Email from Carl Sweet to Federation of BC Woodlot Associations, November 11, 2021

My name is carl Sweet a bunch of us are organizing a couple of BC Rallies. One on the Island and one through the interior. I know some of this take back is going to affect some woodlots owners. Please call me 250-830-7829. Hoping you can send this to your membership and help us support BC forestry. THANKS CARL 

Good morning/afternoon,

With the recent announcement from the NDP regarding the deferral of 2.6 million has of old growth, we are planning a huge rally in both Victoria & Vancouver! We are hoping this rally will be bigger then the Yellow Ribbon convoy to Victoria in 1994 but we need your help! We are planning on shutting down Vancouver & Victoria on November 18th with convoys of logging trucks, vehicles & people from the far north of BC & from all over Vancouver Island. We would very much welcome & appreciate your participation in this rally! We need the government to hear our voices & to see the people who will be most affected by this latest decision to destroy the very fabric of what BC was built on & that is the forest industry!

Once again this government has failed those of us who own a logging business, the communities who rely on forestry & the people who work directly or indirectly in the forest industry! We need to show this government we will not stand down but will Stand Up for BC forestry! We can shut our businesses down for a day or we can be shut down for good! The time for action is now & to hold this government accountable for this decision which was based on emotion & not on scientific fact! In their own words, this decision was made with no socio-economic impact analysis on what it could mean to the industry, the communities & to the people! This decision was based on a 5 member Old Growth Technical Advisory Panel of which 4 members belong to the Sierra Club! How is this fair to the forest industry & those who rely on or work within the industry? Where was the voice for the forestry companies who will be detrimentally affected by this decision? The communities & the people who live there & work directly or indirectly in the industry? Last but not least & most importantly, why was First Nations not consulted? Where is their voice? We saw what happened on Vancouver Island & how the communities & the people were affected during a nearly 9 month USW strike in 2019 & 2020. Communities were crippled & people were devastated with the loss of their homes, vehicles & their savings! Do we really want to see this again with the loss of jobs this deferral will bring to many across BC? The emotional & economic toll on this Province will be astronomical! 

Please join us for the biggest Stand Up BC rally this Province has ever seen! We hope to see you in either Victoria or Vancouver on Thursday, November 18th. For further details please contact Tamara at nimpkishlogging@gmail.com or 250-897-2823

STAND UP BC 

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!