NDP Forest Critic Blasts BC Government Forest Policy
By 250 News
Prince George, B.C. - NDP Forestry Critic Bob Simpson says Election BC filings show the BC Liberal party received $6.5 million in political donations over the past decade from forestry companies, including all of the companies involved in the release of tree farm license lands.
The member for Caribou North says since 2003, over 120,000 hectares of land have been released from tree farm licenses. The major forest companies have also been paid over $250 million by the government in cash compensation for the take back of harvesting rights on publicly owned land
Simpson says he is not drawing a direct correlation between the donations and the release of the lands but he says workers, contractors and communities are expressing concerns.
Simpson refers to two projects , the first had CH Anderson announcing they would build a tall oil /pellet plant and were given 10.5 million cubic feet of beetle kill. They said they would create 640 jobs. On Nov. 1st their license expired but the company is trying to hold onto the forest license which they could take to the bank.
The second had Ainsworth building an OSB plant, but that company is now citing poor markets for the delay in the construction of that plant. They originally had been granted 21 million cubic feet of beetle wood that was cut back to 10.5 million.
The Forest critic says six licenses were excluded from bidding against the two companies, they included :
- Jackpine Forest Products in Williams Lake,
- C & C Wood Products in Quesnel,
- Brink Forest Products in Prince George, and
- Premium Pellet in Vanderhoof
At the time these six licenses were offered there was push back from the local industry because they were explicitly excluded from bidding – these had to be new non-traditional use.
The license volumes have not been accessed and the pine in these stands has been deteriorating on the stump over the past two years.
Large forest companies control 75 to 80% of the forest in this province Simpson says they got their tree farm licenses for nothing and are now selling them back to the government or to other companies. He asks "The timber in this province is owned by the people how can you give the forest companies the asset and then give them the right to sell it.?"
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Posted by: Andyfreeze on November 9 2007 9:20 AM
Forest firms donated $1.7M to Liberals: critics
Nov 02, 2007
Victoria Times Colonist
By Judith Lavoie
Opponents of the government decision to allow forest companies to pull private lands out of tree farm licences are linking company donations to the B.C. Liberal party and TFL deletions.
However, Forests Minister Rich Coleman and the companies say the allegations are unfounded.
"That's just nonsense. I have never made a decision as a minister based on anything other than what is before me," Coleman said.
The Dogwood Initiative, a Victoria-based environmental group, has used Elections B.C.'s contributions figures to compile a chart showing five companies donated $1.7 million to the Liberals between 1996 and 2006, including $284,050 in the two years before land was taken out of TFLs.
Figures show that, during the last decade, Western Forest Products donated $103,247 to the Liberals and this year was allowed to pull 28,000 hectares out of three tree farm licences on Vancouver Island, including the controversial lands around Sooke and Jordan River.
TimberWest, which took 2,600 hectares of private land out of TFLs near Port Renfrew in 2004, gave the Liberals $288,924. Weyerhaeuser, which pulled 87,700 hectares from TFLs near Port Alberni and on the Queen Charlotte Islands in 2004, donated $540,499.
Pope & Talbot, with a pending withdrawal of 4,500 hectares in the Kootenays, gave $112,750. The biggest donation came from West Fraser Timber, which gave $620,900, but withdrew only 47 hectares from a TFL near Terrace.
WFP spokesman Gary Ley said there is "no merit" to efforts to link donations and TFL deletions.