James Steidle

Forest Minister Ravi Parmar was seen recently at a trade show in Whistler with Premier David Eby, sitting in solid spruce and western red cedar furniture, by designer Brent Comber.  …“If there’s demand for it, BC can build it,” his twitter account states. But can we? As a value-added wood products producer, I’ve spent years trying to chase down logs to make cutting boards here in Prince George. The little guys are welcome to spend a fortune buying lumber at the stores. But I’m not welcome to the cheap unprocessed logs like the majors. Not easily, anyway. …Anyone without tenure trying to do value-added wood manufacturing in this province does so at the mercy of private landowners and the major licensees. They have no regulatory right to a scrap of wood, if the private sector so determines.  Parmar may claim otherwise, from his wooden throne, but the emperor has no clothes.