Doug Pauze

The Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) board has reneged on a decision to advocate for a ban on raw log exports following feedback from wood manufacturing companies that said such a ban would put them out of business. RDN board members reviewed correspondence from the Coastal Forest Policy Coalition, Harmac and Coastland Wood Industries imploring them to rescind their recent decision to put forward a resolution to ban raw log exports at the upcoming Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities meeting. The resolution called on governments to ban exports to encourage manufacturing in B.C. and support employment in B.C.’s forest industry. …”If B.C. bans log exports, manufacturing on the coast will shrink,” said Coastland Wood Industries president Doug Pauze. “Instead of protecting jobs, a ban would trigger widespread curtailments, put contractors out of business and strip millions in provincial revenue out of the economy.” Pauze said the idea that banning raw log exports would “magically redirect” wood fibre to domestic mills is “simply not true.”