Old Growth Deferrals Hurts Value-Added Sector Hardest

By Brian Menzies, Executive Director
BC Independent Wood Processors Association
November 2, 2021
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

North Vancouver –Today’s BC Government’s decision to halt harvesting is devastating news for British Columbia’s value-added wood processors and the thousands of people they employ.

“The BC Government’s harvesting deferrals will have an immediate and disproportionate impact on BC’s value-added sector,” said Brian Menzies, Executive Director of the BC Independent Wood Processors Association. “This decision is completely counter to the BC Government’s goal of transitioning the industry from high volume to high value.”

“Unfortunately, the BC Government has chosen to make this devastating decision without understanding how this will impact the small- and medium-sized businesses that do not have tenure and must purchase their raw materials on the open market,” said Menzies. “The BC Government has yet to undertake a social-economic analysis to understand how this decision will impact the lives of the men and women who work in this sector and there is no policy supports to help transition the value-added industry.”

“Value-added wood processors will be further hurt by the government’s decision to immediately end old growth harvesting in their BC Timber Sales program, the only opportunity for small- and medium-sized businesses to directly acquire timber,” said Menzies. “I don’t understand why the BC Government has not thought this through and created a transition period for the most adversely affected sector, BC’s value-added wood processors.”

 

About the IWPA

The Independent Wood Processors Association represents non tenured companies that buy logs and lumber on the open market and manufacture higher value products here in BC.

The diverse range of higher value, innovative, wood products include the beautiful wood you see around your homes such as fencing, decking, wood siding, railings, flooring, window frames, and other less visible products like veneer for plywood, wood residual products including pulp. Higher value wood processors are also known as specialty wood industries, value-added wood producers, secondary manufacturers, and remanufacturers, who create more jobs per logs harvested. 

 

For further information please contact

Brian Menzies
Executive Director
Independent Wood Processors Association of BC
250-213-5397
info@IWPABC.com
www.IWPABC.com

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