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Forestry changes needed for North manufacturer says
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by GORDON HOEKSTRA Citizen staff
January 5, 2005
If fundamental changes are not made in how the province allocates timber, perhaps going as far as putting all timber rights up for auction, northern B.C. is doomed to increasing job losses and fewer benefits from publicly-owned forests, warns long-time Prince George secondary manufacturer John Brink.
In a startling interview this week, Brink told The Citizen a recent increase in corporate concentration has tipped the balance against community interests and opportunities for any kind of secondary manufacturing sector.
He says the increased corporate concentration -- where a few companies hold vast amount of timber rights in the North -- is a side-effect of the sweeping forest policy changes introduced by the B.C. Liberals in 2002.
Data compiled by The Citizen, and published in a special report last month, showed that just two companies -- Canfor and West Fraser -- hold almost 70 per cent of the long-term logging rights in the Northern Interior following a year of rapid mergers. The two companies also hold nearly 70 per cent of the timber-processing capacity north of 100 Mile House. Loggers and woodlot owners have already said they have significant concerns the increased concentration of timber and sawmilling capacity gives the companies too much sway over timber pricing and contracts.
Other forest sector players are starting to raise concerns as well.
The Western Silviculture Contractors Association has corporate concentration on the agenda of its annual general meeting in Prince George later this month.
Brink, the Liberal riding president in Prince George North, has been a vocal supporter of the Liberals' forest policy reforms, but he now says they're not working because there isn't a viable log market or market-based timber pricing, a key underpinning of the changes that has not been implemented.
While the province has made some effort to increase timber put up for auction, most long-term tenure remains in the hands of major forest companies.
Brink has been taking his concerns to the Liberals quietly, including Premier Gordon Campbell, Forests Minister Mike de Jong, and Prince George's two Liberal MLAs, Shirley Bond and Pat Bell.
But more recently Brink has decided to start talking about his concerns in public, delivering a provocative speech to the Terrace Chamber of Commerce in October. He is slated to speak to the Yellowhead Rotary Club in Prince George this week.
"I think it's time to stand up and look at (corporate concentration)," said Brink from his office at Brink Forest Products, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary.
It may be necessary for the province to take back substantial amounts of timber harvesting rights, and then put them up for bid in short, five-year term, non-renewable licences, he said.
"It would stimulate investment, create entrepreneurship because with shorter-term, non-renewable licences the field would be open for anyone to compete and build small and medium-size operations, including, if you wished, larger ones," said Brink. "But you would get a better mix of operations. You would get much better opportunity for secondary manufacturing because it would give you assurance of access to timber."
The Liberals' forest policy changes were meant to spur new entrants, particularly value-added companies, in the forest sector. Instead, secondary manufacturing is all but disappearing in the North, said Brink.
His plant is one of the few remaining healthy secondary manufacturers. However, Brink revealed he will likely have to close his lumber remanufacturing line this spring, potentially effecting a number of jobs, because he can't get access to enough low-grade lumber. His finger-joint lumber operations will remain.
Brink said most of the low-grade lumber is being shipped to the U.S. because big companies can't be bothered to deal with secondary manufacturers.
Brink has proposed to the B.C. government the forests ministry insist that 20 per cent of the lumber produced in B.C. -- the amount he contends each mill produces in low grade -- be remanufactured in the region it comes from.
That alone could create thousands of jobs in the North, he said.
Brink said he doesn't disagree with companies increasing their size to become global players, but it shouldn't be done by concentrating all their ownership in one region. "If you want companies to grow to global size, then be diversified across Canada, the U.S. and in other places, not all in northern B.C.," he said.
If the timber allocation system is not re-examined, Brink said he fears the major forest companies will continue to create fewer and bigger sawmills, each time with more job losses. "I believe the next step will be the mega-mill, that will cut one billion board feet annually, reducing employment by an additional 15 per cent, as supermills did," said Brink. "And all we require is about six mills north of 100 Mile House to do that."
©Copyright 2005 Prince George Citizen
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