Mr. Coleman Chimes In

CapitulationForTheSoftwoodNation
PulpingThePublicTrustVille

British Columbia's Minister of 'Forests and Home On The Rangeland Security', Rich Coleman, has given the Softwood Lumber 'A Deal Is Imminent' Whirlitzer his own little crank.

VICTORIA – The Canada-U.S. softwood lumber deal should be done before the end of the month, B.C. Forests Minister Rich Coleman says.

As the source of more than half the country’s lumber exports south of the border, B.C. has been a key player in the negotiations. Coleman has been kept busy with industry and ministry staff meetings to finalize the framework agreement that was reached in April. That framework calls for the return of $4 billion in U.S. duties charged to Canadian producers in recent years, in exchange for a new system of volume limits and variable border taxes.

Coleman said in an interview Thursday that most of the outstanding issues have been worked out.

I for one, sure am glad to hear that Mr. Coleman is continuing to do his best to give away everything he can to the Americans.

After all, he and his predecessor, Mike de Jong, did a great job giving $200 million dollars of free money to Weyerhaeuser recently while simultaneously chucking tree farm licenses and raw log-destroyed jobs right out the window on Vancouver Island.

Paul Willcocks has that story.

VICTORIA - It’s not as if Weyerhaeuser made any sort of case for a $200-million gift from B.C. taxpayers.

But the Liberal government gave them one, without getting any identifiable benefit in return.
And both Mike de Jong, forest minister at the time, and Rich Coleman, in the job now, have not been able to come up with any answers to explain the gift.

{snip}

Why did the government do it? De Jong wouldn’t respond to questions. Coleman isn’t offering any answers. A deal was done, he says, but that’s it.

It’s none of your business.

Yesssssirrreeee, Bob.

It's none of our business, because what used to be ours is now theirs.

And they're giving it away.

All of it.


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So, while it appears that the people of British Columbia got absolutely nothing (say it again!) in return for this corptactular giveaway, what of the members of GordCo Inc and their friends and uncles (and maybe even their brothers)? Well, we can't actually say because, as Mr. Coleman says, the 'deal' is done and it's a secret.

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