Raw logs should never be exported from this province. If a company shuts a mill they should lose all cutting rights.

Its a complicated issue.

Bottom line if our union based inefficiency doesnt allow us to complete on manufacturing then free trade REQUIRES that we sell the logs.

Low stumpage for operating mills is a subsidy from the taxpayers of the Province to corporations and unions that operate mills. Not only does this result in taxpayer subsidy it also is a legitimate trade issue. It is a problem for an export dependent nation such as ours.

The real issue is how to increase productivity in Canada when we have, time and time again, fallen further and further behind the rest of the planet. Until we solve this problem we had better get used to a progressively lower standard of living.

“Bottom line if our union based inefficiency doesnt allow us to complete on manufacturing then free trade REQUIRES that we sell the logs.”

What about our government’s lack of due diligence when they make laws about cutting rights?

The province still owns the timber, does it not?

A bankrupt operation now has the cutting rights … is that right?

A company bought the operation and was not able to operate it … is that right?

Raw logs are allowed to be exported …. right?

So who is screwing up? The workers? The people who have the least authority? Does not sound like it to me.

It seems to me, both the owners of the oeration and the government who represent the people who own the timber ought to know better.

The failure is PBEC’s. They obviously went beyond their business capability. Something about the Peter Principle. Every company will aquire a business in its life which takes it to its level of incompetence.
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From the original story on this site.

PBEC Vice President Brad Bennett states “PBEC is pleased a deal could be concluded to acquire the KLC assets. PBEC sees this is as the first step toward the planning and construction of a new wood pellet and biomass energy facility in Northwest BC, a region that has seen a significant decline in forest industry activity over the past decade. We are very pleased to think that the KLC asset acquisition and subsequent planning for the construction of a new wood pellet plant will help stimulate economic activity in the region, as well as the development of a new biomass energy sector with PBEC playing a major role for the long term.

PBEC is also pleased with the support it has received from both the Gitxsan and Gitanyow in purchasing KLC and in moving forward with plans to build a new pellet plant in the region. PBEC sees the project providing opportunities for the company, First Nations and communities, a triple-win for the Northwest.”

This has nothing to do with the company making money – they aren’t. This is about the bankruptcy trustee selling off the company’s assets in order to pay the creditors.

There are apparently some people still being employed in the area; someone has to be cutting the trees and hauling the trees.

I suspect that what is really happening here is that there are one or two cut blocks that they started to harvest and are now simply finishing. (That and they are getting rid of any inventory that’s lying around). I don’t believe for a moment that the company is now in the business of harvesting and shipping raw logs.

This man as usual has the straight goods.

http://powellriverpersuader.blogspot.com/2011/12/time-for-another-photo-op-christy-clark.html

Not need for subtleties.

Born in BC wrote:- “The real issue is how to increase productivity in Canada when we have, time and time again, fallen further and further behind the rest of the planet. Until we solve this problem we had better get used to a progressively lower standard of living. “
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No, the real issue is how to convince people who think this is the real issue that it isn’t the real issue at all.

The thinking that “unit cost is a function of volume” is quite true. But what is too often overlooked is that it is the TOTAL ‘cost’ of ALL the ‘units’ that always has to be FULLY liquidated if there is to be any meaningful advantage.

Each time we produce “more” to enable us to sell for “less” we have MORE that we HAVE TO SELL to recover ALL our costs. And as we move to broaden the market globally, other costs (like transportation)eat up the profit. It is really a ‘race to the bottom’.

The best thing for us to do would be to break the problem down to its simplest form, and start to look at it from there. If we did that, we’d begin to see where there is a fundamental fallacy in the idea that ‘super production’ is always going to lead us to prosperity.

For much that we currently class as ‘wealth’ in the system as it’s presently operated, would be far more properly be classed as ‘waste’ instead.

Another case of the Liberals corporate lovefest.

Im usually in agreement with Ben but there is alot of miss information when it comes to this story.

-An 88,000 cubic meter licence is very very small which would not support any sawmill of significant size. Maybe a tie cutting operation or specialty mill but not a mill that has the capability of large production and employment.

-PBEC uses logs and tenures for pellet production which arent sutiable for lumber production. (Grade 4 or Lumber Reject which has the 25 cent cube stumpage.)

-Under the forest legisltation in order to export raw logs you have to prove that they wont produce merchantable lumber and you have to prove that there is a local buyer first. The cheif forester and premier have the signing authority which allows this to happen. You cant just decide to export logs one day and ship them a day later.

