Good report Ben. Thanks.

Well said Ben.
What is happening in Mackenzie is a wake up call for many smaller communities in B.C.and the B.C.forest sector in general.
This is only the start.
The rumours are starting in many of our smaller communities and for good reason.
It's been coming for a long time now, and the time to pay attention is long overdue.
Unfortunately,denial is rampant, even among those who work in the forest sector.
The B.C.Government is well aware of the end result, yet they choose to say little.
I would suspect this is in their own political self-interests, of course.
The push toward the 2010 Olympics is the only focus they care about.After that,we are on our own.
For those of us who choose to ignore the handwriting on the wall,spend some time on the internet.
Simply type in "Pine Beetle devastation.
It's all there and it isn't pretty.In fact,it is terrifying.
I have long believed that this is an occurance unlike any we have ever had to deal with in this province, but the sad part is the lack of understanding by so many.
We cannot afford that anymore and neither can our government.
Based on the long term impact we will be forced to deal with throughout B.C.,venues like 2010 become almost obscene.
A classic example of what happens when the bread and butter of our economy gets forgotten and ignored.

The entire Island and the entire southern interior part of the province is in 250. We need a new area code if we are going to tie those parts of the province in with each other based on the local economic drivers.

Not only are they considerably different in each area but the northern part of the central interior, which is the primary area affected by the MPB is a mere fraction of the population of the 250 population base.

The pacific northwest is in a different bio-geoclimatic and economic zone. Kitimat has its own problems, so does Prince Rupert. They have little relation to the MPB. The Peace is certainly in a different economic regions as we have known for some time. The Okanagan is booming and will continue to do so independent of any problems associated with the MPB. The retirement community there will continue to grow. It is quite possible that some knowledge industries will start to follow, especially with Kelowna becoming the second seat of UBC. The college region of Okanagan college has a catchment of close to 400,000. CNC is half of that. The three island colleges have a catchment of 750,000. Virtually none of those are affected by the MPB. Add to that Northwest and Northern Lights at about 70,000 each, and one gets close to a million population base where forestry might still be one of the economic drivers, but the MPB affects a lesserf component of that economic driver and the regions are more diversified than the Northern Central Interior.

Yes, people here will have to get their heads out of the sand and explore ways of diversifying the economy. One of the first facts they have to face is that forestry will no longer be their major brad and butter. One of the others is that it has been becoming less and less important as the provincial economic driver.

Bruce Strachan, in his recent column got it right. The time has been here for several years now that one would have expected some key people and organizations that are in the driver’s seat could have begun to make a considerable difference. The fact that we have not been able to help ourselves is the big story here. Most are far too complacent.

Where is the leadership? I do not see it!

Good report, but what about solutions? How about another oil refinery? Definitely a value added proposition.

Despite global warming, clearly more refinery capacity is needed. A refinery brings high paying jobs and a good economic driver to a community. Being strategically between the Northern BC petroleum production areas and Alberta makes Prince George a nice spot for such an operation.

Manufacturing jet fuel would be a nice component to making the community an intermediate staging area for air cargo carriers. That is my two bits.

"Despite global warming, clearly more refinery capacity is needed."

That pretty much sums up why our future is bleak - Despite the cliff we clearly need to run over the edge.....

Some good points "owl", but the fact that some areas of the province are in fact more diversified than the Northern Central Interior, is exactly the problem.
We are just not set up to deal with this.
How do we re-tool to an economy not totally driven by the forest sector?
How do we somehow find ways to lessen the impact of unemployment and the demise of smaller,one horse communities that have been the backbone of the province for so long?
You are correct that leadership was the key,but unforunately that was not forth coming to any degree.
Now we have a very real can of worms on our hands.
And still the demi-gods in Victoria and Ottawa say and do little.
A great time for a 29% raise is it not?
It's actually starting to smell a lot like "take the money and run" before the sticky stuff hits the fan!

Right on the money, Ben, except for the word forum - I believe you meant form. Tolko has taken "at least" 2 weeks of downtime in Quesnel. Many of us here believe it will be longer, or a restart will be short lived. We're producting too much lumber for market conditions. What really surprises me is that the other giant - West Fraser - hasn't said a word yet.

So much history and so little learned...

