Thoughts on BC Politics and More

Today, BC NDP forest Minister Ravi Parmar made this pronouncement; ‘Removing red tape has sped up permitting, allowing for more wood to be salvaged, quicker’. 4.5 million hectares of forest lands have burned since 2023, and the best they can do is point to a 90-hectare block?    ~~ BC Conservative Forests Critic Ward Stamer While acknowledging the NDP government has recognized improvements were needed in permitting and accessing burnt fibre in a timely fashion, the reality is, they are barely making a dent in the problem.  This government's recognition that only seven percent of pulp mill fibre came from burnt timber in 2024-25, quite simply put, is a failure. And the recent announcement, just three weeks ago, that the Crofton Pulp Mill would be permanently closing, is proof of that.     Instead of Premier David Eby’s government addressing core issues being faced by British Columbia’s forest industry, they are doing little more than manipulating the facts, ...

The following is taken from the Hansard Blues, Legislative Assembly Draft Report of Debates, the Honourable Raj Chouhan, Speaker Wednesday afternoon, December 3 rd , 2025   Ward Stamer: I’d first like to start by acknowledging the devastating news of the Crofton pulp mill’s announcement to shut down, and how hard it must be on the workers and residents in Crofton and the surrounding areas. I was in Barriere in 2003 when our large sawmill was destroyed. That was a wildfire. This is a five-alarm dumpster fire. The Crofton Mill has operated for almost 70 years through thick and thin, good times and bad. And now it’s closing on this Forest Minister’s watch. And no, this wasn’t Trump’s tariffs or his fault. The Crofton Mill has minimal market sales in the United States. The Forest Minister, in his own words, has said: “Gut-wrenching. Lives disrupted. No fault of their own. Painful. Unfair moment. Deserve better.” They sure do. They sure do. We also hear: “We’re working on it. It’...

The British Columbia government is looking for ways to help a pulp mill closing on Vancouver Island, Premier David Eby said Wednesday, but logging the province's old-growth forests for pulp is not an option. Eby was scheduled to meet Wednesday with the head of the union representing the 350 Domtar workers who are set to lose their jobs, as well as the mayor of Crofton, where the mill is located. A team from the Ministry of Jobs will be going to the community of about 1,500 people to identify opportunities around retraining and employment, the premier said, adding the government was mulling ways to keep some jobs at the site. "If there's something else we can do, absolutely," he told an unrelated news conference earlier Wednesday. "But the idea that we would pulp old growth in order to buy a little bit of time is not a solution we're looking for" ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Paper Excellence says paper operations at its Crofton mill will remain shuttered until at least the end of February, which is bad news for about 70 unionized workers who had hoped to be back on the job December 1. The latest extension means the curtailment will now stretch to at least eight months ... CLICK HERE for the full story  

The union representing workers says the mill has only been operating for about two and half months since January, and the spotty schedule has left many struggling to pay their bills   A union representing workers at the Catalyst Crofton pulp and paper mill says they’re being “left in the lurch” after a startup was delayed by another month.   The 60 workers represented by Unifor Local 1132 and the nearly 400 from Public and Private Workers of Canada Local 2 received notice a planned startup this week wasn’t going to happen due to continuing poor market conditions for the mill’s paper products.   It’s the third time Paper Excellence has announced 30-day curtailments in as many months ... CLICK HERE for the full story