March 28, 2002

Diplomacy in Softwood

"Words mean nothing. There's only one thing that counts: action."
Gordon Campbell, March 25, 2002

The attitude that "words mean nothing" may explain the extreme gap between the New Era Document and statements made while in opposition compared to the actions of the Campbell government. The context of the March 25th quote was a statement Premier Campbell made in the legislature in response to the softwood dispute.

It is understandable that anger is being expressed by the IWA, by the Opposition, by thousands of workers who are seriously hurt and by the government. Leaders, however, need to see that the damage does not spread and that it is mitigated. Premier Campbell might learn that words do mean something if his ill conceived rants offend those upon whom BC depends.

Within days of 9-11 speaking on September 27, 2001, at the Union of BC Municipalities convention, Premier Campbell commented on the importance of eliminating delays and restoring normal flows across the US border. In that same speech he remarked on how most people he spoke with in New York were unaware of the softwood dispute.

All sectors of the BC economy benefit from access to the US market. Exacerbating an already bad situation is cutting off our nose to spite our face. Over 1.98 million people were employed in BC when the Campbell government was sworn in on June 5, 2001. Losing more jobs because of a knee jerk reaction to the softwood dispute will not help a single forest worker. He needs to take a diplomatic tone and enlist the support of governors in the Pacific Northwest. He needs to learn from the mistakes of the past - mistakes he was once quick to criticize.

Many people believe that words are important, and they expect to see consistency between words and actions. The President of the United States gave his word that he wants to see a resolution to the softwood dispute. Rather than having the premier criticize the US president, more might be gained by demonstrating understanding for the forces faced by the US president as he tries to give effect to his good will. Building upon the support of US allies is far more likely to further the long term interests of British Columbia.

Writing in the Vancouver Sun, columnist Norman Spector suggested that the BC Liberal government was too blinded by its relationship with Ottawa which paid no attention to the softwood dispute until it affected Quebec.

As part of their reckless and radical shifts, BC gave away most of what the US wanted long before the last stages of negotiation. An ideologically driven position sacrificed forest dependent communities as it discarded long standing policies. As the case now moves to NAFTA and the World Trade Organization, BC needs to be assured that the interests of our forest dependent communities are fully represented in the Canadian brief.