Bell’s forestry plan panned

After taking over the forestry portfolio a month ago, Prince George-North MLA and Forest and Range Minister Pat Bell has developed a four-point strategy.

And he says rural B.C. can really benefit from it.

“This is about incorporating new products and markets with old,” Bell said Wednesday.

Bell’s four key themes are based on a month of traveling around the province, meeting with industry executives, First Nations, silviculturalists and union leaders.

“Everywhere I went, everyone I talked to, they all say we need to send the same message – ‘forestry is here to stay and it does have a strong future,’” he said.

The plan points to the need for reforestation incentives. Bell said industry is really good at “making round logs into flat boards,” but need to turn their attention to growing and planting the tiny saplings.

Bell highlighted the need to improve utilization standards, stating he knows firsthand there’s product waste.

“We need to capture full utilization,” he said.

“We need to minimize waste.”

Number three and four on Bell’s list are the opportunities of Chinese market expansion and breaking into the wood construction of commercial institutions.

“There’s so many opportunities. I’m very excited about this,” he said.

Someone who isn’t? Cariboo-North MLA and NDP forestry critic Bob Simpson.

“There’s nothing new here,” he said.

“It’s the same old story we heard with [Mike] De Jong, [Rich] Coleman and now Bell.”

Simpson questioned Bell’s reforestation comment, pointing to the recent cancellation of seedling orders.

“In 2007 we planted 270 million seedlings,” he said.

“Based on the seedling order for 2009 we’ll be planting 180 million. That [if the order stands] will be the lowest planting season in almost 40 years.

“So much for the minister’s ‘We gotta grow.’”

Simpson also slammed Bell’s utilization comments, saying it was the Liberals who created the utilization mess in the first place.

“The B.C. government changed the standards to just allow large sawmilling companies to bring in perfect saw logs and leave all the rest,” he said.

“It’s a nightmare they’ve created and now they’re going ‘oh oh.’”

And the Chinese market?

Simpson says don’t hold your breath, it’s nonsense.

“What we need to do is start producing true value product from our land base, not just more of the same, but to a different market,” he said.

And he questions how Bell’s four key themes are going to help the current crisis.

“We have problems right now,” he said.

“It’s time for the B.C. government to stop using slogans in place of actions.”