Canwel already surpassing standards, says executive

FERNIE, B.C. — Canwel Fibre VP Jake Blackmore was among those addressing a community meeting about the company’s logging activities on a slope north of this Kootenay city. He sought to assuage concerns raised by conservation group Wildsight about the lack of provincial regulation over private logging activity compared to the public lands that make up most of B.C.’s forestry sites. Blackmore countered Wildsight’s charge that Canwel was doing the “bare minimum”, saying that the company’s voluntary standards already outstrip provincial rules. Canwel sells logs to Canfor, which purchases them only if they meet a standard higher than the province’s, he said. In addition, under a covenant with the Nature Conservancy of Canada, the nonprofit can direct Canwel to alter its plan in areas deemed sensitive.