big company strikes again.

I think Canfor is pulling its "roots" from the community. It is sad to see how the Corporation is treating the NCP "union" employees. I understand that the "staff" employees retained their jobs.
Is this the Northwood and Pattison influence?

Pat Bell should get involved - but he won't - big businees - need their $$ for the upcoming elections - shame on Canfor - the workers deserve to be treated better.

Even though I realize Canfor is not in the business of subsidizing laid off workers.it still is a kick in the teeth and my condolences to all concerned.
Kick 'em when their down!
What really is pissing me off is the lack of dialogue from our politicians, here and in Victoria.
Throw out a few token dollars and rattle on about retraining and that's about it!
And there IS an election coming so they will be very careful not to irritate the corporate donors!
I am sure there will be plenty of hard feelings that will carry over to the ballot box!

I don't have the full facts so I can't comment like the rest of you but regardless of how bad things may seem for Canfor employees its not worth changing a government over.
NDP destroyed the entire province and has taken 2 terms of Liberal gov't to get things so we can still actually survive up here in Prince George even with the bad softwood issues.
As grown adults we better make sure we are all continuing to educate and train ourselves as 'change' is going to happen in all forms no matter what. It's not fun but its fact.

Sitting back and waiting was probably the worst thing to do in this situation. For those who headed for new territory and got on with their lives, not a big problem. For those who were holding out hope, it is very disappointing for sure. For some, it forces them to make a decision to go in a different direction by taking advantage of some re-training, re-educating dollars offered through the Transition program. At least it's something in the way of assistance. Chester

Cant you just feel the Canfor love for the North. I was a NCP employee and I feel backsatbbed but I also realize we arent the only ex Canfor employees out there. I hope all the affected workers come out of this in a better situation then Canfor has left us in. Thanks Canfor you guys are all heart.

I think it's a terrible thing that Canfor isn't rebuilding NCP. But lets not forget that these people are into making money and if they feel that re-building isn't good business, they simply will not re-build. These are business people, their bottom line is what is important to them. Let's not take it personally because it's not. It's a shame the fire happened, it's a shame Canfor feels it wouldn't be profitable to rebuild, that's life in business. They certainly won't rebuild out of charity. No one in business would. That's my take on it.

Yes yes, Canfor is a busness. We all understand that and weren't really that surprised that they aren't rebuilding. However they promised us six months of benefits and now they strip us of the last two because they don't "have" to offer them. That is nothing but a stab in the back. Losing your job is hard enough but when there is no warning and you go from employed to unemployed in 24 hours it can be a shock to the system. From my perspective Canfor has done nothing but screw us over since day one. They even promised to pay us out for the rest of the work week and some of us didn't even get that. I think they need to change their slogan to "Our roots are in the bank".

Everything in this city with signage on it referring to Canfor should be dismantled..take down the signs I mean.:....at CNC, the Airport, UNBC, etc.

As robichail says, the 1st interest of business is their own bottom line. The shareholders damand it. Business is not in the business of respecting and working for the communities of our province. It is crazy to think otherwise. Recognizing that point helps us all to understand why we as a society need to have rules and regulations to govern how business acts. There certaily is a balance but as Canfor proves, business will not consider the best interests of the community or the workers unless the government makes that a requirement of the operation of the business.

Business is business....Part of being in business is being responsible to your employees & community. Canfor has shown very little of that in the past few years,
yet cries the blues when they don't get the tax concessions or other "perks" that are believed owed to them for the privelege
of using our resources for their profit.
They rationalize cutting apprenticeships &
training as fear of employees jumping ship.
Here's a thought, be honest & upfront with your employees & mostly they will be loyal & hardworking. Really make an effort to give back to your community, not some token PR gesture, & you will earn respect.
Canfor owes the hardworking employees who helped make NCP, Canfor owes communities in the North for allowing it to
make mega profits from public resources, & I agree with other posts who say "it's high time the gov't stepped in."
Maybe we should all start boycotting JimmyWorld?

John (TILMA lover) Rustad final spoke up today... not to add words of advice for forest dependent communities... but rather to spread gibberish lies about other countries that use a transferable ballot in his attempt to label the BCSTV a grave mistake for BC should BC voters approve of that in the 09 election referendum.

