If the stock chart is any indicator..Better grab a life jacket incase this one goes to the bottom.

http://www.google.com/finance?q=TSE:CFP

if you are optimistic, Mr. Shepard, and even if you are not, do something about the air quality in Prince George or you may find your company's lack of environmental stewardship is going to start to play out even moreso in the stock market !

Apparently the emission standards for industry have always been set by the government. If a company exceeds them it pays a fine, if it happens again the fine is increased substantially, etc.

Canfor is obliged to stay within the limits all the time. And it probably manages to do that, even though the limits have been toughened up continuously since the seventies.

The department of the environment does its own monitoring, independent of the continuous monitoring that Canfor is doing.

Canfor has spent many millions on new pollution reduction equipment to make sure to be within the limits.

Prince George, like Quesnel, is located in such a way that pollutants get trapped.

The government has to evaluate its environmental standards with that in mind and also consider that even with the best available technology and equipment in place practically any industrial activity will have some impact on the surrounding air, water and soil.

Two days ago the trapped air in Quesnel stank more than the air in downtown P.G.

diplomat, that may all be well and fine in a world of impartiality on the part of ministry of environment, but instead we have these big companies like Canfor standing in the pockets of the politicians and high level bureaucrats yapping in their ear about what standards they will and will not tolerate. And if it gets too tough, they threaten to shut down.

The standards for Canfor and Husky Oil - both major emitters according to the National pollutant release inventory - are way too lax. Canfor and Husky Oil, don't kid yourself, very much help set these standards.

Don't worry about the air quality.
The mills are shutting down and the air quality will be fine.

There might not be anybody living here to enjoy it, but that's another story.

Active,

therefore: The Ministry of Environment is biased (no matter Liberals or NDP) - Canfor and others are telling the politicians what to do by bribing and coercing high level bureaucrats to set the standards that the industry wants (not the standards that can be achieved with modern technology)?

Is this yet another conspiracy theory or is there any real evidence of this?

Please provide some links.

The smell and pollution we have in PG is nothing compared to other cities. Southern Ontario and Detroit are far worse off than we are. At least we can get away from it. I'm up in the Hart. No smell up here.

Thank you mythoughts...people act like PG is the only city in the entire world that has air quality problems...or get snow, or have social problems - it totally gets a bum rap if you ask me...it's not as nice downtown as Kamloops, but it certainly has nicer neighborhoods w/ yards and has greenery and trees. I hate it when I hear people say "oh prince george, blah, blah, blah...I say move or shut up.

"The smell and pollution we have in PG is nothing compared to other cities. Southern Ontario and Detroit are far worse off than we are"

Instead of comparing apples to gigantic super mutated oranges, why not try comparing us to cities of a similar size since those are the ones we are actually in competition with to attract businesses and residents?

I'll start. Name one city with a population between 60,000 and 100,000 that has WORSE or even SIMILAR air quality to us? I'll bet you can't find one in Canada . . .

Fort Mac...done. Next question

Maybe move out of the bowl. The air quality in the bowl is the pits because of the valley and air currents. Yes the mills make polution but without them well we all sure wouldnt be living up here in the north. A RESOURCE town.......

Typical the enviros are at it again- if you do not like the air quaility in a resource town- move.

"Typical the enviros are at it again- if you do not like the air quaility in a resource town- move"

Sorry dogs, this is my town as well. Being born and raised here I have just as many squatting rights as anyone else and I say go pound sand, LOL :)

As an aside, it would be interesting to see just how many NEW "resource" jobs have been created in Prince George in the last 5-10 years as opposed to NEW "non resource" jobs. I'd actually be willing to bet that there has been a net DECREASE in "resource" jobs and a net INCREASE in "non resource" jobs. I think you'll see that trend continue.

Clearly the number of jobs related to health care and education have been on the rise, as have jobs in the various professions and service sectors. The population has remained somewhat stable, so I'm inclined to believe that PG is going through a transformation in regards to its' employment demographics, likely driven in part by a shift in its' economic base. It's basically the diversification factor at work.

There is no doubt that resources are still very much an important part of PG, but so are many other industries and MUCH more so than they have been in the past. Honestly, if someone can't see how the City has changed in the last couple of decades they are blind.

"By focusing on what we can control, we will come out of this downturn stronger."

Interesting comment IMO. I noticed annual house starts in the states are now at a pace of 25% what they were a couple of years ago. I think if Canfor is operating at those levels... then a lot of people are not and that could be good....

So Shepard wants to focus on what they can control... usually that would be code for wages and sub contractors... sawmill contracts come up in July... inventory will probably build until then (accounting loses), and during the strike they will make profits selling inventory without the cost of production... so its all optimistic from a corporate standpoint. Hopefully 2010 is different and they ride into it making record profits while their employees picket in the cold for a living wage.

IMO Canfor needs a Chief Integration Officer more than anything. One that ferrets out the leakage due to Canfor policy and lack of global vision between their various mills in ways that they could maximize efficiencies of production. Top of the list would be how the saw mills deal with the pulp mills.. then all the other forms of split off resources like sawdust and hog and trim blocks as well as maintenance and the list could go on.

Canfor will ask for cuts... but still employ stupid policies that cost employees, contractors, and yes even management and shareholders... because Canfor doesn't get the full value for their efforts due to lack of an integrated policy boss shaking his big stick. Maybe thats the job of the CEO... rather than making optimism on the way accounting figures can be manipulated in a bookkeeping world. Is this optimism accompanied by reinvestment, or is it just optimism I wonder... and so should we all?

who are these dumb people who defend bad air and don't they have lungs?

or don't they live in downtown Prince George -- in which case they have absolutely no right to weigh in on the air quality issue and trivialize it.