-It makes more economic sense for PBEC, Kitwanga, and BC for PBEC to get an explort licence to sell their 88,000 of non lumber merch timber. It will provide some employment, tax revenues and possibly keep a long term company game in the picture until the market for their product gets better. so in that sense export away.

Born in BC wrote:- “The real issue is how to increase productivity in Canada when we have, time and time again, fallen further and further behind the rest of the planet. Until we solve this problem we had better get used to a progressively lower standard of living. “

Can you back that up or is just more of your usual rants. Oh maybe you missed this but I believe it is our efficiency in lumbers products which gets under the skin of the US producers.

One little indicator that the company was going to be in trouble is when they claimed their stumpage rates were being improperly calculated. The government simply responded by saying they had calculated it properly and that there was nothing it could do.

Well…there is always things government can do and the least of which is throwing its entire stumpage calculating system in the garbage and starting over.

Yes I know the US would scream but they have been giving all sorts of concessions to what they are now charging in their stumpage systems as well.The US state of Colorado just recently tore up the obligations that their mills had to pay stumpage at the previous locked in rates and now pay a tiny fraction in stumpage. They justified that because if they didn’t respond they too would not have any mills left just like the northwest of BC. They also justified it because they were going to lose the potential to extract any value from their declining quality forests just like northwest BC and the interior MPB wood. The two issues they dealt with are forest managment and sustaining the jobs which come from manufacturing their forest resources. Why is it that BC doesn’t reach for this balance when it is needed for an area of the province or the community and the workers who depend on this system working properly? Why is it that if the province doesn’t correct what it charges for stumpage that the only option considered is to allow the export of the logs?

Just suppose a scenario that the province decided to tax entry to burger joints at say 5 bucks per person and would you then blame the burger joint as being inefficient or a poor operator when it closed? Would you blame the owner if they decided the only way to survive was to lay off their servers and only sell takeout?
That is pretty much what happens when our stupid stumpage system goes to work calculating low quality timber in low market cycles. Pat Bell should understand this analogy that bigger burger chains would somehow???? survive longer.

I believe this province has completely lost its direction when it comes to managing our forests and what the role of the forest industry should play towards benefitting the citizens of this province. All I can say is that it is no accident that the system doesn’t achieve the two basic goals of looking after our forests or all of our industry in the same way.
That is why some communities still have a burger joint and others do not..more often than not.

“Under the forest legisltation in order to export raw logs you have to prove that they wont produce merchantable lumber and you have to prove that there is a local buyer first” – ummm…go a little further north to Bob Quinn and tell me that all that prime timber that is being shipped to China as raw logs isn’t timber suitable for lumber here in BC. It is top of the line timber and they are shipping it to China on a 25 cent stumpage rate because there is no mill in the area to process it. ONLY because all the close mills were shut down. The native up there play a huge roll since they have a say in what happens to timber on thier lands. They form a company, get timber rights, sell the rights to a corp who in turn harvests and sells raw logs and ships them off shore. If that isn’t selling out BC and sending jobs out of the country I don’t know what is.

“Under the forest legisltation in order to export raw logs you have to prove that they wont produce merchantable lumber and you have to prove that there is a local buyer first” – ummm…go a little further north to Bob Quinn and tell me that all that prime timber that is being shipped to China as raw logs isn’t timber suitable for lumber here in BC. It is top of the line timber and they are shipping it to China on a 25 cent stumpage rate because there is no mill in the area to process it. ONLY because all the close mills were shut down. The native up there play a huge roll since they have a say in what happens to timber on thier lands. They form a company, get timber rights, sell the rights to a corp who in turn harvests and sells raw logs and ships them off shore. If that isn’t selling out BC and sending jobs out of the country I don’t know what is.

But..

You are right about the first nations wood. And i dont agree with it if they are shipping prime grade timber.

And first nations wood does get special stumpage rates that are lower than market price.

But has it correct. In fact there was a recent story about this on Global BC. I believe Patburger Bell and company were in the story all smiles and shaking hands with the chinese mill workers and owners. There were some sweet looking Canadian logs being milled there.

The libs and BC lumber companies are screwing us over.

Here ya go. Just look at this rotten old timber!

http://www.globaltvbc.com/video/successful+venture/video.html?v=2165469419&p=155&s=dd#video

Looks like I was mistaken about Bell being there.

If that isn’t selling out BC and sending jobs out of the country I don’t know what is.

WOW Christy and her job creation hard at work, what a hypocrite!