Just keps coming...

There goes my son's job with a family of 3 kids to feed. Sigh

I do not understand the sawmill in Ft St James reopening.

I am told the cost of production for canfor is over 200 per thousand and lumber is trading well under 200 ---- how can conifex be that much better?

I think the thing with conifex in FSJames has to do with some special deal or funding from Gov't so they have to restart.....just might not run too long. I'm not clear on the deal, but I think I remember something about it. I think only starting on one shift as well.

In a departure from all the other negative comments I make when I see this sort of news, I happen to be a little optimistic today.

Production cuts are necessary, and the people affected, the workers in the mills, will bear the brunt of the cuts, with reduced paycheques due to reduced hours worked. As for the news about Ft. St. James starting up, they are a well capitalized bunch that bought it, and they have to show some production to their investors, or the directors will look a little foolish when they release their quarterly statements. They'll shut down about mid April, with some media release similar to what we've been reading from all the rest of the players in this area.

On to the good news though. I believe the huge stimulus packages, mortgage bailouts, a suspension of mark-to-market rules, and a surprising upturn in Chinese economy means there will be finally a bit of a rally around the world. I believe it will hit us around end of April into May, and will last well into next fall. I will use that time wisely, and make as much money as my work permits me to, and put it all in a savings account, because I think it'll be 2008 all over again after that.

Maybe it's just my cheery view of things today, but that's my opinion, and I'm sticking to it :-)

The whole Prince George economy is going to bear the brunt of the sawmill curtailments, not just the mill workers!

There is a huge multipler effect from the mills.

Many maintenance contractors,loggers and parts suppliers are hit harder than the mill workers. Then there is the cut backs to personal spending on luxury goods like pizza and concert tickets. But then with the ticket master issue, concert tickets are problamatic anyway!

There are no production cut backs scheduled for Plateau, but if you think I am about to spend money you are nuts. The government stimulus packages are being swamped by layoffs and a lack of consumer spending. Besides with a 31% increase in food costs, my luxury pizza spending is already being curtailed.

I do not know how we are going to turn this around, but the concept of a consumer based upturn with my current spending is a non-starter. I am not spending until I feel my future paycheque is secure and I do not see that any time soon - like maybe 2012!

Spring is here, but the economic winter is going deeper. I am still hibernating!

Frank

I'm with you Frank. The hits just keep on coming.

This is just the beginning of what's coming up, hold onto your hats, strap youself in and hang on, this is going to be a long tough ride for a lot of folks.

We could end this recession tomorrow with the Eagle's three point plan:

#1) Eliminate all income taxes for a three year grace period for all income under $100,000 per individual. This is a direct stimulus package to the people directly starting next payday... and would be spurring substantial capital investment as well as consumer spending. Maybe its time for a revolution to make it so... the income slave tax is considered illegal anyways by most people and why should the bankers receive many multiples of this in their bailouts when they don't make an economy... bankers only service an economy, but if you have no economy to service you will never have enough tax payer dollars to bail them out indefinitely... so a three year income tax holiday with a sunset clause if thats what it takes to pass it....

#2) I think Beesknees is spot on with the suspension of mark-to-market rules. The banksters should get no warning and we should let the carnage pile high in its aftermath while the market manipulators eat their cake as markets spike higher recovering lost pensions before all is lost. 'Investors' that short should be shown no mercy IMO... they are economic parasites out to destroy good start up companies and our future economy.

#3) Eliminate the derivative markets in Canada and make all existing contracts null and void as illegal casino based inflation of currency outside of the regulated markets. The banks can't afford their liabilities and the government can't afford to bail them out... so we should call a spade a spade and save ourselves the trillions before we spend the money.

Its all about the bankers and not the people so the best bet is none of this will ever happen....

AIMHO

The good news we can take from the Canfor announcement is that we've seen no permanent mill closures... sharing it around bodes well for the future for all... on the other hand with union contracts due in a few months can Canfor lay off at that time without being obligated to severance... I don't know, but the union should be looking at that angle as well I would think... that would be an obvious strategy for a company looking to lay off workers in larger numbers, and I'm sure Canfor is looking at those kinds of 'cost savings' without contract obligations.

i heard conifex gets 1.7 million in back to work initiatives not bad eh

i really can not see taxes not paid for people earning less than 100k.The federal and provincial government has to have our money to keep it moving. Thus they can not run a deficit and borrow money from the market, if it is proving no income.(see what happened to US banking system).

I agree that people buying comoodities in future markets gets absolutely no protection, infact they should be overtaxed, to reduce its occurance. They are playing in the background impacting our cost of living. Thus if they are going to make great wads of money at the general populations expense, than they should pay double the tax. If they loose there money, too bad.

We as a province or country has to slowly move from a supplier of resources to a supplier of finished products. We need to strive for self sufficiency. We have to have increase our food production, so we do not have to pay so much on food being transported from Mexico. In General this will assist our farmers by giving them products to sell, and consumers paying less for products. We just have to adjust our eating habits. Thus if we can produce the apples, peaches, pears, cherries, plums etc. why not sell it in our own country, and make it affordable. sure it will be seasonal food, but maybe, we need to roll back 40 years, when canning goods was a way of life. We just need the avenue to get the food cheaper to the citizens. Boy, am I ever off the wall on this comment.... sorry guys/gals.

Conifex has hedged/ sold into the futures market which allows them to open.

Drastic circumstances need drastic action.
Productive and beneficial action, perhaps.

Didn't New Zealand go broke and revive their system by a taxation system overhaul?

Didn't they find a way to scrap a whole number of taxes and just have the GST increased?

It seems to me that our system needs improved efficency, which is the same as less taxes and a better bang for the buck.

An example would be a toll booth on the Coquahalla and the cost which that system amounted to. Was that an efficent way to collect taxes? The user pay theory is fine, but if half the tolls collected just went to operate the collection of the tolls either the toll is too high or the net is reduced by inefficency.