PPWC Local 9 president Chuck LeBlanc says it's vital that workers' voices be heard by government and industry leaders to keep forest sector healthy
In Jan. 22, West Fraser Timber announced it was permanently closing its Fraser Lake Sawmill, which will result in the loss of 175 jobs.
About 80 representatives of the Public and Private Workers of Canada, United Steelworkers and Unifor attended the March 12 conference and met with Premier David Eby, Forests Minister Bruce Ralston and Andrew Mercier, Minister of State for Sustainable Forestry Innovation to discuss the future of forestry and let the government know what workers think should be done to stop the bleeding.
Last summer’s wildfires burned three million hectares of forest, the most destructive fire season in B.C.’s history, which further restricted access to fibre, yet another obstacle that cumulatively has cut softwood harvesting in half over the past seven years from 30,000 tonnes in 2016 to 15,000 tonnes in 2023.
“BC Timber Sales haven’t put out any permits for coming on two years in the Prince Geoge area and we really pressed the government on getting BC Timber Sales to get that wood out,” said LeBlanc. ”That’s 20 per cent of the allowable annual cut and that’s a lot of wood that could be coming into our mills feeding the Polars, which then gives the pulp mills the residual chips.
Discussion at the conference centred around the report, A Better Future for BC Forestry, created the BC Forestry Workers union collective. The council would work with the government to design, implement and evaluate forestry strategies of and would come up with a plan to create a stable and sustainable fibre supply that would make project investment profitable.
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