Fort Nelson to Canfor: Stop hoarding our forests

With oil and gas jobs gone, Fort Nelson's city council wants to kick-start its forest industry, but says forestry company Canfor is in its way.

The lumber giant used to have two mills in the community, but shut them down in 2008 — while retaining the rights to harvest most of the timber supply in the area.

Now, city council says Canfor should either start using that licence to create jobs or move out of the way so someone else can.

"The economy is definitely in the doldrums right now," said Mike Gilbert, Fort Nelson's community development officer.

• Gas industry downturn devastating Fort Nelson B.C.

People here are fighters, and when they feel that they have been backed into a corner, they will do what's necessary.- Mike Gilbert

"In previous times in our history, some of the slack was taken up by forestry, and when forestry was on a downward slide the slack was picked up by oil and gas," he said.

"Now we're feeling the full impact."

Gilbert said prior to 2008, up to 1,500 direct and indirect jobs were in the forest industry. Now there is only one family-owned mill, and some jobs tied to shipping raw logs out of the region.

He said other companies have expressed interest in restarting mills locally, with a focus on long-term sustainability.

"The up-and-down ride of one big show, the single big mill is not necessarily the way to go," he said. "We see the opportunity to diversify our economy and stabilize it with sustainable forestry, while at the same time the tenure holder [Canfor] is playing on a much bigger board."

Legal action being considered

Gilbert said the decision to go public was made by mayor and council after spending two years trying to resolve the issue behind the scenes.

In a release, the municipality describes Canfor's actions as "hoarding" the timber supply, treating it as an asset to be held in reserve rather than a community good.

"The frustration that the community feels is that there is a resource ... and it is being hoarded. And the community sees that as not being in its best interest," Gilbert explained.

In a statement, Mayor Bill Streeper says if B.C.'s forests minister doesn't do something to free up the timber, the council may take legal action.

Gilbert said such action would be a last resort, but the fact that it's even being contemplated is a sign of how serious the situation is.

"Drastic situations call for drastic measures," he said.

"People here are fighters, and when they feel that they have been backed into a corner, they will do what's necessary."

Neither the province nor Canfor have responded to the release.

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