No tax breaks for log exports
It is beyond offensive that Mosaic and USW would seek tax breaks to enable further log exports from Vancouver Island.
It isn’t a stretch to frame the E&N Land Grant as the greatest experiment in industrial forestry the world has ever seen. And what is the result after over a century of professional management? The public is being asked to simultaneously subsidize the company that manages the E&N lands, and come up with another $500M-plus to rebuild the railway that was the consideration for the grant in the first place.
Industrial forestry is failing the people and ecosystems on Vancouver Island. Where are the jobs? Where are the trees? Where are the salmon? Where is the water?
Private forest land owners in B.C. already enjoy special treatment under the Private Managed Forest Land Act. Private forest land owners get significant tax breaks and are held to lower environmental standards than those that apply on crown forest lands under the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA) (http://www.elc.uvic.ca/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Private-Managed-Forest-Land-Act-Reform.pdf)
I strongly oppose the call for further subsidy of Mosaic’s log exports. I also urge the Green-NDP government to repeal Section 21 of the Private Managed Forest Land Act which currently prevents local governments from regulating private forest lands.
Chris Crowther
Duncan