Port Clements council members say rumours are flying that giant forestry company Weyerhaeuser Co. wants to sell Tree Farm Licence 39, which covers a quarter of Graham Island and provides employment for a significant proportion of Port residents.
"There's no doubt they're trying to sell the place," said councillor Gerry Johnson Tuesday night (Jan. 4). "You can be sure they're going to sell it."
Councillor Paul Waring said it's not the first time Port residents have heard rumours about the TFL, but it's hard to find out what is really going on.
"This raises concerns once again, someone is talking about selling our backyard and no one has bothered to let us know," he said.
Council members had also heard that Weyerhaeuser would like to split its Graham Island operations -known as Block 6- off from the rest of the TFL, which is located on Vancouver Island. Mr. Johnson said the company will not be able to split the TFL or sell it without first consulting the Council of the Haida Nation, due to the recent Supreme Court decision.
The idea of turning Block 6 into a separate TFL is a good one and Port Clements has been advocating it since 1977, Mr. Johnson added.
In Vancouver, Weyerhaeuser communications manager Sarah Goodman said the company had no comment about whether it is selling the TFL, and that it would make an announcement if it did sell part of its operations.
"All I can say is we do not comment on rumours," she said. "If there was an agreement, we would make an announcement."