Communities come and go, this is the ebb and flow of human history. Go to the middle east and you'll see ruins after ruins of communities that came and went. BC cannot, and should not, defy thousands of years of human history. If many small communities dry up and blow away, so what?

The solutions offered are feeble attempts to defy the above truth, not to mention many of which will only continue to create more problems, such as clear cutting for energy generation and expanded oil developement. It seems within the European mentality it is impossible to get beyond the concept that destruction is the only way to advance the human condition.

The real question: Can humans figure out in time that we must live within our means or will we destroy most of the life on this planet first? Right now I'd vote that human selfishness and greed will win out over logic and reason. The track record speaks for itself.

"Communities come and go"...?
And you figure that's ok Kevin1006?
Well it's not ok, and even though it happens sometimes,it is devasting for those who live and work in those same communities.
And it is also devastaing to our economy in general.
To compare us to a middle eastern community where people are born into poverty and die in poverty is completely ridiculous.
You live here don't you?
You obviously must work for a living or did at some point, so how would you feel if everything that you had worked for was taken away from you?
Would that have been ok?
Would you have said it was ok for communites to "dry up and blow away"?
I doubt it.
You are a consumer of the same benefits of our economy as everyone else.
I would suggest you go to MacKenzie and stand on a street corner spouting this drivel to those who are losing their livelihood and see how long you last!

"Communities come and go"...?
And you figure that's ok Kevin1006?
Well it's not ok, and even though it happens sometimes,it is devastating for those who live and work in those same communities.
And it is also devastating to our economy in general.
To compare us to a middle eastern community where people are born into poverty and die in poverty is completely ridiculous.
You live here don't you?
You obviously must work for a living or did at some point, so how would you feel if everything that you had worked for was taken away from you?
Would that have been ok?
Would you have said it was ok for communites to "dry up and blow away"?
I doubt it.
You are a consumer of the same benefits of our economy as everyone else.
I would suggest you go to MacKenzie and stand on a street corner spouting this drivel to those who are losing their livelihood and see how long you last!

Good report, but what about solutions? How about another oil refinery? Definitely a value added proposition.

Despite global warming, clearly more refinery capacity is needed. A refinery brings high paying jobs and a good economic driver to a community. Being strategically between the Northern BC petroleum production areas and Alberta makes Prince George a nice spot for such an operation.

Manufacturing jet fuel would be a nice component to making the community an intermediate staging area for air cargo carriers. That is my two bits.

Great article Ben. There is no question we in Prince George (as a result of being so dependent on the forest industry for jobs, and our "good times") are in for an extremely challenging time in the near future.

One thing you forgot to mention in your article is the U.S. is alleging Canada is not living up to the terms of the recently signed softwood agreement. The following 2 paragraphs are from a National Post news article. This potentially could mean more bad news for our local sawmills in the near future.

"The U.S. lumber industry and its government are upset that Ottawa has failed to impose special "surge" export duties on British Columbia producers for exceeding their quota. It is a complicated complaint. Essentially, the United States says Ottawa should be imposing an additional US$20-million a month in duties because B.C. is shipping too much lumber into the U.S. market when prices are low.

This softwood agreement, unlike previous ones, requires that disputes be heard before a commercial arbiter, London Court of International Arbitration (known simply as the London Court of Arbitration)."

For anyone wishing to read the entire article, here is the link
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html?id=7680c6f3-cbe2-4aad-bb61-fc918390ea2f&k=5627

From what I see it is not only our local sawmill jobs that are in jeopardy. After reading a post on this site about 6 months ago which as I recall said our local pulp mills are getting very old and that no money is being spent to upgrade them, I decided to get more information on this matter. Many people have told me that while our local pulp mills are doing very well right now because of high pulp prices, they are not spending any money at all to upgrade these mills to ensure they will run in the future, and they have not done so for a long long time.

I would strongly suggest to the people of Prince George to recognize the fact (as I see it) that there is a major crunch coming to the economy in this city, and that people should make changes to their "party like its 1999" attitude. I would also like to make the same suggestion to our Mayor and City Council.

I think the recent announcement regarding the sawmill in Mackenzie should be a wakeup call to all of us. Many one industry towns and cities in eastern Canada have and are presently going through an "major adjustment process" as a result of a loss of forest industry jobs.

