NDP forestry opposition critic Bob Simpson discusses possible
solutions to what he sees as a flailing forest industry during a Duncan
stopover Thursday.
By Aaron Bichard
The Pictorial
Jul 15 2006
Logs left rotting on the ground of tree farm licenses and private lands
on Vancouver Island are being blamed for what NDP forest critic Bob
Simpson calls backwards movement of the forest industry.
On a trip through coastal B.C. to gather information on softwood lumber
and forest safety issues, Simpson told the Pictorial Thursday he
predicts an international wake-up call to the forest industry due to
environmental concerns surrounding practices in the woods.
"What we're seeing is a lot of waste is being left on the ground while
pulp mills get squeezed tighter and tighter to find fibre supplies," he
said. "Catalyst (Paper, Crofton division) is now beginning to feel
this.
"It's stemming from super-relaxed utilization standards and government policy that isn't looking at the big picture."
Simpson is blaming "two-bit stumpage" that makes it economically viable
for companies to leave lesser grade wood behind instead of finding a
use or buyer for what it cuts.
"When stumpage rates were higher, you'd see companies take as much of
any tree and try to find a use for it," he said. "I think there needs
to be a different system where you'd pay more stumpage to leave the
trees on the ground.
"But don't just look at this from a fibre supply problem perspective.
Our forests are fuel-loaded because of the waste left behind and we're
setting ourselves up for a major fire."
The NDP MLA for Cariboo North believes environmentalists will wake up
to the "strip mining" of the forests and international outcry could
affect B.C. business.
"I've got to reiterate that these practices are legal logging
practices," Simpson said. "When people realize the methods used to
harvest these stamped logs the entire certification process will be
brought into question."
Simpson also voiced concerns about the new purchase by Western Forest
Products to bring Cascadia's coastal and Canfor's Englewood interests
under its umbrella.
"Essentially you have three companies - two private and Western with
access to the public lands; it doesn't give the pulp mills the ability
to say who they are going to purchase fibre from, nor the ability to
dictate what forest practices they deem acceptable," Simpson said. "I
believe Reynold (Hert, CEO of Western) is a genuine person who is
concerned with forest safety and environmental impacts but CEOs are
under tremendous pressure to increase value to the shareholders.
"It will be a case of making decisions based on economics rather than environment."
Simpson believes there needs to be some leadership from government to
build small log mills on the coast and a move to get back to better
logging practices.
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