Saving BC Forestry: For Workers, Communities, and Biodiversity

BACKGROUNDER 

Saving BC Forestry: For Workers, Communities, and Biodiversity

BC’s forest sector has been gutted by the NDP government. NDP policies have destroyed about two-thirds of our once-great forest industry: devastating workers, families, and communities in every part of the province. Contractors have been wiped-out, businesses are fleeing to other jurisdictions, and the confidence to invest in our future is gone. 

Workers and families in the forestry industry should never have to worry about whether the government is on their side. As a foundational sector to the economic and social fabric of BC, forestry helps form the core of our export and industrial base, pays family-supporting wages, and underpins entire communities and regions.

As a direct result of the NDP’s hostility to forestry, 9 major sawmills have closed in the past 18 months. This is what a sector in freefall looks like. It’s unacceptable for any industry to be attacked like this, especially one as integral to BC’s economic base as forestry.

In this province, it’s impossible to be pro-worker while being anti-forestry. The NDP has failed this basic test, and has demonstrated particular contempt for rural British Columbians who are disproportionately harmed by deindustrialization of the sector.

The Conservative Party of BC will work tirelessly to restore the health of BC’s forestry sector. We know time is of the essence: entire communities are in limbo under the NDP. And we will restore jobs and competitiveness while enhancing biodiversity, living-up to our duty as good stewards, and clearly defining conservation-primary areas – altogether, safeguarding a sustainable future for BC’s forests.

 

Certainty for BC’s Forest Sector:

Approximately 64% of BC’s area is forested, or about 60 million hectares. The Conservative Party of BC will continue to ensure that nearly two-thirds of BC’s forested landscape will remain in its original forested state and will never see industrial-scale forestry activity.

The remaining forested landscape (about 22 million hectares) will be managed to achieve supply chain stability in BC’s forest sector as well as to enhance biodiversity and ecological qualities.

Forest products are the most renewable and most environmentally-friendly products we can use to support home construction. BC wood is prized by builders at home and around the world – building a sustainable future while creating jobs that support families and communities.

The NDP’s constant policy changes make it impossible to invest in the sector, or even to maintain existing operations. This uncertainty needs to stop. The Conservative Party of BC will:

• Define the land area that will be prioritized for the harvest of primary forest products.

A healthy forest sector needs stability and predictability. This is achieved by defining an area dedicated to providing primary forest products.

 

Enhancing Biodiversity:

Awe-inspiring forests will always be part of our life and identity as British Columbians. 

BC’s forests provide more than just wood products; we count on our forests for water quality, wildlife habitat, recreational opportunities, and more. Conservation is a Conservative value, and we will never allow our forest ecology to be undermined. The Conservative Party of BC will:

• Define the land area that will be prioritized for meeting biodiversity goals, where sourcing forest products will be of secondary value.

Combined with our parks and other forested areas, our balanced approach will allow industry to access an adequate and predictable supply of fibre, while protecting the ecological value of BC’s forests.

Having flexibility within the management of these areas will allow BC to better manage forest health issues, including wildfire mitigation plus restoration and rehabilitation where needed.

 

Modernizing Stumpage:

BC’s stumpage system is a legacy from decades ago: incapable of responding to changing market conditions, and designed only for sawlogs. Simply put, the current stumpage system has little relationship between the price of logs and price of lumber into the markets, thereby forcing mills out of business. As BC’s forest sector evolves, BC needs a system that responds to market conditions, realizes, potential of all forest products and incentivizes value-added production. The Conservative Party of BC will:

• Replace stumpage with a value-added end product tax.

A value-added tax system will be instantaneously responsive to current market conditions, and it will encourage industry to get more value and jobs out of each log. Input credits will be created for higher-value products and better utilization of fibre: meaning the more a producer can do with the fibre, the more credits that will be created.

 

Permitting:

The NDP has made access to fibre a slow, complex, and costly ordeal. Extra layers of permitting have been created, while the process is fragmented into bureaucratic silos that don’t communicate with each other. 

Like most things the NDP has touched, the result is a significantly higher cost of doing business while public service quality has gotten worse. The Conservative Party of BC will:

• Implement a “One Project, One Permit” process.

