Forest workers want B.C. to block Jordan River sale;

Forest workers in the Jordan River area fear the sale of Western Forest Products land will mean layoffs, a shorter work year and a less-viable industry -- and they want the provincial government to stop the deal involving the former tree-farm licence property.

Brian Butler, second vice-president of Duncan Local 1-80 of the United Steelworkers, said the union has no doubt jobs will be lost as prime tree-growing land, much of it logged in the winter when higher-elevation land is inaccessible, is sold to a developer.

"The union is very unhappy that the province allowed these lands to be released. The private lands in the [tree-farm licence] were part of the social contract to create jobs," he said.

Tree-farm licences allow companies like Western Forest Products sole access to a guaranteed supply of timber on Crown land in return for following more stringent forest practices on private lands covered by the same licence.

Duncan Kerr, chief operating officer for Western Forest Products, who met with the Jordan River crew this week, said the number of employees on Vancouver Island will remain at about 3,300, but jobs may move to other areas.

"The total number of jobs is going to be pretty much the same, but any time you change a component of an operation, there's the potential for individuals to be affected," he said.

If the sale of 2,532 hectares of forest land to developer Ender Ilkay is completed in March, the Jordan River dryland sort, where logs are bucked, then boomed to mills, will eventually close.

The area was not initially listed for sale, but Western Forest Products agreed to sell the site to Ilkay, then lease it back for an unspecified time.

"What happens there is very much a work in progress," Kerr said, adding even without the sale, operation of the dryland sort was limited because of concerns about its impact on an adjacent salmon stream.

About 15 people work at the sort, while a total of about 40 people work at the Jordan River logging operation.

Forests Minister Rich Coleman has said Western Forest Products was given permission to pull 28,000 hectares of private forest land out of tree-farm licences to make the company more viable, thereby protecting jobs.

But Butler doubts both assumptions. "There are certainly questions about the viability of the operation once they start selling land," he said.

The community will suffer when jobs are lost, while residents will see more logging on remaining Western Forest Products lands, and more logging trucks on the road through Jordan River and Sooke once the dryland sort is closed, Butler said.

Kerr said the cut will remain the same, despite the sale, and the company is considering more intensive forestry, with faster rotations, in some second-growth areas.

Meanwhile, the newly formed Jordan River Steering Committee, made up of representatives from the Otter Point and Shirley Residents and Ratepayers Association, surfers, unions, environmental groups and First Nations, has organized a public meeting at S.J. Willis school auditorium, Thursday, Nov. 1, at 7.30 p.m.

The group is non-partisan, and anyone with an interest in the land sale or the issue of whether private land should be removed from tree-farm licences without the company paying compensation is welcome to attend, said Malahat-Juan de Fuca New Democrat MLA John Horgan.

"We need to look at how we got here and where we go next," he said. "This is a concern to all British Columbians."

Coleman and ministry representatives will be invited to attend the meeting.