The Working Forest Of British Columbia

Winner of the 1996 Forests Excellence Award

A comprehensive analysis of the social, political, and economic role of forests as one of the principal single-staple industries in British Columbia, this book explores the history of forestry in the province, legislation and governmental control, labour unions, community and industry structure, employment conditions for men and women, job security, and 'boom or bust' ideologies.

The history of British Columbia's economy in the twentieth century is inextricably bound to the development of the forest industry. In this comprehensive study, Gordon Hak approaches the forest industry from the perspectives of workers and employers, examining the two institutions that structured the relationship during the Fordist era: the companies and the unions. He relates daily routines of production and profit-making to broader forces of unionism, business ideology, ecological protest, technological change, and corporate concentration. The struggle of the small-business sector to survive in the face of corporate growth, the history of the industry on the Coast and in the Interior, the transformations in capital-labour relations during the period, government forest policy, and the forest industry's encounter with the emerging environmental movement are all considered in this eloquent analysis.

A collection of essays vital to current debates about the forest industry. Contributors include Ken Drushka, Bob Nixon, Patricia Marchak, Julian Dunster, Herb Hammond, Holly Nathan and Ray Travers.

The CCPA would like to thank the following organizations for their financial contributions to this work: The BC Federation of Labour, The BC Government and Service Employees Union, The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union, Endswell Fund of Tides Canada Foundation, The Pulp, Paper and Woodworkers of Canada, and The United Steelworkers of America District 3. Getting More from Our Forests: T [...] The end result is that from Hazelton in the northwest Interior, to the banks of the Fraser River in South Vancouver, to Youbou on the shores of Cowichan Lake on Vancouver Island, mills were closed and the companies who operated them were allowed to retain their tenured Crown timber holdings. [...] Of the five significant mergers to occur in the industry in 2004 and 2005, three involved companies with major Interior forest tenure holdings and one resulted in what is now, by far, the largest forest company in the province. [...] Today, Canfor operates the largest production softwood lumber mill in the world at Houston, BC.4 The company had record profit in 2004 of $420.9 million, and is in the process of building another lumber mill in not-too-distant Vanderhoof that will rival the Houston mill in output.5 The Houston mill's high efficiency helped propel Canfor into the upper echelon of the world's top-performing forest c [...] And he hopes that the province will see the value in what he is doing and give him assured access to timber through a long-term licence agreement, similar to the licences held by the major companies in the region.

I often wonder if I would have made a different decision when that life-changing phone call came—if had I only known what lay ahead of me? At a time when the forest industry was on a bustling trajectory of development, and foresters were in hot demand, one man embarks on the adventure of his life. Working in British Columbia in the late 70s and 80s carried with it far fewer rules and restrictions than exist today, allowing for creative working practices and many, many adventures. James Girvan shares personal stories from his time as a professional forester, weaving a rich tapestry of a vibrant and important Canadian industry. Readers from within the forest trade will be delighted to see their own experiences represented on the page, and curious outsiders will find their thirst for adventure whetted in Girvan’s exciting (and at times, unconventional) adventures.

Addresses increasing public concern over environmental issues such as loss of biodiversity in managed forests, as well as continued strong economic pressure to harvest old growth forests. Looks at practical and scientific approaches to addressing environmental concerns.