Decline of B.C.’s forestry ‘neither inevitable nor acceptable’: union report (Terrace Standard)

A new report warns of a “deepening” and “never-ending” crisis in BC’s forestry sector and criticizes government’s inadequate response to it.

Titled ‘A Better Future for BC Forestry’, the report was co-prepared by three unions (Unifor, United Steelworkers, Public and Private Workers of Canada) with contributions from others including Canadian Labour Economist Jim Stanford. It finds the sector has “experienced a perfect storm of repeated and intersecting crises” that have “devastated.” They include the on-going softwood lumber dispute; the mountain pine beetle infestation; declining demand for lumber in house construction and newsprint; and last year’s wildfire season, the “most destructive fire season” in provincial history.

Forestry’s contribution to the provincial economy has declined from more than $8 billion (adjusted for inflation) in the mid-2000s to $5.2 billion in 2017 dollars . . . .

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