WARD STAMER: “Hopefully he’s actually listening to what people have to say, and not just showing up for a photo op”

In his latest travels across the province, BC Forest Minister Ravi Parmar touched down in the Okanagan. A trip essentially, he said, to be on the ground meeting industry people.

I read what he had to say, and about how he has been tasked with getting more timber to market. Let me start by saying, “He hasn’t been tasked. He and Premier Eby guaranteed 45 million cubic metres of available wood fibre – they guaranteed that.”

BC Timber Sales is a government agency within the provincial forest’s ministry, which is responsible for managing a portion of the province's Crown timber; specifically, 20 percent of the province's annual allowable cut. Unfortunately, BC Timber Sales did not provide anywhere near that amount last year, it was just 12.2 percent.

Three years ago, BC mills cut 52 million metres of wood, bringing in nearly $2 billion dollars to the provincial treasury. That figure doesn’t include the taxes from 55,700 people directly employed in the industry, nor from the tens of thousands of indirect jobs. Last year, with an allowable cut of just 32 million metres, the provincial treasury only brought in $501 million*.

This year, they’re predicting revenue of $639 million. On what do they plan to generate that from? Parmar guaranteed an allowable cut of 45 million metres -- the premier guaranteed 45 – and yet only just 30 million of allowable is going to be available to cut.

It gets worse. The allowable cut will again be 30 million next year, and 29 million the following year. That doesn’t sound like 45 to me – and it’s along ways off from the 52 million just three years ago.

Are you being truthful with us, or are you just exaggerating what is being cut? The people of BC deserve to know?

On top of the forest ministry not providing mills with fibre certainty, things are being compounded with uncertainty on what the Americans will do next, and just how hard they’ll hit us with new punitive tariffs.  

All that will lead to one thing – more mill closures.

So instead of talking and talking Minister Parmar, might I suggest your government do something to provide stability to the forest industry, and the thousands of people it employs?

Regrettably, I don’t think that’s going to happen because it would mean a change of policy for this NDP government – something they don’t seem prepared to do.

Still, I will ask Minister Parmar: “Instead of flying around from community to community, maybe it’s time to action the things industry has told you they need. If not, you’ve done little more than show up for a photo op.”


Ward Stamer is the MLA for Kamloops – North Thompson, and the Conservative forestry critic.  

*Note ... the forest ministry has an operating budget of $890 million dollars