Canadian Forest Industries: Shannon's heartbreak a rallying cry

A courageous woman named Shannon Payne called from Burns Lake, BC this week to ask how she could help end the mad scramble to deliver 80% of the winter's timber to mills in 10 or 11 weeks - the situation we've called Stumpage Bingo.

Shannon's been wrestling with this for a couple of weeks, ever since her husband, Craig, was killed in a collision between two logging trucks near Burns Lake. Somehow, between dealing with her husband's death, the impact it's having on her 10 and 13-year-old sons, and trying to put her life on track again, she made time to call us and ask "how can I end this? Nobody should have to deal with this."

She's right. The Central Interior Logging Association (CILA) has been campaigning to change the stumpage adjustment system so mills aren't tempted to try to save costs by holding back log deliveries while waiting for a quarterly rate drop. In hindsight, we may have been too gentle. We talked about the loss of income to truckers, the disruption to the sector, the threat to the safety of truckers and the travelling public.

We should have stated the obvious: Stumpage Bingo kills people.

What will it take to get government to change the stumpage rules, or forest companies to quit the game? Do we have to get "Stumpage Bingo Kills People" bumper stickers made? Do we have to ask truckers to write letters to government and media describing their close calls, the injuries they've suffered, the friends they've lost? Do we have to get a legal interpretation on how blame for deaths should be shared?

Stumpage Bingo is gambling with people's lives. Thanks, Shannon, your determination will help make a difference.