I figure if you're an elected representative (of everyone) you shouldn't have a public say in how the public decides to elect its representation. I figure an elected politician who is a supporter of the current system... is an elitist politician driven by the special interest financed campaigns that limit voter choice to pre-selected lesser of two evil options, and this in turn is a primary source of how people like John (TILMA lover)Rustad get elected.

So basically John (TILMA lover) Rustad was out today using sophistry on the public to secure his own future employment, when he should have been dealing with the issues that affect the employment of the people whom he is suppose to be representing.

IMO the referendum on BCSTV is all we have to vote for in the next election. The lesser of two evils candidates will all be same old same old (John (TLIMA lover)Rustad types). Our only hope is to vote for the new BCSTV voting system... so that in 5-years from now we can have a ballot of choice where party financed and manipulated politics become irrelevant in the face of competition on the ballot that awards consensus candidates of the majority and not well capitalized narrow partisan candidates of special interest servitude.

Also why does the Pattison media continue to characterize the last BCSTV referendum as the citizens of BC rejecting it. That is completely false and misleading and shows the Pattison groups bias IMO on the subject, because Jimmy IMO would like to continue to control BC politics. The fact of the matter is A MAJORITY OF BC CITIZENS 59% (more than what elected the government) voted in support of BCSTV, but BCSTV was not approved because Gordon Campbell alone decided a 50% majority was only required for him to have dictatorial powers, but not enough to approve the vote ballot change, which he deemed would require 60% approval.

Its a shame that the 1% is why we won't vote with the new system next spring when we could start the weeding out process getting rid of loser ndp and liberal candidates and ensuring voter fearing candidates of the greater good are the ones that get elected.

I know I failed to mention the fact that Canfor has treated the NCP employees poorly - I apologize. I only stated my opinion on why I think they didn't re-build. That being said, they should compensate their employees at that mill generously, I agree 100% - they have treated the people who worked hard for them for many years disgustingly. I don't think it would have affected their precious bottom line to compensate employees w/ extended benefits and a severence...I admit...I know nothing about that stuff, but to me, it would seem the humane route to take, even if they are not legally bound to do so.

BCSTV will NOT prove to be the great panacea for 'democratic' reform it's made out to be. As for the size of the majority required to enact it, like any other 'constitutional' change it should be a 'clear' majority, NOT just 50% + 1. It IS different from electing a government, which can be dismissed at any time for want of confidence in it.

What was stated to be the level necessary for BCSTV's passage was clear to both its supporters and its detractors before the referendum took place, and had it achieved that level it would be in place, for better or worse.

It didn't achieve that level, and that should've been the end of it.

I'm quite sure that if it had passed into law with any smaller majority those of us opposed to it wouldn't get the chance to have another vote on it until after it had proved to be the miserable failure it's sure to be, and maybe not even then.

I'm not opposed to 'referendums' on these kinds of issues, I think they're a very desirable thing to decide an important issue ONCE AND FOR ALL. Or at least for a considerable period of time.

But lets not go the referendum routes Quebec has gone on separation, and Australia on whether they want to remain a constitutional monarchy, and have them over and over again at the behest of a bunch of bitchers who cannot get a CLEAR majority for their perverted points of view the first time.

Wow! The whiners have really come out of the woodwork on this issue! Heres the way I see it:

1. You did work for NCP for 2 weeks then you got paid. - all even. Then you work for two more and then you got paid - all even again, etc, etc. Canfor owes you nothing, and you owe Canfor nothing either..

2. You happened to be in a union - good for you! So you negotiated that in the case of a mill shutdown (bad economy, fire, etc) you would get a BONUS of two weeks pay for every year of service! NICE!

3. NCP burns down - oh what do you know CANFOR upholds their end of the agreement and pays you the BONUS!

oh yes and i forgot:

4. Whine and complain about a company that is fulfilling every requirement placed on them! Hows that for a slap in the face.

I would sure hate to be a business owner in this town, if these are the kind of employees a person can look forward to hiring.

Rayban68, working hard & being loyal to a company is worth far more than a paycheck.
I'd sure hate to work for or with you if you think that is asking too much. There is a reason Canfor is not on the list of desireable companies to work for.
Most employers have some form of severance package, this is not a "bonus",
or a union only perk. Maybe you are just starting out as a worker or work for a really bad employer (or are one yourself?)
Not whining just the realities of todays work environment, if you want to keep hard working loyal employees treat them right.

