Mill closures and job losses, which are particularly devastating for small communities, demand solutions, says the B.C. Government Employees' Union, which is trying to drum up ideas in a series of community dialogues.
The BCGEU -- which represents forests ministry staff -- was in Prince George Tuesday, following earlier sessions in Castlegar, Campbell River and Kamloops.
"We want to bring it back to the industry that helped build this province," said Darryl Walker, president of the union.
"We have to talk about the needs of the communities, the needs of young people in the communities. Whether they are going to have work when they finish school, whether they are going to be able to stay in their communities, or whether they're going to be forced to leave," said Walker.
During a protracted downturn in the past several years, caused, in part, by a collapse in the U.S. housing sector, thousands of forestry jobs were lost in Northern B.C.
While some shuttered mills have returned to production, others have remained closed. Two sawmills in Prince George -- Winton Global and Canfor's Rustad Bros. plant -- are on indefinite closure.
Sawmills have been closed permanently in Terrace, Quesnel, Mackenzie and Fort St. James. A newsprint mill in Mackenzie and a linerboard plant in Kitimat were also closed permanently.
Before the latest downturn, mills had closed as large forest companies merged and consolidated production at centrally-located mills.
Walker said feedback from the meetings -- where union, municipal, business and First Nations leaders were invited -- has suggested that communities get the first access to timber, and that log exports are better restricted.
The province must also do a better job of replanting timber, and focus on building a value-added forest sector, he said.
But the union is also concerned with cuts to forest ministry staff in the past decade, about 1,000 positions.
The B.C. Liberal government has said that technological advancement has helped make the forest service more efficient and effective with less staffing.
The provincial government, under the leadership of former-forests minister Pat Bell, has also worked hard with industry to open up a new market for lumber in China.
Re-openings in Mackenzie, Chetwynd and Quesnel have been helped by the emerging market in China.
Recently, Conifex, a new entrant into the Northern B.C. forest sector, announced it is adding second shifts to its sawmills in Fort St. James and Mackenzie.
A pulp mill in Mackenzie was also restarted last year with the help of the provincial government.
