Why Forestry Workers Should Run in Elections
Wednesday, June 18, 2008 03:43 AM
Part 3 –
By Peter Ewart & Dawn Hemingway
(This article is the last in a series of three. To access the other articles click on “Part 1” or “Part 2”.)
When we sat down to write this series of articles, we decided to use the title “Why forestry workers should run in elections” for a particular reason. And that is because the forest industry and the manufacturing sector as a whole in Canada are under a great deal of pressure today. Tens of thousands of forestry jobs have been lost over the last several years across Canada, as have hundreds of thousands of other manufacturing jobs, whether these be in steel, auto, textile or others. This, in turn, has caused severe crisis for many communities across the country, including Mackenzie, Fort St. James and others in British Columbia.
Of course, by using this title, we do not mean to suggest that only forestry workers should participate in elections, as opposed to workers in “retail” or “construction” or “public sector” or “auto.” Far from it, these workers should also consider running.
But back to the issue of forestry workers and the forest industry. As noted previously, the industry is in severe crisis, and in some parts of country and some communities, it is in danger of slipping away like sand between our fingers.
For many years, this same industry has been a world leader in lumber, pulp & paper production, and other wood products, contributing hugely as a bulwark of the Canadian economy, as well as to government revenues, and corporate profits. There is a highly trained and experienced workforce, rich natural resource, and sophisticated infrastructure. Yet every day the crisis deepens. And every day workers and many forestry-based communities get closer to the brink of no return.
One of the most perplexing things about the severe forestry and manufacturing crisis is the lack of priority given to it by many politicians at the federal, provincial and even, in some cases, at the municipal level. There are far too many elected representatives who seem oblivious or indifferent about the importance of the forestry and manufacturing sector to the future of our communities and our country.
How else to explain why so many in the British Columbia Legislature have been transfixed by the two week extravaganza of the 2010 Olympics while mills shut down and the pine beetle destroys the forest? How else to explain why the federal government caved in and signed onto a disastrous Softwood Agreement with the US? Or why governments have sat back and allowed the industry to become far too monopolized? Or why safety standards are sloppily enforced? And there are many other examples.
An added problem is that, of the elected representatives who actually come from the forestry sector, such as former Canfor president David Emerson, too many have the views and priorities of the multi-national corporation rather than that of the forestry worker or contractor, let alone the interests of forestry-based towns like Mackenzie, Fort St. James, Prince George or Quesnel. If it makes sense to destroy an industry in one country in order to build it up in another, these giant corporations will do so. Their allegiance is to the shareholders and financiers, not to countries, communities or even their own workforce.
And that is one of the main reasons why forestry workers should run in elections. At this time, especially in forestry-based communities, we desperately need people to be elected to office at the federal, provincial and municipal levels who know the vital importance of the forest industry, and who are not afraid to speak out against policies and interests that would undermine or destroy it.
We need people who have strong allegiances to country, region and community, who have a vested interest in their future. Who better than forestry workers to stand up for forestry jobs and forestry-based communities, as well as for the different sectors of the industry itself? Who better to stand up for the rural areas of this province that are being ignored or written off?
For that matter, Parliament, legislatures and municipal councils across the country could use some fresh perspectives from the mill, shop and factory floor, not just on forestry and manufacturing, but on a whole host of issues relevant to Canadians. We might just end up with some very different governmental priorities.
So how should forestry workers, as well as workers from other sectors, aim to get elected? One of the ways is through a political party that sits in Parliament or the provincial legislature. Because we have a party-based political process, there is often a reasonable chance for a candidate to win if selected by a party. One major downside is that conventional provincial and federal parties tend to have an extreme party discipline, whereby candidates are limited on how much they can speak out about issues, as well as represent the views of the voters who elected them.
Another way is to choose one of the smaller parties that participate in elections and that allows the candidate to speak out more on behalf of voters.
Still another is for groups of workers and others in the community to get together and select a candidate from their midst to run as an independent. Then there is no question of the candidate being able to speak out on behalf of his or her voters.
The downside, of course, for these latter two “ways,” is lack of funding and the fact that the political process tends to favour the larger and more “established” parties.
And then there are municipal elections. In most communities, these are not party based and each candidate runs as an “independent.” So there tends to be more flexibility than in the provincial or federal arenas. The downside is that municipal governments do not have a lot of power or clout.
Whatever avenue chosen, whether it be running in a municipal, provincial or federal election or whether it be running as a party-selected candidate or as an independent, the issue for forestry workers is to put candidates forward from their own ranks, and these candidates to address the broader issues facing their communities and the society as a whole.
If ever there was a time for forestry workers to step up to the plate and run in the elections, it is now. You never know, they might just hit some home runs.
Peter Ewart is a writer and instructor, who lives in Prince George, BC. He can be contacted at peter.ewart@shaw.ca. Dawn Hemingway is a university professor, also based in Prince George.
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Posted by: Eagleone on June 18 2008 4:21 AM
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"But when the question is an affair of state, then everybody is free to have a say -- carpenter, tinker, cobbler, sailor, passenger; rich and poor, high and low -- any one who likes gets up, and no one reproaches him, as in the former case, with not having learned, and having no teacher, and yet giving advice; evidently because they are under the impression that this sort of knowledge cannot be taught. And not only is this true of the state, but of individuals; the best and wisest of our citizens are unable to impart their political wisdom to others: as for example, Pericles, the father of these young men, who gave them excellent instruction in all that could be learned from masters, in his own department of politics neither taught them, nor gave them teachers; but they were allowed to wander at their own free will in a sort of hope that they would light upon virtue of their own accord."
-Protagoras
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Aristotle on the other hand rains on our parade when he thinks rulers should be propertied and leisured, so, without other worries, they can invest their time in producing virtue. Laborers are too busy says Aristotle. Therein lies the challenge IMO....