Public Commission on Forests

WHEREAS BC communities rely on their forests both as a primary economic driver, and for their ecological and social importance; AND WHEREAS today there are a number of critical problems in BCs forests which need to be addressed and resolved, including: - evidence of declining forest health and expanding understocked forests; - tens of thousands of forest industry job losses, dozens of mill closures, and serious economic hardship in resource communities across BC; - widespread frustration among local governments about the lack of local involvement in decision making on the allocation and management of forest resources; - after a decade of deep cutbacks, serious doubts about the ability of provincial agencies to effectively manage our forest resources and provide adequate public oversight in the woods; and - the continuing failure to generate maximum value for British Columbians from our forests, as evidenced by the ongoing over-reliance on commodity production, rapidly increasing raw log exports to Asia, and limited growth in the value-added wood products sector; AND WHEREAS it has been more than two decades since the last significant independent inquiry into the state of BCs forests: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that UBCM call for the Government of BC to establish a public commission of inquiry into BCs forest sector, in order to: - offer a considered, independent assessment of the state of BCs forests and the effectiveness of our current laws and practices; - provide a much-needed opportunity for significant public input into forest policy in BC; and - make recommendations for changes that will ensure both the good stewardship of our forests and a vibrant, sustainable forest industry for coming generations.