NDP Forest Tenure Farce
3/12/97
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Date: Wed, 12 Mar 1997
Subject: NDP Forest Tenure Farce
Green Party of Canada
Media Release,
March 12, 1997
Large Corporate Land Sale "Illegal" Say Green Party
The Green Party of BC has called last week's (March 7) sale of Fletcher
Challenge's Crown Lands to TAL Acquisitions and Slocan Forest Products
illegal. It is one of the largest transfers of Crown assets in the
Province's history, and it has gone virtually unreported. The Green Party
wants these lands transferred to local operators commited to sustainable
harvesting and value added production.
Slocan Forest Products, TimberWest, and Fletcher Challenge are well known
violators of the Forest Act. Each has caused ecological devestation
wherever they have operated. TAL Acquisitions is a new player (controlled
by Goepel Shields, TD Securities, TD Capital Group, TD Bank).
"Tenure reform was a major plank in the NDP's "Sustainable Development"
Policy, and it is a reason why so many environmentalists helped them get
elected." says David White (Green Party Environment Critic). "If the
government was serious about tenure reform, they would act quickly to
revoke these licence agreements. If Fletcher Challenge can't make a go of
it on crown land, then there are local people who should be given the
opportunity."
Two years ago, the Green Party and other activists revealed that the B.C.
government had secretly negotiated with over twenty forest companies for
TFL (Tree Farm Licence) agreement renewals. The Green Party argued at
that time that these renewals would make tenure reform almost impossible,
and violated the NDP's own draft legislation that they had proposed while
in opposition under the last Socred government.
Now that the NDP is accepting full blown corporate donations, the Green
Party is wondering whether the government has any financial support from
and/or has invested BC taxpayers money in any of the principals involved
in the transactions. The government has in the past been a major
shareholder of MacMillan Bloedel.
For further information please contact
David White, Environmental Critic,
Green Party of BC,
ph 250-598-0071
email: era@pinc.com