Photo Caption
BC’s logging practices called out by Comox Valley group
Braving a brisk, cold wind on Nov. 8, supporters of Save Our Forests Team – Comox Valley (SOFT-CV) rallied outside Claire Trevena’s office in Campbell River to protest the provincial government’s continued logging of the last stands of productive old growth on the island.
In addition to two public surveys conducted in July, the province recently commissioned a two-person panel to travel throughout BC and gather more information about residents’ attitudes regarding old growth logging.
But, according to SOFT-CV, neither panel member is an independent expert.
“They are shills who have business connections within the timber industry and are primarily interested in economic development,” Megan Ardyche, an organizer of the protest, said.
One day before the protest, Premier John Horgan was in the Comox Valley for a ceremony breaking ground on a new long-term care facility.
SOFT-CV members asked Horgan if the province had any plans to stop logging productive old growth on the island in the face of the climate crisis.
“Well, there’s a strike happening right now, so nothing’s being logged,” Horgan told a member of the group.
Monica Hofer, a member of SOFT-CV, then expressed her concerns regarding old growth logging to Horgan.
“What would you have me do?” he said. “If we don’t log, we’ll be fighting court battles with countries which we’ve signed agreements with about log exports. That’d cost millions of dollars and eat into the provincial health care budget.”
Pat Carl is a frequent contributor to the Comox Valley Civic Journalism Project. She can be reached at pat.carl0808@gmail.com
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I wonder….
Is there currently in BC an ‘Industry WatchDog Agency’ NOT filled by individuals from that industry? Plus strong lobbying efforts by people benefitting from the ‘Rip & Ship’ attitudes of our resource-extracting industries.
My unborn grand children are screaming at me, “Leave the Old Growth Forests for us!”
Well, our Comox Lake watershed is being logged. I do understand folks who want to protect our remaining old growth forest-it is a one time thing-whats the hurry.China will still be here in few years to buy our logs.
While your unborn Grandchildren are crying for the forests, I’m thinking that the our Governments are selling our country with debts. It could be our great Grandchildren will not have much of a say ,with foreign owners
Thanks, Monica, for clarifying. I accept full responsibility for putting quotes around what Horgan said rather than making it clear that it was paraphrased. I agree with you that setting up an either or situation (chose between health care and court battles) just doesn’t cut it, although it does seem to allow the provincial government to justify “cutting” the very little old growth left on the island.
Just to clarify: I had a brief opportunity to chat with Mr Horgan on the day of the ground-breaking “ceremony” during which time he countered my concerns about old growth logging with some comments about cutting funds to education and healthcare. The author of this article seems to have paraphrased in the last quote; these were not his exact words. However, having said that, the gist certainly was that he saw it as a “black and white” scenario: either the government keeps the logging companies happy, or he calls a moratorium on old growth logging and I (and others like me who want to save old growth) have to live with the guilt of BC having no more quality healthcare or quality education. Hmmmmmm……