Stakeholders and viewpoints

The industry, by and large, would like to retain the same level of resource extraction rights granted to them by provincial governments in the past As well, they are generally opposed to additional regulations which would place significant restrictions on their resource extraction practices. The industry voices concern that it could not remain competitive in the international forest products market if forced to operate with additional restrictions on practices or more significantly, restrictions on "working forest" (harvestable forest) land base. The industry is also concerned that uncertainties about regulation, allowable cut rate, and available land base do not allow them to make long term plans.

Forest industry workers and communities

In British Columbia, unlike most of the rest of Canada, land treaties were not entered into between European settlers and first nations people. British "Crown" title to the Province came about by de-facto occupation by the technologically dominant and then more populous colonists.

Control over and benefit from natural resources (including forest resources) are some of the major issues to be dealt with in negotions now being joined between some first nations groups and the Provincial and Canadian Federal governments.

Between and within the first nations, there is some disagreement as to if and how to proceed with land claims negotiations. There is also some disagreement about different forms of leadership and governance in the communities; a situation brought about largely, in the long view, by the disruptive influence on first nations cultures of the European intrusion of people, values, customs, and systems of law and government. There is general agreement, as far as I can tell, amongst the first nations, however, that they should have considerably more influence over their own lives and the resources in their traditional territories than is presently the case.

Environmental Conservationists