WFP land sales haven’t helped mills

Letter to the Editor published in the Victoria Times Colonist, 5 October 2009

A recent article suggests that Western Forest Products wants to sell 2,500 hectares of undeveloped land on southwestern Vancouver Island “to finance mill modernization.”

I do not believe this. WFP is as much a land development company as a forestry company. It is a major supplier of the “land bank” for Island developers who are extending sprawl into forested areas — contributing to problems ranging from climate change and loss of ecosystems to traffic gridlock on roads and highways.

How much of WFP’s profit from the sale of Skirt Mountain land in 2001 to the Bear Mountain development has been spent on “mill modernization?”

Rather than upgraded “modern” mills creating jobs and adding value to Vancouver Island timber, we see WFP moving in the opposite direction: Closing mills, exporting timber and selling off more land for urban sprawl.

The whole regime of forest tenure and land development on this island should be questioned.