Kermit Dahl

The closure of the Crofton pulp mill didn’t come out of nowhere. It arrived exactly the way many mayors across resource communities feared and had communicated this fear to government time after time: quietly, predictably, and after years of well-intended but poorly considered provincial policy that has boxed in an industry already on its heels. Here’s the blunt truth: 30% of the fibre feeding Crofton was coming from the US. Even with that desperate backfill, it still wasn’t enough to keep the mill alive. When a BC mill adjacent to one of the most productive forest baskets on the planet yet survives only by importing American fibre, something has gone very wrong in our own house. That’s not bad luck. That’s bad policy. …And if provincial leaders don’t correct course, mills in Ladysmith, North Cowichan, and Nanaimo are next. This, in turn, hits harvesting in Campbell River and other northern coastal communities. It’s all connected. The math is right there in the open.

When a major mill goes down, the provincial legislature doesn’t get the bill. We do. …British Columbia has been told repeatedly that we’re moving into a “new economy.” That sounds appealing until you examine who bears the brunt of experimentation. It’s not downtown departments or far-away advocacy groups. It’s municipalities — the ones responsible for policing, recreation, sewer lines, water plants, roads, and fire halls. When you remove a community’s tax base without a credible replacement, you’re not creating a greener economy. You’re creating an unfunded civic crisis, driving once thriving communities into poverty. …We still have a choice — but time is short. Forestry isn’t a relic. It’s a modern, sustainable, globally demanded sector that — with proper management — can anchor the next 50 years of prosperity.