Letter to Editor re Fairy Creek defenders and all other old-growth protesters

Jan. 19, 2022

In recent letter to editor in Kelowna paper, a 'conservative' called protestors at Fairy Creek 'nincompoops', said 'get a real job', so I wrote back - Taryn Skalbania

Re: “Find legitimate jobs for protesters,” Letters, Jan 15:

Dear Editor: I support of the actions of “tree-hugging heretics” as Paul Crossley of Penticton refers to the thousands of ancient tree, primary forest and old-growth defenders, province-wide.

We hold the lawful right to protest; history proves we must push the legal system to make necessary changes for a better society for all, especially the environment. I wonder if Crossley would label the Abolitionists “heretics,” the Suffragettes “negligent dissenters,” the anti-commercial whaling movement “nonconformists” or the no tobacco advertising lobbyists “bellyachers.” To oppose the Stasi was illegal, so is defending freedom “out of line?” 

Throughout history, defenders and protesters have had to resort to unsanctioned acts to gain lawful rights and freedoms —because it’s law doesn’t make it right.

Clear-cut industrial logging Crown forests has failed B.C. taxpayers.

Not only are commercial deforestation actions causing dirty drinking water, floods, droughts, wildfires, missing salmon, extirpated caribou and biodiversity loss, all this collateral damage is still not maintaining logging jobs, providing trees to local mills nor supporting vibrant forestry communities. 

After decades believing logging is king, we need to know it does not support our economy with any resource extraction nostalgia or benefits of the past. Only 1.9% of B.C.’s workforce remains in forestry, and only 2.69% of provincial GDP is gained from province-wide landscape destruction. Logging ranks 15th in industries, well behind tourism.  Only a handful of northern logging communities still have trees, numbers are dropping daily.

The most insulting yet lesser-known fact of today’s trickle-down economics is government privatizes all the profits and socializes all the risks and clean up from our logging licensees, including annual handouts for timber industry nearing $1 million, daily!

These include four subsidies: Forest Management, BC Hydro, Carbon Emissions, Loss of Carbon Sequestration Capacity plus gifts masquerading as grants from Forestry Enhancement Society. Indeed, forestry is not paying the bills, folks. We are.

I acknowledge and appreciate Fairy Creek defenders and all other old-growth protesters who gather to protect our remaining primary forest; as old-growth panel author, Dr. Gary Merkel, fears, before we log every last stick.

Taryn Skalbania, Peachland

Written in response to Jan. 15, 2022 letter https://www.pentictonherald.ca/opinion/article_be89ad44-7585-11ec-8b54-ff7264b11ad9.html:

Find legitimate jobs for protesters

Dear Editor:

Re: “Old growth protesters out of line,” (Herald/Courier Jan. 13).

It was an excellent Editorial in Wednesday’s edition.

Social courses of action give us accreditation to protest, but only responsibly.

Not in the dysfunctional manner we see with bellyaching anti-vaxers, negligent pipeline dissenters and tree-hugging heretics.

Definitely there is an immediate need to round up these nonconformist nincompoops and put them to work at legitimate jobs such as making our highways litter free.

Paul Crossley

Penticton