Diverse coalition calls for end to raw log exports 

PORT ALBERNI – Representatives from major forest industry unions and leading environmental organizations, along with local elected officials and First Nations, will march and rally for sustainable forestry in Port Alberni today.

The Public and Private Workers of Canada (PPWC), Unifor, Wilderness Committee and Ancient Forest Alliance are calling on the BC government to end raw-log exports and to prioritize the transition to sustainable second-growth forestry.

Scott Fraser, MLA for Alberni-Pacific Rim, as well as local First Nations representatives will also speak at the rally.

“Raw log exports and other unsustainable practices have resulted in thousands of lost jobs in the coastal forest industry, and it’s got to stop,” said Arnold Bercov, President of the PPWC. “If we don’t turn this around these policies will be a death knell for the workers we represent.”

Annually, the BC government permits over six million cubic metres of raw logs to be exported without processing – enough logs to fill over 200,000 logging trucks or when milled to build more than 100,000 homes.

“The BC Liberals have been exporting forestry jobs overseas for 16 years,” said Joie Warnock, Unifor Western Director. “Christy Clark needs to change her ways or BC needs a change of government.”

The BC coast has lost more than half its mills since the 90’s and has the worst jobs-per-unit-of-timber-harvested ratio in Canada.

“A healthy forest industry depends on a healthy forest, but sustainable management doesn’t seem to be a goal for the BC government and logging companies on the coast,” said Torrance Coste, Vancouver Island Campaigner with the Wilderness Committee. “We need our government to prioritize ecosystems and forest workers, not just a handful of corporations.”

Decades of unsustainable forestry practices have had a severe impact on forest ecosystems up and down the coast. Many First Nations’ territories now have a shortage of old-growth cedar trees that are central to Indigenous cultures, and forest-dependent species such as the marbled murrelet and northern goshawk are endangered.

The labour and environmental groups plan to work together to advocate for improved policies that protect local jobs and endangered forest ecosystems.

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For more information, contact:

Torrance Coste – Vancouver Island Campaigner, Wilderness Committee
250-516-9900, torrance@wildernesscommittee.org

Arnold Bercov – President, PPWC
1-604-862-3800