WHEREAS Crown log export restrictions currently benefit communities with processing facilities and penalize communities who are home to the timber resource and rely upon the forest management and harvesting sector; AND WHEREAS international markets exist where trade agreements demand export taxes on Canadian lumber but not on Canadian logs: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that, for markets where export taxes are charged on lumber exports but are not charged on Crown log exports, the provincial government enact an export tax on Crown logs that is at least equivalent to the export taxes for lumber; AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the resulting monies be returned to local governments from where the dutiable exports are harvested.
MINISTRY OF FORESTS AND RANGE The increased value obtained from log exports enables harvesting of more stands, which provides additional fiber to local mills and employs logging contractors. Before logs harvested from most lands in the Province of British Columbia Province can leave the Province they must be offered for sale to domestic mills. If a local buyer cant be found, the logs can be exported. A fee-in-lieu of manufacturing applies to timber that is exported from provincially regulated lands. The volume of public timber exported as logs is a fraction of the annual harvest of public timber usually less than 2.5 per cent. The Province is considering changes to log export policy including raising the fee in lieu on manufacturing. Fees and taxes collected from all natural resources including unprocessed timber go into general revenue and help support vital services like health care and education for the benefit of all British Columbians.