Re: “BC Liberals: Government versus the people” (Letters, March 8)
I heartily agree with Mr. Armstrong’s analysis of our current provincial government, especially in regard to log exports, but it is actually much worse than what Mr. Armstrong described. One of the major log exporters is now debarking the logs in order to get more on a ship and thereby make more profit. They then claim that those logs are not log exports but value-added lumber exports. In my mind, that is a huge insult to the intelligence of the people of B.C.
And, while the provincial and federal governments claim to be hard bargaining for a new softwood lumber agreement, millions of cubic meters of logs continue to be chopped down to support other people’s economies.We get the jobs to cut ‘em down and maybe debark ‘em…wow!
The closure of more than 100 sawmills also led to the closure of many schools in rural B.C. due to the exodus of families to find work. The pulp mills lose out too, since the wood waste from those logs is no longer available,forcing them to purchase whole logs to make their pulp.
Rural British Columbians need to demand the return of the requirement to mill logs where they are cut, and our vote is about the only thing we have to demand it with. Will the NDP reinstate that requirement, or are they too busy running to the right to please the rich industrialists?
Rod Retzlaff
Glade
