Mr. Speaker, my riding of Nanaimo--Cowichan has survived and thrived because of the logging industry. Generations of workers made their living from our forests, yet that is changing.
When I drive home, I pass a sign hanging high in the trees that says, “Ban Raw Log Exports”. Since 2001, forest companies have exported over 19 million raw logs from British Columbia and have given pink slips to 17,000 workers. In the Cowichan Valley, the Youbou Timberless Society has counted a hundred loaded logging trucks leaving the valley daily.
Exporting raw logs exports jobs. Mills are closing all over Vancouver Island.
The workers are not going to sit back and let this happen. They are consulting with everyone the government will not talk to. First nations, environmental groups, and labour and industry representatives have formed the forest solutions coalition to develop a long term plan to have the forest managed by local communities and first nations.
I support the work of the coalition and encourage the government to adopt its ideas as a solution to the crisis the logging industry faces today.