When the public showed up at the Island Timberlands (IT) open house they were looking for consultation, but that’s not what they were offered.
IT recently held a public open house in Powell River, in order to meet a requirement set down by PRSC Land Development Ltd.
Rather than public consultation, IT’s meeting was a one-sided forum for public frustration. Many at the meeting had already made up their minds about IT, and nothing the company could have said would have altered that.
IT’s take on public consultation did little to build public trust that the company will fulfill it’s obligations to the environment.
Public trust is exactly what the company needs. Resource development companies whether they be in mining, oil or forestry must make meaningful connections with the communities they impact and earn the social license to operate. Few in the room at the beginning of the night could see how IT’s project benefits Powell River and that did not change.
While the company did provide the public an opportunity to ask questions, what people wanted was a clear presentation of the harvest plan. What they were given were statements on the company’s commitment to environmentally sound forestry practices.
Public consultation contains three core components: notification, communication, or two-way flow of information, and finally participation or active involvement in the consultation process.
While IT provided one week of notice for the meeting, it did very little in terms of consultation and participation. There was not much the public could take away from the information provided by IT, unless they were biologists, loggers or foresters.
Instead of hearing questions from the public of laying out future harvest plans, IT gave a brief PowerPoint lecture, followed by a short 10-minute question and answer period, which quickly became a venue to vent frustration.
Representatives from IT seemed reluctant to even take ownership of the meeting, or enter discussion. Frequently Chief Clint Williams of Tla’amin (Sliammon) First Nation and PRSC president, was forced to lead the meeting and diffuse tension. It is a mark of how much Williams is respected in the Powell River area that he was listened to by those in attendance.
IT squandered an opportunity to speak its piece and build better relations with the community. Instead positions are more entrenched than ever. Instead of preventing conflict down the line IT seems to have done more to encourage protest than prevent it.