“One Project, One Permit” will significantly reduce costs to all parties (i.e. government, First Nations, and companies) and make it viable to invest in BC forestry again.

 

Competitiveness:

BC’s forest sector is known as the highest cost jurisdiction in North America. Workers, their families, and communities need to depend on a stable and competitive forest sector. The Conservative Party of BC will:

• Undertake a core review of all factors contributing to BC’s uncompetitive cost structure.
• Support utilization of wood fibre for power generation and other secondary products. 

The core review will identify all unnecessary costs and red tape which have resulted in BC shipping forestry jobs to other provinces and the US. We will make sure the industry is competitive enough to ship products again, not jobs.

Encouraging the use of wood fibre in power generation and other secondary applications will create new revenue streams for the industry and government, protecting jobs and realizing the highest possible value per log.

 

Valuing all Fibre:

BC measures how many trees are harvested by calculating an annual allowable cut (AAC) of potential sawlogs. Trees that are used for pellets, power, or other non-primary products are additions to our annual allowable cut. The Conservative Party of BC will:

• Change the annual allowable cut from a sawlog AAC to a fibre AAC.

Tree waste from harvesting is often left behind in the forests to be piled and burned. While there is a need to leave woody debris behind to help with habitat values, BC should account for this fibre and value it.

 

Landscape Management:

BC is long-overdue for changes to our landscape management practices. These enhanced stewardship practices should simultaneously protect forest biodiversity while enhancing our ability to fight wildfires, protect communities, and optimize forest health. The Conservative Party of BC will:

• To reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires, re-introduce the option of using controlled burns for prevention and containment.
• Maximize the use of wetter species within ecosystems historically dominated by wildfires - helping to keep wildfires on the ground and allow for more opportunities to stop wildfires from spreading. More diverse species mixes in specific areas will also enhance wildlife habitat value.
• Implement more selective logging, fuel load management, and species mix in interface areas. The objective is to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires in areas adjacent to communities.
• Focus harvesting on areas damaged by wildfires or forest health issues. By responding quickly, we can better-utilize the damaged fibre while doing the necessary work of rehabilitation and accelerated reforestation.
• To create healthier habitats, the stop all aerial spraying of glyphosate.

The BC government owns the vast majority of BC forests, and British Columbians deserve far better than the NDP’s absentee landlord approach. Instead, we propose returning to a stewardship model that mimics and augments the processes used by nature to manage itself.

 

Wildfire Management:

Wildfires are a natural occurrence on BC’s landscape - certain tree species have even adapted to wildfires such as the cones of Pine trees and the bark of Douglas Fir trees. The objective of managing wildfires in BC should be to protect communities, infrastructure, and our forests.

While BC’s initial attack crews can be highly effective, the number of fires can overwhelm BC’s resources. Too often, this comes at an unacceptable price to homes, lives, and human health. The Conservative Party of BC will:

• Undertake a complete review of how wildfires are managed in BC.

• Work with contractors and the private sector to empower them to be able to act quickly in response to emerging wildfire issues.

• Provide local people and communities with training and equipment.

• Ensure local volunteers and contractors are be able to call-in to support their efforts.
• Work with universities to support the research and implementation of new technologies and methods for firefighting.

There have been too many management incidents over the past 7 years under the NDP that have been ignored. BC has not learned from past mistakes and we have not embraced different technologies or explored alternative fire management methods.

 

Labour and Contractor Support:

BC has the potential for a bright future in forestry. However, 7 years of decline inflicted by the NDP has driven workers out of the sector and discouraged younger British Columbians from considering a future in forestry.

The Conservative party will always have the backs of workers, in bad times and good. The Conservative Party of BC will:

• Support workers and contractors through these difficult times and help to bridge people through the changes so they can continue to build a future in the forest sector.
• As the forest sector revives, invest in workforce training for the forest sector, so British Columbians can access the expanded opportunities that will be created.

As an emergency short-term measure, all types of supports will be considered to ensure workers and contractors are not forced to leave the industry. The revival of the industry will then be supported by investments in workforce training, education, and recruitment.