Ads and Politics
Diplomacy at 35000 feet
and maybe a bloody nose
We are getting so used to it now. Diplomacy live on TV dispersed from President Trump delivering his view of the world including his take on that pesky neighbour to the north,Canada.
“Yes, Carney apologized to me over that tv add and yes I like him, and they are nasty negotiators, so no deal” etc.
Our PM is no slouch either burning up the jet fuel, but is not yet at the same lofty level dispensing advice and or comments. Give him time though, he might be there one day. At least he has got the flying part down pat.
Meanwhile back down here on Planet Earth we have our Premier Eby gearing up for an add campaign fight with our neighbour “not treating us nice“ regarding soft wood lumber.Content yet to be revealed, but might also be upsetting to the US President.
So what to do for our Premier? Got a full plate of problems I guess but hey, that goes with the territory. Some of these problems are self inflicted to be sure. That little spat with our neighbour in Alberta could easily have been avoided if Premier Eby simply had stayed in his own lane. Tanker ban on the West Coast is not for him to decide. Never mind the pipeline associated with such ban. Maybe to a lesser degree these two items are.
COAL: That dirtiest of all energy resources, right? Almost downright poison for our environmentally leaning premier. Yet coal today is BC’s biggest export. We hate it, but we produce it and ship it. For a price of course. In 2024 BC scored $8.6 billion exporting coal to (I am guessing here) lesser advanced and or environmentally less concerned jurisdictions. Ironically part of the 17.4 million tonnes shipped out of BC each year comes from mines in Montana and Wyoming, US, yes sir. These mines have no shipping facilities on the Us West Coast. Oregon and Washington refuses to handle this commodity due to “environmental concerns“. Luckily for them they have a willing partner right here in BC and have for years shipped their coal by train through BC to Robert Banks, Tsawwassen, destination Asia. No tax revenue to BC, so not so bad a deal for our friends across the line I think. Now if Premier Eby somehow could manage to curtail this little sweetheart deal a whole bunch of irate coalminers (President Trumps favourite supporters remember) would be at his front door in a New York minute demanding something be done ASAP. He might listen to them. Maybe.
SOFT WOOD:
Thorny issue for years and ever increasing tariffs sending shivers all over the industry, mills struggling to stay afloat, people loosing their jobs, future uncertain.
It could be so different. We have the product, skill and expertise and the US want it even if Trump is in denial over this issue. Still they make it harder and harder to the point Premier Eby is on the ad bandwagon and crying out for help. Any kind please.
So why is it that we happily are supplying the US mills with raw logs, so their mills have the means of producing the lumber they need? BC raw logs are leaving the province daily, mostly direction South, while our mills are struggling.
Exports of raw logs is subject to approvals from the BC government. And we approve that business. In the first six weeks of 2025 BC approved exports of raw logs filling 6564 logging trucks. On a yearly basis that adds up to a whole lot of logs. Maybe we (Eby) should simply say to our friends down south, “We will supply any dimension of lumber you desire, but you will NOT have access to our raw logs“. Realizing this could be a more complicated issue to deal with (above my pay grade) I still feel it could be a part of a negotiated settlement beneficial to both parties.
So there you have it Premier Eby. Prepare to get into the ring with a heavy weight (pun intended) from across the line. It may end up with a bloody nose, but that is the risk you take. On the positive side of this you sure have a decided height advantage, reach too, plus the fact you seem to be in much better shape. Go get them. Elbows up remember. Good luck.
Kris Christensen
Denman Island
