BC’s Forestry Decline Is a Policy Failure, Not a Market Reality -- Forestry Critic Calls for Accountability and Urgent Policy Reset

Conservative Party of BC Forestry Critic, and Kamloops - North Thompson MLA,  Ward Stamer

As the Truck Loggers Association convention begins today, BC Conservative Forestry Critic Ward Stamer says British Columbia’s forestry crisis is the result of government mismanagement, not market forces, and that an urgent policy reset is needed to restore certainty, sustainability, and accountability.

“For generations, forestry supported families and communities across BC,” said Stamer. 

“Today, mills are closing, contractors are parking equipment, and families are being forced to leave home, not because the resource is gone, but because policy has failed.”

Government data shows timber shipment values dropped by more than half a billion dollars in the past year, with harvest levels falling by roughly 50 per cent in just four years. At the same time, prolonged permitting timelines, unreliable fibre access, outdated forest inventories, and rising costs have made long-term planning impossible for mills and contractors.

Stamer said the NDP’s approach to forest governance, including its implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA), has added uncertainty by offloading government responsibility onto licensees while the province steps back from active decision-making.

Recent court rulings have reinforced concerns about government abdication and poor oversight.

“A policy reset means government taking  responsibility again by working collectively with industry partners and First  Nations, setting clear permitting timelines, using current data, and actively  managing forests so they remain healthy, sustainable, and economically viable,”  said Stamer.

“Forestry is a renewable economic asset. BC doesn’t have a  resource problem, it has a policy problem.”