A new study shows that over 55,000 hectares of proposed old-growth deferrals are at risk of being logged with some deferrals having already been destroyed or in the process of being clearcut in order to make way for pipelines.
The Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs and Stand.earth are now renewing their calls on the provincial government to act immediately to stop logging in the most at-risk old-growth forests, they said in a statement. According to a statement from Minister of Forests Katrine Conroy, a number of First Nation groups have indicated that they do not support the deferrals proposed by the province. The statement also said that the ministry has always been clear that they will respect their decisions and will not be imposing deferrals unilaterally. Logging will proceed on their territories, Conroy said.
Results of the report show that major industrial forest companies are the biggest threat to old-growth deferrals with Canfor at the top of the list. West Fraser is second followed by the Sinclar Group in third. Lastly, the fourth company posing a significant risk is TransCanada. “The government has been really talking out of both sides of its mouth trying to say that it can implement these recommendations, but also really showing the industry that they have no teeth when it comes to getting them to stop logging,” she said.