Premier John Horgan will be making an announcement at a forestry convention Thursday, April 8th
Please get your emails and letters in today as soon as possible!
On April 1, the BC Supreme Court handed down a decision to impose the injunction sought by Teal Jones. The order calls for the removal of the peaceful camps protecting several old-growth sites within Tree Farm Licence #46. The Rainforest Flying Squad has held sites at Fairy Creek, Bugaboo, Granite, Creek, Grierson, Edinburgh and others beginning August 2020.
Rainforest Flying Squad is a volunteer grassroots organization comprised of citizens, Indigenous peoples, forest professionals, tree planters, families, environmentalists, scientists, academics and others determined to protect the remaining 3% of BC’s magnificent old-growth forests.
The judge encouraged the protestors to take their concerns directly to government.
Call For Action & Dialogue
This conflict has to stop. Citizens create blockades as a last resort when dialogue, phone calls, letters, rallies, and all else fails and when disaster looms. Once those stands of old-growth forests are clear cut, they are irreplaceable.
Now is the time to start a respectful dialogue for citizens to protect these forests. We urge you to copy and paste the following actions and send to elected provincial and federal representatives:
Mitzi.Dean.MLA@leg.bc.ca, lana.popham.mla@leg.bc.ca, nathan.cullen.MLA@leg.bc.ca, ENV.Minister@gov.bc.ca fin.donnelly.MLA@leg.bc.ca, seamus.oregan@parl.gc.ca, premier@gov.bc.ca, FLNR.Minister@gov.bc.ca, JTT.Minister@gov.bc.ca, IRR.Minister@gov.bc.ca
Immediate Actions
- Full and honest consultation with Indigenous peoples, including elected band councils, hereditary chiefs and band members in accordance with UN Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples for free, prior and informed consent.
- Based on this consultation, the immediate protection of all rare, high productivity old growth forests as defined by Holt et al. in BC’s Old Growth Forest: A Last Stand for Biodiversity.
Longer Term Actions
- Management of BC’s forests including old growth forests in the public interest, driven by ecological parameters.
- Recognition that BC’s old-growth forests are a major element in storing carbon under the climate emergency strategy.
- The creation of community dialogues to discuss opportunities to steward and manage local forests.
- A transition plan for forestry companies and workers acknowledging the diminishing forest industry, the need to develop a value-added manufacturing sector and the need to diversify local economies.
Background
The federal government has pledged to protect 30% of the land base and 30% of the marine base by 2030 as part of Canada’s Nature Legacy Initiative.
The focus of this protection is stated to be on ecologically sensitive and endangered ecosystems and the protection of biodiversity. One of two key avenues for this plan is through Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas which are placed under the control and authority of the First Nations whose territory the IPCA’s are located within.
The federal government can and should step in and intervene to protect endangered old growth ecosystems on Vancouver Island.
https://www.canada.ca/en/services/environment/conservation/nature-legacy.html
https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/nature-legacy/indigenous-leadership-funding.html
The call to protect the last remnants of BC’s old-growth forests has been gathering momentum over the last eight months. BC communities, non-profit organizations and individuals are calling for the government to act on election promises to implement the 14 recommendations of the Gorley/Merkel Old Growth Strategic Review.
Last November, Premier Horgan mandated the Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, Katrine Conroy to:
“Implement the recommendations of the Old Growth Strategic Review in collaboration with Indigenous leaders, labour, industry, and environmental groups to protect more old growth stands – in addition to the 353,000 hectares protected in September 2020.”
In addition, the Gorley/Merkel report calls for a series of actions to be implemented over three years. Top priorities are the immediate collaboration with Indigenous peoples and a deferral of logging areas of very high risk. Yet the six-month mark has passed with no visible signs of Indigenous consultation or deferment of any old-growth logging.
This lack of action over a number of years has pitted forest dependent communities and industrial forest companies who intend to harvest all available old-growth until it is exhausted against those who insist the government follow through on election promises.
Phone Contacts
Mitzi Deane
Mitzi.Dean.MLA@leg.bc.ca
1-250-952-5885
Lana Popham
lana.popham.mla@leg.bc.ca
(250) 479-4154
Fin Donnelly, MLA Coquitlam-Burke Mountain
fin.donnelly.MLA@leg.bc.ca
1-604-942-5020
Hon. Seamus O’Regan, Minister of Natural Resources
seamus.oregan@parl.gc.ca
1-613-992-0927
Premier John Horgan
premier@gov.bc.ca
1-250-387-1715
Hon. Nathan Cullen, Minister of State for Lands and Natural Resource Operations, Stikine
nathan.cullen.MLA@leg.bc.ca
1-250-842-6338
Hon. George Heyman, Environment and Climate Change Strategy
ENV.Minister@gov.bc.ca
1-250-387-1187
Hon. Katrine Conroy, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development
FLNR.Minister@gov.bc.ca
1-250-387-6240
Hon. Ravi Kohlon, Minster for Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation
JTT.Minister@gov.bc.ca
1-250-356-2771
Hon. Murray Rankin, Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation
IRR.Minister@gov.bc.ca
1-250-953-4844
The 14 recommendations from your forest review are a good start. However, the one that says, Halt all cutting of Old Growth must be implemented before Fairy Creek is clear cut. Please implement now and save Fairy Creek
The citizens of BC want their voices heard on the issue of old growth forests! They want our natural history, our old, old trees preserved for the next millenium and beyond. Our voices should be listened to and respected. Not for ourselves but for the betterment of all mankind and the planet!!!!!! NOW IS THE TIME TO SAVE WHAT’S LEFT!!
ENOUGH!!!!
It is enough. Climate change! The death of the last of our ancient old growth forests! Dishonouring Indigenous Rights AGAIN!!! Lying to your constituents AGAIN!!! serving Corporate greed over the Rights of Nature, humans, animals, oceans, the atmosphere!!! SHAME!! SHAME. SHAME ON YOU!!
For Gods sake and for the sake of us all … find your integrity. You know where it is, you are simply too afraid or selfish to act on what you know is right, honourable, true and beautiful.
Please do what you promised to do: protect all remaining old growth forests in B.C.
Cooperate with the vast majority of British Columbians, especially indigenous peoples.
Once our old growth forests are gone they are gone forever! We must protect these places of ecological wonder and their life saving qualities. Yes, we need to have people employed but not at the expense of these living giants and all that comes with an old growth forest. Green jobs are the way of the future and we need to begin today in providing retraining and employment in new greener industries.
You know this is not just the last stand for ancient forest systems, it is your last stand.
Either you implement policies that are in alignment with earth systems or they will parish.
You know what happens next. We’re not just talking about election cycles.
Together with the other proposals, implement:
A transition plan for forestry companies to eco-forestation practices as modeled elsewhere.
Recognition that BC’s old-growth forests are a major element stabilizing the hydrological cycle for this ecosystem.
Recognition that old-growth forests intrinsic value is beyond measure. Votes? Money? There is no comparison.
Finally, reconciliation with First Peoples will never happen if you cannot reconcile yourselves with the land we’ve taken from them, and that you are taking from your grandchildren.