A big thanks to Stefan Labbé for reporting on the BC Council of Forest Industries Convention (Pique, May 3, “Disaster capitalism?”). This is a blatant attempt by the forest industry to exploit people’s fears after the disastrous 2023 wildfire season in order to get free range in “selective” logging. The forest industry is trying to convince the public (and government) that they know best how to “manage” the forests in B.C. in order to reduce wildfire risks and thereby protect people’s properties.
Well, we have all heard the expression of putting the fox in charge of the henhouse. And this tactic is not new: The industrial extraction industries from oil and gas multinationals to industrial ocean fisheries all have deep pockets for “public information campaigns” that make them look less environmentally destructive.
Let us be aware and push back against such misleading and downright dangerous tactics.
