EXTENDING RESEARCH AND EDUCATION

Members will know that one of the original goals of the Youbou TimberLess Society (YTS) was "To inform and educate our membership and the general public about forest resource issues, especially those which effect people living in the Cowichan Valley."

In the last six months the YTS has reaffirmed this goal by sponsoring a chain of practical and linked initiatives.

In January, the YTS collaborated with the Vancouver Island Public Interest Research Group (VIPIRG) at the University of Victoria (UVic) to pursue socio-economic research into the plight of former Youbou Sawmill workers.

In February, the YTS signed a research contract with five student research interns at UVic who were commissioned to collect data by interviewing former Youbou workers.

In April, the raw data was presented at a meeting to the YTS in conjunction with a summary report of observations and impressions which highlighted three recurring themes.

(1) FINANCIAL STRESS:  The vast majority of former mill workers are now, as a result of the closure of the Youbou Sawmill, in severe economic crises. Forced early retirement, lack of skills, age, and an acute shortage of available jobs in the forest industry are key conditions of the economic hardships that face the majority of former mill workers.

(2) EMOTIONAL STRESS:  The closure of the Youbou Sawmill meant that for a significant number of former mill workers, the social network that the mill provided was no longer available. The removal of such a social support group and the depression surrounding job-loss has resulted in high levels of emotional stress.

(3) CONFUSION:  A substantial portion of the former mill workers are confused as to why the Youbou Sawmill was closed in the first place. A general consensus was that the mill was turning a profit, so why was it shut down when it was more profitable than a number of other mills in British Columbia?

In May the YTS conducted its own preliminary analysis based on the raw information provided in the survey.  Everything was not "okay" with the former mill workers and their families, despite corporate and government claims to the contrary.  For instance:

• 23% of former workers have full-time employment1
• 15% of former workers have part-time employment
• 31% of former workers have no employment income
• 30% of former workers were forced into early retirement

Recently, the YTS convened a meeting of interested researchers in the hope of facilitating the analysis and use of the collected survey data.

The YTS is pleased to announce that Dr. Scott Prudham (University of Toronto) has agreed to conduct detailed analysis of the raw data.
Prudham will act as the lead in this analysis with a view to publishing the results.  In addition, Jan Whitehead (Royal Roads University) and Andrea Mears (VIPIRG) have expressed interest in assisting with this endeavour.  Opportunities to expand and extend research as well as publish will be reviewed periodically.

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