Dave Lang

Topic

Just Letting Her Rip and Hoping for the Best Didn’t Work Out: Raw Log Export Controls in British Columbia, 1871 to 1947

Department of History

Date & location

• Thursday, August 22, 2024
• 2:30 P.M.
• Clearihue Building, Room B315

Examining Committee

Supervisory Committee

• Dr. John Lutz, Department of History, University of Victoria (Supervisor)
• Dr. Peter Cook, Department of History, UVic (Member)

External Examiner

• Dr. Kara Shaw, School of Environmental Studies, UVic

Chair of Oral Examination

• Dr. Kirstin Lane, School of Exercise Science, Physical and Health Education, UVic

Abstract

Raw log exports from British Columbia have been a popular political football for more than 120 years. Governments of all stripes have denounced them while in opposition, but continued to allow them when in power. Whether and to what extent raw logs are exported is determined by the balance of power between government, capital, and public opinion. Government, motivated perhaps by public opinion, perhaps by concern for the long-term benefit of British Columbians, has introduced some modest raw log export controls, found a politically and economically acceptable balance between allowing and restricting raw log exports, and worked diligently to keep the issue quiet. Capital has fought for the right to export logs as it sees fit. The public, guided by a sense that exporting natural resources in their raw state is no way to build an economy, has consistently opposed the practice. The result has been more than a century of a three-way tug of war which has left none of the three stakeholders particularly pleased.