There are a number of posts in this thread commenting about how canfor is treating their NCP employees 'terribly'. I guess its hard to see how a statement like that is justified when it appears that they are fulfilling every requirement for this situation. In an economy like this they certainly don't 'owe' the workers a new plant!

What would you say working hard&being loyal to a company is worth, over and above the agreed upon paycheck? How does 10 days pay for every year of service sound? Sounded pretty good on contract signing day, should sound pretty good today...

Socreed you're only right about one thing.. that BCSTV will not be the panacea that solves everything. All it will do is weed out the elitist politicians that get into power through a system financed and controlled by special interest groups. True representation will have the task of fixing the rest.

BCSTV will give voters the choice required to select candidates that have virtue, rather then the pre-selected candidate that belongs to 'the' party. The ones without virtue run scared of accountability is what we are seeing with comments like yours and John (TILMA lover) Rustad the other day.

In Ireland, the only other place with a similar ballot, the Irish have gone from Europe's poorest nation to its richest and most affluent nation in less then a century of using a transferable ballot.. and today they are arguably the most free and sovereign nation in Europe through no small coincidence. Things John (TILMA lover) Rustad knows nothing of... broadcasting on the radio the other day the only other country using it is along the lines of a complete basket case failure.. far from a good description of Ireland.

I challenge the likes of John (TILMA) Rustad and Socreed to argue the points and use facts and speak the truth, rather then smearing with hypothetical generalities designed to create fear out of ignorance. Old school politics is on the way out and its time to get on with the changes IMO.

Socreed... the BC Citizens Assembly was funded at great cost by the BC taxpayer to select through the jury system an impartial jury of BC citizens with 2 from every riding in the province... this jury deliberated for something like 3-years before selecting the BCSTV as the best option available to BC voters. This is the first instance in recent recorded history where the citizens and not the politicians, elites, and lawyers decided on the ballot process. This is a victory for citizens to that point, but at the last provincial election the Campbell government starved the yes side of any funding and the three main political parties were actively against the BCSTV... so as to protect their monopoly on power. The reason for the re-vote is because 59% of BC voters voted yes despite all the odds making it the highest vote in BC history for anything... and yet it still didn't go to a vote in the legislature because none of the parties had the courage to put the province ahead of their political power control. The re-vote is supposed to see both the yes AND the no sides funded equally, so as to have a fair vote this time around (hence elected party politicians like John (TILMA lover) Rustad have no place in the debate with their funding and media time).

Now for your name... I really do not like it. You are not a Socred of free enterprise when your whole genesis is to have debt increase to liquidate the economy. I feel you are a false flag blogger through the insinuation of your tag name and that in itself diminishes any credibility that you otherwise would have. I wish you had a way to change it so I didn't have to twist it so as not to be an accomplice to your agenda. Maybe you could change it to liberiletist and I'd have no problem what so ever lol. ;)

To deal with your last first, Eagle, there is absolutely NO PROBLEM with debt increasing, which it is going to do as long as any economy grows and progresses, SO LONG AS THAT DEBT CAN ALWAYS BE FULLY LIQUIDATED. At present, it CAN NOT. That is what MUST change, and 'genuine', not 'political party', Social Credit is the ONLY prescription that has a chance of changing it while preserving individual freedom of choice, both economically and politically. So I'll keep my 'name' , whether it ruffles your feathers or not.

If you think the way that STV was arrived at as the choice to be put to the voters was 'democratic' you obviously haven't seen the Knowledge Network's documentary on the process involved. The people on the Citizen's Assembly were very purposefully 'steered' into making that choice.

That is quite evident on film. Most of them, like the MLAs we elect, wouldn't even know how to find the washroom in the Legislature, let alone have any kind of intelligent input on most of the questions of the day they're being asked to decide, unless they were 'shown' the way. And the CA people were very definitely 'shown' the way to STV.

Re payout from NCP.
You have to divide the payout by your weekly
earnings, only after that is used up ,you get EI, so think who benefits ,EI again will rob you , what a wonderfull system, screw the Worker the North American Motto.
I do know first hand all about "Payout or Buyouts or whatever label EI wants to use.
I hope you you fare better with the Mandarins at IE then I did!