Raw Log Exports or BC Milling Jobs?

Review will determine which forestry jobs are worth more. There has been a shift in the long-running battle over raw log exports in British Columbia, to the advantage of industries that profit from shipping logs overseas. The winner of this fight – within the forest industry and within the B.C. government – will be declared this spring. Log exports roughly doubled last year, bringing much-needed cash into coastal logging companies, but creating a political backlash in the process.

So, as with so many conflicts facing the Clark government, the province launched a review, which is due in the next few months.  “I don’t think anybody in British Columbia wants to see us exporting non-milled logs,” Premier Christy Clark said this week. “The point of the review is making sure we can manage, and hopefully diminish, the amount of raw log exports in British Columbia.” Mar 15, 2012 Globe and Mail Read More