Forests critic Stamer laments Interfor’s decision to relocate corporate head offices out of B.C.

“To have a big player like Interfor shift their focus to another jurisdiction is very disappointing.”

Details about the move were revealed in a memo sent by chief executive Ian Fillinger, which has been reviewed by the Financial Post.

Jock Finlayson, the chief economist for the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association (ICBA), which is the largest construction industry association in Canada and based in B.C., told Global News Interfor is one of the foundational businesses in B.C.’s forest industry.

“They have reduced their footprint here kind of incrementally over time,” Finalyson said. “Most of the assets of the business are in the United States now, which I think sort of helps to explain the move that they’ve announced.”

While no immediate impacts are expected on the ground in B.C., including at Interfor’s mill in Adams Lake, critics like Stamer see the move as another sign that the company is becoming more American, as most of the company’s operations are already based in the United States.

Stamer said provincial policies in British Columbia are not helping.

“Under this NDP government, we’ve lost 30 mills since they came into power. We’ve lost over one-third of our workforce in less than five years. That is significant,” Stamer said. “It’s so disappointing when you know there is more than enough fibre out there, there’s just all the rules and regulations and policies and bureaucratic red tape.”

“[The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act] doesn’t help us with access to the land base and then it makes it even more difficult to make those business decisions going forward.”

-With files from Global News

by Victor Kaisar

Forests critic Stamer laments Interfor’s decision to relocate corporate head offices out of B.C.

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