This page contains annotated news stories and press releases with commentary about land reform and the democratic process in British Columbia. Our comments are shown in red.
It is extremely frustrating that the Forestry Roundtable is not willing to be inclusive of those that are most affected by the policies of Forestry and the Forestry sector.
If the Roundtable is to be effective, it needs to reach out to everyone that
has a stake in the future of BC's Forests and Forestry sector. In a
time of crisis and massive layoffs, when the leaders of the Liberal party have
essentially said 'there is nothing we can do' they continue to shut people out
of the process. Why is it that they are not even listening for possible
workable solutions, from those very people they are supposed to represent?
Forest talk excludes stakeholders
May 04, 2008
By Jan Manning
Forestry Roundtable: It’s an exclusive party, and you can’t come.
So say Gordon Campbell, Rich Coleman and Pat Bell. This Forestry Roundtable has been carefully crafted to exclude thousands of British Columbians whose family futures depend on our forests. Why does this government want to hold a closed-door meeting on the future of our forests? Pat Bell says the doors should be closed because “some players are more comfortable having an open discussion in a closed-door session.”
If Campbell, Coleman and Bell aren’t comfortable talking about what matters in our forest with those who matter in the forest, they should be embarrassed.
It’s no secret that since the inception of this government, thousands of forestry jobs have been lost, mills everywhere closed and our precious timber has been plundered. It’s no secret the pine beetle has shattered B.C.’s backbone, and this government is breaking B.C.’s legs by selling timber rights and fibre access to multinationals with no ties to our communities.
This government’s policies on renewable forest tenure licences deliberately favour multinational corporations, not the people who built this country. This government thinks exporting massive amounts of raw logs every single day is perfectly acceptable practice.
Campbell’s government is discussing “significant issues” this weekend, but they don’t include us.
It’s possible that something significant will come from these closed-door meetings. Campbell will claim the billion-dollar aid package already committed to our forests from the federal government months ago as his own. Bell and Coleman will re-announce these funds as their own generous package for struggling forestry towns. I suggest Coleman and Bell will announce this generosity just in time for next May’s provincial election. But, read the fine print very carefully to see if this money does anything for the people of this province, or just sells away more of our resources for a quick buck among friends at the dinner table.
It’s no secret that every precious publicly-owned resource the people of this province have built over the last century is being stolen and sold off from under our feet.
So say Gordon Campbell, Rich Coleman and Pat Bell. This Forestry Roundtable has been carefully crafted to exclude thousands of British Columbians whose family futures depend on our forests. Why does this government want to hold a closed-door meeting on the future of our forests? Pat Bell says the doors should be closed because “some players are more comfortable having an open discussion in a closed-door session.”
If Campbell, Coleman and Bell aren’t comfortable talking about what matters in our forest with those who matter in the forest, they should be embarrassed.
It’s no secret that since the inception of this government, thousands of forestry jobs have been lost, mills everywhere closed and our precious timber has been plundered. It’s no secret the pine beetle has shattered B.C.’s backbone, and this government is breaking B.C.’s legs by selling timber rights and fibre access to multinationals with no ties to our communities.
This government’s policies on renewable forest tenure licences deliberately favour multinational corporations, not the people who built this country. This government thinks exporting massive amounts of raw logs every single day is perfectly acceptable practice.
Campbell’s government is discussing “significant issues” this weekend, but they don’t include us.
It’s possible that something significant will come from these closed-door meetings. Campbell will claim the billion-dollar aid package already committed to our forests from the federal government months ago as his own. Bell and Coleman will re-announce these funds as their own generous package for struggling forestry towns. I suggest Coleman and Bell will announce this generosity just in time for next May’s provincial election. But, read the fine print very carefully to see if this money does anything for the people of this province, or just sells away more of our resources for a quick buck among friends at the dinner table.
It’s no secret that every precious publicly-owned resource the people of this province have built over the last century is being stolen and sold off from under our feet.
