James targets forestry in weekend campaign swing

New Democrats were setting their sights on the forestry industry as British Columbia's election campaign entered its fifth day on Saturday.

Leader Carole James began her day at the University of B.C. From a vantage point overlooking the log booms on the Fraser River, James attacked what she called the B.C. Liberal government's failing forestry policies.

Specifically, James said, the government is exporting jobs by exporting raw logs to American mills.

James plans to carry that message to forestry-dependent ridings in northern B.C. where thousands of jobs have been lost as housing starts fall off in the in the United States and mills close in the province.

"In today's economy we should be doing everything we can to create and keep jobs. But [B.C. Liberal Leader] Gordon Campbell is sending those jobs offshore. Under the Campbell government we've seen unprecedented growth of raw log exports, with more than 4.1 million cubic metres shipped offshore in 2006-07 alone," James said in a release posted on the party's website.

"Restricting raw log exports will encourage investment. It will encourage growth in manufacturing and remanufacturing industries."

The NDP leader wouldn't commit to banning the export of raw logs altogether, nor would she offer any specific numbers on how heavily exports might be restricted, saying she needs to consult with industry.

However, she did propose slapping an additional tax on those leaving the province.

Gordon Campbell's B.C. Liberals are trying to kick start the industry by attempting to increase the demand for B.C. wood in large overseas markets such as China.

And when it comes to raw log exports, the Liberals say restrictions would be a matter of last resort.

James's next stop on Saturday was Comox, a Vancouver Island community built on forest dollars and a place where the recession has dealt a major blow.

Jason Cox, who lost his job as a tree faller five months ago, said the forestry industry is bleeding, and he sees it every day.

"The wood hits the water," the father of two said, describing how the raw logs are being shipped away. "I see truck after truck and all the wood is gone."

After Comox, James was expected to make her final stop of the day in Prince George, in central B.C.

Environmentalist severs ties

In another development, the NDP's opposition to the province's carbon tax appears to have cost the party at least one high-profile member.

Environmentalist Tzeporah Berman has sent a letter to James saying she's giving up her membership and won't be voting for the party when the province goes to the polls on May 12.

Berman said the NDP support for a cap-and-trade system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions doesn't go far enough, and the party's opposition to the carbon tax plays "fast and loose" with climate politics.

She said that despite their platform promise to pursue a continental cap-and-trade regime, the B.C. New Democrats voted against cap-and-trade in the legislature last year, and she said the party's carbon tax policy is an attempt to "confuse the public" for political gain.

Traditional NDP allies such as Berman's ForestEthics group, as well as environmental groups including the left-leaning Pembina Institute and the David Suzuki Foundation, have all been critical of the party's stance on the carbon tax.

'Axe the tax'

But James refused to back down on her campaign to "axe the tax."  She said she respects Berman, but the carbon tax is not working and fuel consumption continues to rise.

Gerry Scott, co-manager of the NDP's provincial campaign, disputed Berman's claim that she quit the party to protest its opposition to the carbon tax.

Scott said Berman's membership expired at least two years before Campbell's Liberals introduced the escalating levy on fossil fuels, and well before New Democrats vowed to abolish it.

"She left several years ago," Scott told The Tyee news website, adding that Berman was a party member for only about one year.

Berman admitted her party membership had technically lapsed but she didn't speak publicly about her objections until the carbon tax issue heated up in the campaign. She stopped short of endorsing Campbell's Liberals.

James has said the carbon tax punishes businesses and ordinary British Columbians at a time when they're struggling with the recession and will cost the province jobs.