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Week of action to focus on the mounting crisis in BC's forest industry
March 26, 2007
Vancouver - To highlight the mounting crisis in the forest industry, a wide-ranging group will launch a variety of actions next week and press the Campbell government to come up with concrete solutions to ease the impact of the crisis on workers and forestry communities.
Together environmental groups, labour and community organizations, and community leaders are uniting around a common cause, to force the Campbell government to act to safeguard the industry, and to protect jobs, communities and the environment.
Beginning the week of March 26, members of BC’s largest forest union will be lobbying MLAs in Victoria. The United Steelworkers will be pressing politicians to implement solutions around key issues such as log exports, timber supply, lack of investments, and fallout from the softwood lumber deal.
Also starting on Monday is a weeklong demonstration in Port Alberni organized by the Save Our Valley Alliance. Demonstrations will target the local Ministry of Forest office to highlight the crisis in forest communities like Port Alberni and government inaction.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, March 27 and 28, the Youbou Timberless Society will be counting the number of fully-loaded logging trucks bypassing local mills on their way to log exporting booming facilities in Duncan. They will announce the results of the count Thursday, March 29.
Friday, March 30, a press conference in New Westminster will highlight the recent closure of Western Forest Product’s sawmill in that community. Provincial government forest policies allowed this profitable and efficient mill to shut down because the logs it needs to operate are part of record raw log exports leaving BC. More details will be announced later this week.
Last week, the groups met with Forest Minister, Rich Coleman. They urged Coleman to recognize the urgency of the crisis, and told him that the public supports government taking dramatic steps to stabilize this important industry.
For more information contact Jessie Uppal 604-430-1421 or 604-220-0739.
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