To the editor:
Like many people here, I wish the Kitsumkalum First Nation well in their purchase of the closed Skeena Sawmills sawmill.
Returning that sawmill to local ownership is a positive sign.
And I look forward to the provincial government transferring the logging licences which came with the mill purchase to the Kitsumkalum so that the Kitsumalum can start the groundwork to re-open the mill and put people back to work.
What I am hoping I don't see when the sawmill re-opens is more exporting of our logs.
I have lived in Terrace for more than 70 years and I spent 30 years working at Skeena Sawmills so I know what kind of impact its closure has had on families in this area.
It is hard on families to see logging trucks and railcars full of logs going for export or to mills elsewhere.
What has happened to our fish is happening to our forests. Our forests can't sustain the pressure of bugs, forest fires and exporting.
Our forests must be managed so that there is wood for future generations so that they can earn a living. We should be making sure our townspeople are being looked after with jobs for their families.
Exporting logs is also exporting jobs, jobs that our local people need. And let's not forget that when large companies close, such as the sawmill, that affects businesses all through town.
Whoever wins the provincial election must pay attention to our forests and to our forest industry. Mills all over the province have closed and more will close if something does not happen.
Above all, we must use our local logs for local jobs. If Skeena Sawmills needs to make changes to cut local wood, then they must be supported. And that must be the message sent to our local governments and to the provincial government.
George Chinn,
Terrace, B.C.
