I am a little surprised about how some Prince George residents are expressing shock over the Canfor Pulp Mill closure.
It was predicted at least 30 years ago.
People in the forestry industry both private and government were saying that the pine beetle was going to devastate the pine forest and the industry. It was estimated that 2-4 billion pine trees would be lost, and only half would be salvageable. The prediction that Prince George would lose a pulp mill was easy to make and was publicly made. The prediction has come true in 2023.
Why the surprise today?
The alarm bells that were rung 30 years ago have been partially forgotten about. One of the reasons for the memory failure was the suppression of free speech. From my recollections the government put a gag order on government forestry officials to not talk about the pine beetle crisis. The predictions were so bad that the government did not want the alarm bells to be heard.
So where we are today under leftist governments where free speech is under attack not just for government employees but individuals as well is not a surprise.
We had 30 years to get the government to properly plan and adjust rural economies for a devastated industry. What has been done besides restricting free speech? Not much.
The surprise is that Canadians are allowing free speech to be under attack. It has devastating consequences.
Wayne Martineau, Fraser Lake