Charles...exellent post!
Thanks for your concern.We need more who care!

"I would also like to make the same suggestion to our Mayor and City Council."

Well said. Put all the scheming and agitating for more grandiose mega projects on hold and deal with the more mundane (but important) issues like potholes and proper sidewalks first.

Things like a performing arts center, outdoor speed skating oval etc. etc. are not essential but simply luxuries which should not be borrowed for at the present time.

Our taxes are already high enough and the debt load of the city already requires that $8 million annually of our taxes are being sent to the money lenders.

Mayor, council and administration should take a deep breath and start thinking about the possibility of a serious downturn in the making.

"they (pulpmills) are not spending any money at all to upgrade these mills to ensure they will run in the future, and they have not done so for a long long time."

I may have made that post which was based on both local information from technical people at the mills as well as general information available about the changes in pulping technology including the increasingly broad feedstock available in the manufacture of paper products.
--------------------------
"Mayor, council and administration should take a deep breath and start thinking about the possibility of a serious downturn in the making."

They need to put on a positive face ..... I think that is the way they believe.

The problem is, while there is that need, they also need to realize that there are other views and indicators that things are not quite as rosy as they woul like to think. As citizens, who do not know waht is going on behind the scenes, we are in the dark. What do we think is happening? Are they putting on a pistive face, while realizing there are problems and they are working on them? That would be nice to know. If not, and they really think everything is in great shape and thus are not doing anything to mitigate a probable downturn then we want to know that as well so that we can take appropriate action.

I know I have a very uncomfortable feeling about the leadership in this community at this time.

"Things like (enter your least favourite project here) etc. etc. are not essential but simply luxuries ."

A well maintained infrastructure as well as facilities which create better lifestyles for those who wish to stay in this community and wish to come to this community, including new industries that may have little direct connection to forestry, is becoming more and more essential to maintaining a sustainable community. We are in an employee’s market. Workers wanted signs all over the place in the West, whether North or South. People have choices as they have not had for some decades. Given the demographics of Canada, that will likely remain for at least a decade, if not longer.

Communities are in competition with each other to draw industries and people. Industries will locate where the resources are. The key resources are feedstock, transportation and personnel. When dealing with personnel one needs to address lifestyle and the cost of living. We still have a relatively low cost of housing. We have great access to outdoor recreation. We are getting better box store shopping. We have a mediocre inventory of “people spaces” such as downtown, where people can interact while relaxing. We have a civic plaza which is barely used. We have a good and even excellent mix of sports recreation facilities. We have an incomplete set of cultural facilities. We have poor gathering facilities along the rivers. We have very few community events – we lost Snowgolf, Oktoberfest, Mardi Gras, Santa Claus Parade, Sandblast, River Raft Races, and will likely lose Summerfest after it was cut back from 2 days to 1 day last year.

I suggest these things are not luxuries in our lifestyle driven economy, no more than properly designed intersections which reduce traffic accidents are a luxury.

Again, one has to become a bit more aware of what economic drivers are. If wood is no longer THE driver, what can and will be the other drivers in this community?

If your answer is NOTHING, you are wrong. As many as 90% of communities in Canada are not driven by wood, or agriculture or fishing. There is life after wood! There is a life other than wood!

We’ve been given money to determine what that is. I am not seeing any results! It is as if everyone is brain dead! A drain dead community will NOT survive, of that I am certain.

I think you got the brain dead part right Owl. I feel there are a number of people in Government and some in Industry that are **Brain Dead**. Some others have no concern what so ever except to make a dollar. People have to take some responsibility for what is happening rather that sitting back and blaming the Government. This seems to be a national pass time.

There is sufficient money in this community to get some projects going that would create some employment over the long term, however it seems that we are hell bent on spending all our tax dollars on useless buildings that are being utilized by a small minority of the population at a huge cost to the taxpayers. The Multiplex, and the Sportsplex on the Hill are two
examples of high cost **mostly useless** uses of a building, and yet people in this town preen and puff and beleive they have a great thing going.

There is more productive time and energy being spent at the Farmers Market and the cost is nothing.

