local represents hundreds of forestry workers who have lost jobs in Interior communities including Merritt, Clearwater, Vavenby and Clinton.

Stumpage is a fee businesses pay when they harvest timber from Crown land. The B.C. government calculates stumpage annually, so the system is less responsive than in Alberta, where monthly adjustments are made, Gibbons said. “It is well-known that any interference in B.C.’s market-based timber pricing system would lead to an increase in softwood lumber duties levied by the U.S.,” it said.Most of B.C.’s forest land is publicly owned, so companies have long-term tenure rights and the government charges them stumpage to harvest trees. In contrast, most land in the U.S. is private and companies face costs associated with replanting.

The NDP government has also introduced Bill 22, which would control tenure transfers. Currently, a company that is scaling back or shutting down a mill can transfer its tenure to one that is operating, but the government wants oversight over these transfers to protect the “public interest,” a term not defined in the legislation, Peacock said.“The picture here in B.C. is we are a very high cost jurisdiction.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.

Article treats the forest industry as above criticism.

sustainable lumber is key moving forward.

We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 5. in US

United States United States Latest News, United States United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Can anything be done to stop the crisis in B.C.'s forestry industry?High log prices and dwindling timber supply are driving the crisis in British Columbia's forestry industry that has devastated communities and kneecapped the provincial economy, observers say. Yeah, October 21, 2019 TrudeauMustGo A change of government
Source: CTVNews - 🏆 1. / 99 Read more »