On the Tolko closure in Quesnel, “My opinion is that when the mills went to the free market system to get logs, their area just went for a shit. The cost to get logs to Quesnel is pretty high”

Just recently forestry executives warned mayors at the North Central Local Government Association that the myriad of BC NDP government changes could lead to 8 to 10 mill closures. One of the reasons?  British Columbia has become the highest cost producer in North America, and is very vulnerable to changing market conditions.

The Financial sector (Paul Quinn of RBC) stated, "Unfortunately, we believe that this government has very little idea of what's required to foster a globally competitive forest industry."

And the fall-out for forestry workers, in an industry that once dominated every other natural resource, is continued job losses, and mill closures in every region and area of the province – the latest being the closure of Tolko Industries Quest Mill in Quesnel.

 

Quest Wood Sawmill in Quesnel

On that subject, Doug Donaldson the Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, released a statement last Friday (May 10^th) regarding the closure:

“I am saddened by news that Tolko will permanently close its Quest Wood sawmill in Quesnel, and eliminated a shift at its Kelowna sawmill. The loss of jobs in resource communities is difficult, and my thoughts are with the workers.”

According United Steelworkers Vice-President Paul French (Local 1-2017), “Quest has been on the bubble for quite some time, and part of the problem is they’re citing wood, and the fires, and beetle kill and all that other stuff”. 

“My opinion is that when the mills went to the free market system to get logs, their area just went for a shit. The cost to get logs to Quesnel is pretty high.”

Coralee Oakes, MLA for Cariboo North (which includes the City of Quesnel), has perhaps a somewhat different opinion, or perhaps one that parallels what French stated.

“From discussions over last few weeks, with multiple sources, business competitiveness is becoming far more difficult in British Columbia.  Softwood panels were in Washington last week, there’s continued concerns on Caribou plan, and there’s Bill 22”.

In fact, both Oakes and Rustad indicated that Bill 22 is the NDP’s latest mistake; one which puts ideology ahead of what's best for forestry family’s dependent on the sector, by creating division within forestry-dependent communities.

Bill C22 will require forest companies to get approval from the BC government’s Ministry of Forests before they will be able to transfer tenure agreements to another forestry company mill – often times hundreds of miles from where the timber is located.

On that subject, Paul French informed me, “Remember that years ago the forest industry used to have an appetency clause that logs remain in the area of the mill.  Now they can be shipped wherever – the highest bidder takes all”.

 

USW Vice-President Paul French stated Quest
has been on the bubble for quite some time

Reflecting on that he continued, “You know Williams Lake, the new (Tolko) mill kinda helped their decision, but I think it was something (Quesnel closure) that was coming anyway”.

As to jobs at the new Williams Lake Tolko mill, when it comes fully operation in late June?

“They’ll be reduced”, said French. “You’ve got to remember that since the beginning of time – I mean Williams Lake probably had over 2,000 people working in the industry, and now we’re barely at a thousand.  As technology comes in, this is what they do”. 

“We were told 8 jobs would be lost. We’re thinking at the end of the day it will be a few more than that but they haven’t got to that stage yet for us to know.  We’re probably thinking its higher than a dozen, but we’re not sure yet”.

Tolko has pointed out the industry is currently facing serious economic challenges with the highest production costs in North America, the continued impacts of the mountain pine beetle, a housing market slowdown and the continued softwood lumber dispute ... that comment from Oakes.

As always though, there is more to the story, and as Paul French of the Steelworkers pointed out;

“I did just come from the Global Forestry Conference in Vancouver, and those are all the big-wigs in the know of the industry, and the future doesn’t sound very promising for future mills.  I mean they have to curtail production because the are running out of timber right.  I mean, this has been predicted for the past 20 years that there’s going to be another 5 mills go down”.

He continued, “Consumption has increased, employees have decreased, and then you’re dealing with the American tariffs right, so it’s challenging for us to keep a handle on what’s going on, and keep our members working. And in turn the companies have the same dilemma, of the same sort of thing, in a different way”. 

There are 140 forestry dependent communities in BC, and about 140,000 people work directly or indirectly because of the forest sector.  One of the biggest areas, encompassing the greatest number of those communities, is that which Paul French’s Steelworkers local 1-2017 covers -- all the way from 100 Mile House up the North and Houston and Ft. St. John.  But it’s not just that region that concerns MLA Oakes.

"The BC Liberals have been raising the warning signs in the BC Legislature with John Horgan and the NDP who have failed to listen or take any meaningful action”, says Coralee Oakes.

 

Cariboo North MLA Coralee Oakes

Understanding that there were going to be significant changes to the industry, one her father himself had been involved in, was one of the considerations she had in making the decision to seek political office

“My riding is home to one of the most integrated and diverse concentrations of wood product manufacturing facilities in the world ... I know ... the impacts (market intervention) has on small and medium-sized businesses in our communities.”

“I think of the logging contractor that is up at .... My dad would leave at three in the morning to go out into the bush and look at the cutblocks and work with the logging contractors and the entire supply chain from the welding shop and the tire shop on Two Mile Flat. I look at Campbell Crescent, and I see the hard-working contractors that are out there that support the forest sector.

“These small and medium-sized businesses are the men and women that support our hockey teams; that make sure that they’re coaching our soccer teams; that when there are groups and organizations that have fundraisers, they knock on the doors of our small businesses. Our small businesses answer the call, because that is what it means to live in strong and vibrant communities”.

People that grow up in families relying on the forest industry, whether directly or through supporting jobs, understand these things.  Meantime the NDP’s Doug Donaldson wants local governments and union executives to develop local visions –- unique visions for industry competitiveness in each timber supply area.

BC Liberal John Rustad claims, “The BC NDP are attacking the very foundation of our forest industry claiming they are doing it for the benefit of communities and first nations. Utter non-sense. They are simply trying to expropriate harvesting rights without compensation.”

Meantime mills continue to close ... employees are thrown out of work ... companies that provide equipment, machinery, parts and more lose contract, resulting in more lay-offs, and rural and northern communities reliant on the forest sector are slowly having the lifeblood sucked out of them.

“John Horgan doesn't seem to get that life is not affordable when you lose your job”, opined Coralee Oakes.

I have reason to believe that job losses will continue – and that’s simply based on the direction of government when it comes to legislation and red-tape they are tying every resource sector industry in.

It’s a shame because those are the jobs with the highest number of union workers ... workers making some of the highest wages in BC ... and workers that were the strongest allies of the NDP.