While clearing files from an old computer, I rediscovered one involving my maternal grandfather, long-time Chilliwack resident Jim Mahood (1885-1976). He recalled his career in the forests of southwest British Columbia in words published by the Forest History Association of British Columbia in 2006. When this was first written is unclear but I suspect it was done with assistance of his eldest son Ian Mahood (1915-2002). Like his three brothers, Ian spent his life working in the forest industry…
Taking care of business…
Husband, dad and small business owner Sean Wood posted an item on Facebook that is worth our attention. With permission, it is repeated…
BC NDP, guardians of the environment… the corporate environment
The origin story of Stand.earth—previously ForestEthics, successor to Clayoquot Rainforest Coalition—illustrates how little has changed in recent decades. NGOs and concerned citizens are ever the underdogs when competing with governments and wealthy corporations in the fight to protect ancient forests.
Paving paradise
Forests provide Canadians a wealth of benefits that go beyond providing jobs and income. Forests provide habitat for living things, fight flooding, keep us cool, feed us, heal us and provide sanctuaries of spiritual meaning for many Canadians and Indigenous people. Old growth forest should be icons of the province. Having survived hundreds of years, they must not be destroyed for the convenience and profit of a few, or for political debts owed to unions that funded John Horgan’s rise to power…
Comfortable
The first part of this article was written in November 2009 and the addendum was added April 2016 and subsequently updated. I repeat this item because it demonstrates that, while applying austerity to the province’s most needy citizens, the Clark/Campbell Liberals have treated a favoured few quite differently.
Log exports updated
BC is exporting substantially more unprocessed raw lags by volume but recording – per exporters’ reports, at least – little more than half the unit value realized in the 1990s. The volume of exported raw logs during Christy Clark’s tenure is 567% of what was experienced in ten years of NDP administration. BC jobs in forestry and support activities have declined by nearly one-half.
Guest post: Paying for Information and Influence
I invited Chris Alemany, a councillor for the City of Port Alberni, to write of his effort to gain information about a subject of broad public interest. It is unfortunate the BC […]
A reader comments on forestry
Reader Ken Barry today submitted a comment to an article written last July – Log exports update. It reminds of a subject that’s close to my heart and, I think, an illustration […]
Lumber and log exports, LNG and pay-to-play
The audio file below is a recording of my time with Ian Jessop July 29. We talk about lumber and log exports, LNG and political contributions to BC Liberals by resource companies.
BC lumber exports drop $46 billion over 9 years
These graphs are drawn from softwood lumber exports data published by BC Stats. My aim is to compare results in recent years to those from the desperate nineties when wild-eyed anti-business socialists governed […]
Not last in sparkle ponies – updated
Statistics Canada reports weekly earnings by province (Table 281-0027) and it seems that if Christy Clark aims to lead average British Columbians in a race to the bottom, she is succeeding. In […]
Recalling BC pioneers
This item is recycled from the summer of 2010. I was reminded of it after a Twitter exchange about natural resource revenues and the lack of transparency surrounding them. This is not […]
"Mix ideological agenda and dubious accounting"
Many British Columbians of my generation were involved directly with the forest industry. As a kid, I lived beside a log dump and, to mother’s futile distress, played regularly on log booms. […]
Log exports still rising
The latest release from BC Stats demonstrates that log exports continue to rise. The volume (in cubic metres) shipped in January 2015, is 40% above the monthly average during Liberal years and […]
Easy road to nowhere
February 4, The Tyee published an article by Torrance Coste: Raw Log Exports: A Made-in-BC Problem that’s Only Getting Worse. Work here that relied on reports from BC Stats helped Torrance create […]
Recipe for disaster: malpractice followed by neglect
Scotty on Denman left a comment at the previous article, De plan, de plan! and, for me, it resonates. Anyone who reads Recalling BC pioneers will understand why. Captain Vancouver reported BC […]
De plan, de plan!
BC Stats published the monthly numbers for log exports to November 2014. The number reinforce arguments made in a recent Times Colonist Op Ed. An excerpt: B.C. government has gradually abandoned the […]
Why have our trees lost half their value?
BC Stats released an updated report ‘British Columbia Origin Log Exports’ and I extracted data to produce these graphs. The statistics show the volume of raw logs leaving the province continues at […]
Premier Clark promised a review
In the two and one half years since that review began, we have evidence of its results.
Short term gain for long term pain, updated
BC Stats updated data on raw log exports and the volume shipped out of province in March 2014 was up 24% from the preceding month. In the fiscal year ended March 31, […]
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