Forestry goes ‘round and ‘round

April 03, 2008

The Working Roundtable on Forestry should be getting down to work soon.

Now, don’t confuse the Working Roundtable on Forestry with the Mountain Pine Beetle Advisory Board. They are vastly different animals.

The Working Roundtable on Forestry will “develop recommendations and ideas that government, the forestry industry and others can act on to strengthen British Columbia’s forest sector over the next five to 10 years,” according to Forest Minister Rich Coleman when government announced the group.

The Mountain Pine Beetle Advisory Board has a “mandate to advise the B.C. and federal governments on mountain pine beetle issues and review work plans to combat the environmental, social and economic impacts of the infestation.”

See, completely different. One has to do with the forest industry and the other with the mountain pine beetle. Some of us poor sots actually think the two might be related.

I just hope the Working Roundtable on Forestry and the Mountain Pine Beetle Advisory Board don’t hold their meetings at the same time, and in the same hotel. Words might be exchanged.

Plus, it would be a nightmare to figure out all the expense vouchers that you and I are paying for.

Ah, the Working Roundtable on Forestry is a provincially appointed board while the Mountain Pine Beetle Advisory Board is a federally appointed-board. The big difference, one will hold endless meetings and prepare a report that will be ignored while the other will hold interminable meetings and produce a report that will be ignored.

I like the Working Roundtable on Forestry though. One of the first people named to the board was former interim BC Lotteries president Dana Hayden. That seems like a good strategy since most of the displaced forest workers in the province are heading down to the casino hoping to hit it big with their last paycheque. Maybe if we spent half as much on helping forest workers as Lotteries does on advertising trying to get us to bet on hockey games, we would get somewhere.

But let’s not be too harsh. After all, the Working Roundtable will hold meetings around the province, tour mills and woodlands, and meet with local experts and community leaders. Since about 90 per cent of the Roundtable is made up of forest company executives, it will be a good opportunity for them to actually see a mill and the forest.

Oh, we have a few politicians, Prince George’s own Pat Bell, and the token labour guy, Frank Everitt of the Steelworkers, a couple of First Nations chiefs, 10 forest company, execs, and a Royal Roads associate professor.

No doubt a high-powered and well-educated group. However, according to the press release: key considerations for the roundtable include: climate change challenges and opportunities; remaining competitive in evolving world economics; innovation and technology; the aging workforce; issues like the mountain pine beetle; changing social expectations of forests and the forest industry; upholding First Nations’ rights; and sustaining B.C.’s environmental standards.

So, let’s get started. Climate change. No scientists on the working roundtable, even though climate change is the first key challenge. Royal Roads associate professor Derek Thompson probably the closest there. He was once deputy minister for the Ministry of Environment and has spent most of his career in parks planning. Next key consideration – the evolving world of economics. No economists. How about the aging workforce? Any employment agencies? Well, perhaps John Cowan of the Osborne Group fits the bill there. The Osborne Group specializes in management issues.

We’ve got the Mountain Pine Beetle Advisory Group, so we needn’t worry about that. Changing social expectations? Any social advisors on the roundtable? Nope. First Nations is covered though. Sustaining B.C.’s environmental standards? No environmental groups were asked to the party.

Why do I get the feeling that the solutions put forward by the roundtable on forestry will benefit companies more than workers?

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Forestry goes ‘round and ‘round

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