| An Alberta forestry operation is destroying tonnes of useable wood and violating its contract with the provincial government, according to some of its employees. The company, however, says it’s not doing anything wrong and the workers are misrepresenting the situation.
The workers are accusing West Fraser Timber of taking only the trees it can turn into lumber from its logging operation near Hinton and destroying the rest or leaving it to rot. Photos given to the media show piles of timber burning on the ground. "They’re destroying or wasting pulp wood," says Eric Rosendahl, who works in West Fraser’s mill in Hinton. "People are pissed off at the way they’re treating the forest." Last year, the company decided to stop processing their own trees into pulp and instead started importing woodchips from other areas for their mill. As a result, the company began discarding or destroying any trees not suitable for being turned into lumber.
"They’re burning their own pulp wood, then bringing it in from somewhere else," says Rosendahl, who believes the company shouldn’t cut down the trees if they’re not planning to use them.
As a member of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union, he began hearing complaints about the waste from lumberjacks and members of the public roughly a year ago. The union took these concerns to Alberta Sustainable Development and Resources (SDR), the provincial department that oversees forestry. While the department listened to their concerns, he says they didn’t take any action.
David Eggen, an NDP MLA from Edmonton, became involved around the same time and says that the provincial government wouldn’t do anything about the situation, so he brought up the concerns in the legislature last week. According to records of the debate, SDR Minister Ted Morton told the legislature that the piles of burning wood were common "everywhere that forestry is done."
Eggen argues that the practices are wasteful and in violation of West Fraser’s contract with SDR, which is currently up for review. "We want to make sure that they’re using best practices," he says. "The workers don’t like (destroying the timber). They say it’s wrong."
West Fraser’s contract contains a section that states that the company "shall not commit acts of waste" and must conduct its operations "in such a manner as to achieve the highest degree of economic utilization of the timber." The company argues that it isn’t violating its contract and is not wasting any wood. "We’re utilizing all the useable wood," says Jim LeLacheur, a manager with West Fraser who works in the Hinton area. "We don’t cut trees down that we don’t use." He says that the company discards or destroys less than 10 per cent of its cut, which is normal practice. West Fraser brings in wood chips for its pulp mill because it’s the most economically feasible thing to do and the previous practice of turning its own trees into pulp wasn’t financially sustainable, he says.
LeLacheur says the workers are anxious because the company restructured its operations last year and that he’s working to address the concerns raised. "We’ve heard all the complaints," he says. "We take people out and show them the site and let them know what we’re doing."
It doesn’t make sense for the company to cut down and destroy useable wood, says Parker Hogan, director of public affairs for the Alberta Forest Products Association. He says it’s in the industry’s best interest to properly manage the forest because it depends on the trees for its business. "I find (the claims) a little far-fetched," he says. "The forest (around Hinton) has been sustainably managed for more than 60 years." He says it’s standard practice to discard some wood, such as the tops of trees or the branches, and provincial regulations require it in order to help regenerate the forest.
Rosendahl, however, says that the burning of timber at West Fraser goes beyond this. He also feels that the new contract between the government and the company should be negotiated openly with public input. "The trees belong to everyone," says Rosendahl. "If you’re not going to process them for pulp, then leave them standing."
West Fraser has faced accusations of environmental irresponsibility before. Environmentalists have accused the company of logging old-growth forests and destroying the habitat of woodland caribou, leading clients such as Victoria’s Secret to cancel their contracts with the company. |
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