Beetles take Bite of Alberta, Ont Mill wants Smarter Workers

Climate change deniers, who seem to abound in Alberta, get to feel the bite of the Northern Pine Beetle as yet another mild winter is causing an explosion there of infestation.

Spring survey results released this week are showing that high numbers of the beetles survived the winter across much of southwest Alberta and in several pockets in west-central Alberta.
Two years ago, beetles had attacked 19,000 trees in Alberta. A year ago, the figure was three million. Besides threatening an estimated $23 billion worth of timber in Alberta forests, officials worry about potential changes to the watershed, leading to more run-off and flooding.

Ontario Mill now sets Grade 12 standard:

When Red Rock Mill Inc. reopens the mill in Red Rock, Ontario in 2009 (to manufacture the Multiply line), all employees will need to have their grade 12 for safety reasons.

According to Red Rock's labour adjustment centre, roughly 40% of workers who were laid off from mill closures in Nipigon and Red Rock over the last few years didn't finish high school.

Mill manager Mike Shusterman said Thursday that some workers who would normally be hired in a flash because of their solid work history, won't qualify if they don‘t have Grade 12.

It ain't that hard!
Mills here should strictly enforce GR 12 or better on all new hires, there's no way some kid who won't finish school should be taking a job away from one who will. No way a Supervisor should consider hiring someone without the ambition to even graduate!

--both stories in foresttalk.com

Booked your Moving Van yet? More wait and see...

The courst have granted P&T another extension on the sale of their 3 BC mills. They now have until July 7th to gather offers.
Hurry up and wait some more, which should be adopted as a motto for our town where absolutely nothing, ever, comes to a speedy conclusion.
The delays have been so numerous the P&T sale has become un-newsworthy in the major papers, like "Dog Bites Man".
Read about it here in the PG Citizen, or here on opinion250, or here on foresttalk.com financial news if you really want to get further depressed.
Worker options have been reduced to move or hope that this area of BC will be granted the status of some isolated Newfoundland outport and grant EI extensions. The second option carries with it the warning that even with an EI extension, that too will be run out by the time the mill becomes operational again.

Milligan Files Enviro Assessment

Terrane Metals has filed their project assessment, the next step is to file to initiate the statuatory review period.
Read the article, they even mention some workers will be living in the Fort.
----opinion250.com

P&T's Halsey Oregon mill was flogged for $24 million yesterday to Ableco Finance LLC.
---Portland Journal

Mackenzie takes another kick in the 'nads as CANFOR announces an indefenite shutdown of it's mill there, throwing another 200 people out of work
---opinion250.com

Canada Paid for US Timber 'Slush Fund'

From the 2006 Softwood Lumber Deal:

"much of the $1 billion the Canadian negotiators relinquished to the United States has been used to reward the American lumber industry and other friends of President George Bush's administration. Concerns the money would be used for a slush fund may well have been fulfilled."

But wait, it's not that at all...

"We don't like where the money went," said Peter Goldman, the director and managing attorney of the Washington Forest Law Center. "I personally would not call it a political slush fund; I'd call it a timber industry slush fund."

So let's keep in mind the figure $129 million doled out to help Forestry across all Canada. And look at what got dispersed:

$500 million to the Coalition for Fair Lumber Imports, the American lobby group that sparked the latest round in the softwood lumber dispute in the first place

FOUR TIMES as much directly to 'the enemy'

$200 million to the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, an organization created to receive the funds and dominated by timber industry executives

Almost twice as much to AMERICAN forestry, AMERICAN communities, controlled by the very people who started this.

$150 million to the American Forest Foundation, which "promotes the interests of small forest landowners"

More to AMERICAN small forest owners than ALL of Canada got.
--- figures from Andrew Macleod's story in The Tyee

So when we see Dick Harris's smiling face in the paper as he hands over a niggardly $130,000 to talk us into being farmers, WTF are we doing cheering him? It's a slap in the face to the Fort's mill workers, and the electors that supported this clown. Let's keep that in mind if an election is called. You want to support a gov't of sycophants who'll willingly give 1,200 times as much to the American Forest Foundation as they'll give to you? Let's tack on the $2 million to train people for jobs that aren't here and recalculate. That's only 75 times as much to the A.F.F. alone. 250 times as much to C.O.F.I. the bastards who crippled our whole Industry.
Is this the type of 'representation' you deserve? The figures make Chretien's Adscam look bush league. This is ONE BILLION dollars to the blackmailers, to keep up the blackmail, because they're too chicken to stand up for their own country!