Does The Export of Raw Logs to China Hurt or Help British Columbia's Economy?

Does the export of raw logs to China hurt or help British Columbia's economy? NDP leader Adrian Dix is rallying for export tariffs on logs, which would put a hard stop on the export of raw logs from B. C. That are being shipped and processed in China instead of here. The concern is that log exports result in a loss of jobs for B. C. Residents and dampen overall efforts for sustainable forest management. Last year, about one-third of B. C. 's softwood lumber, worth nearly $1.1 billion, was exported to China. Such protectionist strategies only result in inefficient markets. By trying to force the creation of a few jobs in value-added forestry products, thou-sands of existing efficient and sustain-able jobs in the log exporting sector will be sacrificed. The thesis is as rational as forcing B. C. Farmers to grow oranges or pineapples. While Dix's primary goals to ensure Canadians are gainfully employed and to treat our natural resources with reverence are admirable, I believe that on this issue he simply cannot see the forest for the trees. Empowering free enterprise results in Canadians reaping the financial benefits from Chinese companies that are willing to pay 35 to 70 per cent more than B. C. Mills for the raw logs, according to Steve Thomson, provincial minister of forest, lands and natural resource operations. Free enterprise recognizes that timber companies must sell wood to the highest bidder to be profitable and continue to provide jobs that stimulate Canada's economy. Free enterprise celebrates that securing higher export prices provides our forestry companies with the opportunity to access marginal timber stands and not lose money logging wood and being forced to sell at lower domestic prices. According to the B. C. Liberal party website, about 2, 000 loggers and sawmill workers are employed today because of log exports. With forest product exports exceeding $9.9 billion in 2011, ensuring free trade with the Asia-Pacific markets is crucial to the fiscal health of our region. We need to focus on next-generation forestry and sidestep dated notions of the sector as being dominated by lumberjacks intent solely on logging trees and processing the wood. Canadians with high-tech skills and backgrounds in biochemistry, genetics, computer modelling, satellite imagery and digital processing are the future of the sector. Mills that once focused exclusively on processing timber and pulp are now diversifying into bio-energy, bio-chemicals and bio-materials that include wood fibre and biomass, which is converted into renewable fuel, food additives, non-toxic chemicals, solvents, plastics, textiles and other products. Canada's forestry sector prides itself on its use of renewable raw material and is driving for the increased use of sustainable forest management and application of cleaner technologies. More and more mills are converting their wood residues into heat and power for their own operations with most of the sector's energy coming from waste bio-mass, with some facilities already acting as net sources of green power. With its strong reliance on bio-fuels, maximum recycling rates and the storage of carbon in its wood and paper products, our global forestry sector is at the fore-front of the renewable era. The future of the forestry sector is here today and it offers a bold, innovative, profitable and environmentally conscious path for the industry. Rather than adding tariffs to our log exports, which penalize free enterprise and stagnate innovation, we should focus our efforts and resources toward investing in new technologies where we can have a sustainable and competitive advantage. By advancing our intellectual property, we will build the proper foundation of our economy to ensure our workers' future includes a place at the new economy forestry table. As the forestry sector expands to produce new and innovative bio-products, we will experience greatly enhanced employment opportunities and financial returns above that from traditional stand-alone mills. By incorporating these new technologies into our existing mills and ensuring that we hire the best and the brightest Canadians, we can ensure that these integrated operations will utilize all parts of the trees and extract the most value possible to ensure an environmentally friendly, sustainable and profitable future. Chadwick Wasilenkoff is chairman, CEO and a director of Vancouver-based Fortress Paper. Source: vancouversun