Re: “Rising raw log exports bad for forests, workers,” comment, Feb. 28.
It’s sad to see British Columbia’s magnificent timber resources increasingly shipped abroad as logs, not homemade products.
I’m sorry to be echoing U.S. President Donald Trump — but isn’t the real cause that we’ve become so used to having cheap foreign products foisted on us in the name of quick profits from natural resources that we’re no longer willing to pay for made-in-Canada quality?
Victoria’s Johnson Street Bridge is a classic case in point. Does anyone wonder, when critical parts were farmed out to below-quality Chinese contractors, that the bridge is years late and $40 million over budget?
It’s a sad requiem to the Canadian builders of the bridge it’s replacing after the best part of a century of service.
B.C.’s timber is world-beating in quality and quantity. But redeveloping industries to convert the province’s magnificent home-grown timber into higher-value products will take serious investment in time and cash, particularly in re-learning and training.
It can be done — but so far there’s little indication that we’re willing to take anything but the cheap, quick way out.
Ian Laval
Furniture maker
Brentwood Bay
