B.C. Forestry Policy Criticized as Circular and Data-Deficient in New Report
A new report from British Columbia's provincial forestry advisory council has delivered a scathing assessment of the province's forest management approach, likening it to paddling in circles and revisiting the same issues repeatedly without meaningful progress.
Groundhog Day for Forestry Policy
The report's release was framed with symbolic timing, coinciding with Groundhog Day and invoking comparisons to the Bill Murray film where events replay endlessly. Council co-chair Garry Merkel, who presided over the presentation, characterized it as "another freakin' review" of B.C. forest policy, highlighting what he sees as a pattern of repetitive decision-making without resolution.
Questionable Data Undermines Old Growth Deferrals
Merkel, who previously led a landmark review of old growth strategy under the John Horgan NDP government, now acknowledges significant problems with the implementation of those recommendations. He stated that many old growth harvesting deferrals imposed across the province may need to be revisited because they were based on poor quality information.
"We actually don't know for sure that they're the right ones because of the quality of the information that went in," Merkel confessed. "It's a garbage in, garbage out kind of exercise."
This admission raises serious questions about the certainty with which the New Democrats implemented old-growth deferrals affecting companies, workers, and communities throughout British Columbia.
Multiple Policy Pillars Under Scrutiny
The council report casts doubt on several key components of current NDP forest policy:
- It suggests that "many" of the 54 recommendations from the recent B.C. Timber Sales review should be paused or ceased altogether
- Forest landscape plans, which Premier David Eby has cited as breakthroughs in cooperation, are criticized for excluding key stakeholders
Merkel specifically noted that these plans are developed through "a negotiation amongst a very select group of people," leaving approximately 90 percent of affected parties outside the process and dissatisfied with the outcomes.
Metaphors of Dysfunction
In describing the current state of B.C. forest policy, Merkel employed vivid culinary imagery: "With many layers that we don't know what they are — we've made a cake that doesn't taste very good, built on a weak foundation."
His co-chair, Shannon Janzen, a forester and former vice-president of Western Forest Products, offered a different metaphor, though the report emphasizes that both perspectives point toward systemic problems requiring fundamental reassessment.
Minister's Tepid Response
Forest Minister Ravs Parmar has reportedly reacted without enthusiasm to the council's findings, despite the report's urgent warnings about the need for structural changes in how British Columbia manages its forest resources.
The comprehensive assessment suggests that without improved data quality and more inclusive decision-making processes, B.C. risks continuing to paddle in policy circles rather than making substantive progress toward sustainable forest management.