We are soon going to be in the position to build a 25 Million police station to replace one that is not more than 35 years old. In addition we will probably build a very expensive Performing Arts Centre. You might be able to make a case for the Arts Centre, but common sense tells us that we should be renovating the Police Station. In addition we are talking about at Co-Generation project on the East End of 3/4 Avenue that will entail the burning of woodwaste to generate hot water to heat buildings in the downtown area, that are already heated by electricity, or natural gas. Are we going to tear up all the streets and buildings to make this project work. Has their been or will there be a long term in depth feasibility study done to see what the actual cost of this inane project would be over a 20 year period. I doubt it.

The list goes on, and the sad part is, very few people do anything about it. We just seem to sit back and blame the Government. What we have done in effect over the years is give the people in Government the green light to spend our tax dollars on any foolish project they wish, and then we bitch about it.

The latest issue that is unfolding at this time is the Cameron St. Bridge. This bridge can be repaired and up and running in a short period of time for less that $1Million Dollars, and should have been repaired over a year ago. Had this been done we would now be using the bridge and have taken the heat off the Bypass and 5th and Carney.

What have we acutally done. Tried and failed to get $22 Million for a new and unnecessary new bridge. This took over 20 Months. We are now in the process of trying to get $1 Million from the Province and $1 Million from the Federal Government along with $1.5 Million from our Reserve Fund and then borrow $6 Million to construct a twin steel superstructure bridge on the existing concrete piers. The cost of the super structure bridge will supposedly be $9.5 Million, however the City downplays the fact that we will pay an additional $ 4 Million in interest on the $6 Million loan. So in effect over 20 years the cost will in fact be $13.5 Million. It will take probably 3 more years before this bridge is completed, so we will be without a bridge for approx 5 years.

There will be no increase in traffic over a new bridge, and in fact there could be a decrease. So we are spending $13.5 Million dollars to handle the same traffic that we could handle on a repaired Camerson St. Bridge, and with maintenance over a 20 year period would cost us no more than $3 Million . This is where the **Brain Dead** people come into play. They seem to be totally lacking in common sense.

These people are quite prepared to tear down this **Heritage Bridge** and torch it, and slap up a few chunks of steel, so that some people can get some contracts, and make some money, and to hell with everything else.

How do we stop this madness.
(1) Get off our butts and go to City Hall and sign the Alternate Approval Process Form Bylaw No. 7970. If we can get 5535 signatures then we can force this issue to a referendum. If we go to referendum and win then the City cannot borrow the money, and in effect have to fix the Cameron St. Bridge and get on with it.

(2) We need not only to sign this form, but we need to take extra forms and have other people sign them, and we have to do it fast, because the legislation only allows us 30 days to get these signatures, and the clock started May 25th.

(3) At the end of the day if we were to prevail we would have accomplished three things.

(a) We would have a functioning repaired wooden Heritage Bridge that can handle the same traffic as in the past.

(2) We will have saved $4 Million dollars in interest payments, that could be diverted to fixing roads, and other infrastructure problems.

(3) We would save this bridge which eventually will become part of the Trail System, and is and would continue to be a tourist attraction. Once tourists start to take trips up and down the River this Bridge would be a lighting rod for picture takers etc;

Get this. The City has said they would take out $1.5 Million from the Reserve Fund to build a new bridge, so we could use this money for repairs to the old bridge and in fact it wouldnt cost taxpayers a red cent to get this bridge up and running.

Now the question is. Will the people in Prince George get off their butts and get these forms signed and actually accomplish something or will they continue to sit back and bitch, bellyache, and complain, about everything under the sun, but do nothing.

We need all Tourist Facilities, Museums, Art Centres, Heritage people etc; to get on board and do something, or we will have lost this bridge forever.

We had 30 days, after to-day we have 29, if ever you had an opportunity to make a difference this would be it.

Failure to stop the destruction of this bridge makes us all complicit in the destruction of one of the last standing Heritage structures in Prince George.

Have a nice day.

Do you mean to say that you don't believe Colin and simply take him at his word????

Oh my. Sounds like you could lump Colin in with the other Lieberal Gordon and his "Gold plated" pension he decried to get elected. And the other song he sang, "I will not sell the BCR."

Our politicians seem to be out of control and very willing to spend your hard earned money.