In response to Canfor's Plateau Mill closure in Vanderhoof, Nak'azdli Whut'en First Nation Chief Colleen Erickson said all stakeholders, including policy makers and government leaders "knew this was coming."
On Sept. 4, Canfor announced the closure of its northern B.C. mills, in Vanderhoof and Fort St. John, citing lack of economically viable fibre, weak markets, regulatory practices, financial loses and a high U.S. tariffs. The closure is expected to cost the region over 500 jobs and remove 670 million board feet of annual production capacity.
Many of these foreseeable consequences could have been avoided, said the First Nation chief, while expressing her sympathies for the hundreds of workers who will lose jobs because of these unsustainable practices.
"Many Nak’azdli members work in the forest industry, and like all of our neighbouring communities this news hits us hard. But perhaps more tragic is that everyone – in government, in industry, and around the kitchen table – knew this was coming," Erickson said.
"Plateau was built to handle increased levels of harvest from the mountain pine beetle infestation, and we’ve known for years that the cut was unsustainable,” she added.
Canfor and other major players pressured the government to maintain high harvest levels to boost their profits, without reinvesting in the communities where they operated, she said.
"The results are a totally predictable lack of fibre for these mills, and an ecological disaster,” she added.
Erickson also criticized Nechako Lakes MLA John Rustad, who is campaigning as the leader of B.C. Conservatives, for his failure to act and provide a solution to preserve the industry in his backyard. Plateau is the fourth mill closing in Rustad's riding.
“It is unfortunate that our own Member of the Legislative Assembly John Rustad was in government when the rate of cut was nearly doubled to unsustainable levels. Now we cannot rely on Rustad to be part of the solution,” she said.
Erickson cited a 2018 study by the BC Government and Carrier Sekani First Nations which revealed severe environmental impacts from the increased harvest of mountain pine beetle salvage, such as moose populations plummeting by 75 per cent and increased particulate in salmon bearing streams.
Making note of these issues, the First Nation's Nak'azdli Development Corporation invested in innovative forest products and diversification. It now owns 40 per cent of BioNorth, which converts forest waste into electricity, and is raising capital for the $30 million Deadwood Innovations plant to produce value-added structural components from underutilized fibre.
"NDC has been taking these steps while Canfor has been investing the profits from their B.C. operations elsewhere, including the southern United States where labour and environmental regulations are lax," Erickson said.
“The future of the forest industry will come down to innovation and collaboration with First Nations. We are not going anywhere, and unlike big multinationals, we don't have an interest in sending our profits elsewhere."
Meanwhile the District of Vanderhoof has initiated transition protocols to help workers and community members affected by yesterday's announcement.
Mayor Kevin Moutray said he is already working with the Community Transition Team, made up of representatives across provincial ministries, as well as WorkBC, Canfor and district staff.
"The goals of the team are to help staff transition to other jobs using known employment opportunities, apply for grants and funding for retraining programs, and help with health or mental health issues that may arise," Moutray said.
Moutray also said Vanderhoof's regional business liaison and Chamber of Commerce will work together to minimize the ripple effect this shutdown may cause to local businesses in the area.
"Council and staff’s thoughts are with the families affected by the upcoming closure. Let’s work as a community to help each other move forward," Moutray said.
