(Image Credit: CFJC Today / Balance of Power)

By Dylana Milobar

BC FORESTS INDUSTRY

Following another mill closure announcement, BC Forests Critic points to potential solutions

Sep 4, 2019 | 5:55 PM

MAPLE RIDGE, B.C. — Interfor has announced its Maple Ridge mill will be closing permanently at the end of the year, marking yet another hit to the industry in BC.

The closure follows a string of curtailments and shutdowns across the province. Earlier this summer, mills in Quesnel, Williams Lake, Vavenby, Mackenzie and 100 Mile House were either shut down permanently, or temporarily closed.

The BC Liberal forests critic, Nechako Lakes MLA John Rustad says many forestry companies have cited high stumpage fees, lack of supply, and pricing issues during softwood lumber disputes with the US as factors of industry decline.

“Softwood lumber is a big part of the problem and we need to be stepping up there, but stumpage is another issue. In Alberta, for example, they adjust their stumpage on a monthly basis. We do it annually with some minor quarterly adjustments. We could look at transitioning to the same type of program that they do in Alberta, without it having an impact on our trade relations with the U.S.”

Rustad says there are a number of solutions the B.C. government could be looking at.

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“We came forward with a five-point plan back months ago to government to suggest how we work on the competitiveness issue, how we make sure we step up to the plate, support the workers that are being impacted and the families, but also the contractors and how that could be helped.”

Come fall when MLAs are back in Victoria, forestry, mill closures, and curtailments are expected to be prevalent topics brought up in the legislature.