In an attempt to build a better working relationship with Native Canadians in British Columbia, the BC Liberals are essentially giving away the farm - or in this case, the forests.

In what will amount to the most sweeping changes in BC forest policy in more than 50 years, the BC Liberals plan to confiscate 20 per cent, or about 15 million cubic meters, of timber from forest licensees. About 8 per cent of the confiscated goods, or roughly 6 million cubic metres of timber, will be handed over to BC Aboriginals - the remaining 12 per cent is earmarked for resource communities and a newly created timber auction.

Companies like CanFor Corporation and Doman Industries Ltd., who competed for their timber licenses, will have 20 per cent of their timber licenses taken away. Clearly, this will result in job losses for employees of these companies and may result in the closure of mills. This will have a devastating impact on many communities whose economies rely heavily on the forest industry.

Not surprising, industry leaders such as Rick Doman, president of Doman Industries Ltd., have spoken out against the government's proposed legislative package to take back timber. But what is perhaps surprising, many Aboriginal groups are urging the government to postpone ratification of the proposal. Aboriginal groups are concerned about what government plans will do in resource towns where the timber take back will cause economic turmoil for non-Aboriginals.

The timber take back isn't the first move the BC government has made in favour of Aboriginals in the forest industry. The BC government established a $30-million Economic Measures Fund to go toward job and business development in native communities. In other words, the Economic Measures Fund is a fancy title for business subsidy. This is contrary to their election platform declaring a Liberal government would eliminate business subsidies because government business subsidies give some companies an unfair competitive advantage over others.

In May 2002, the BC government introduced legislation enabling Aboriginal owned forest companies to apply for forest tenures without competition. To date more than 1.1 million cubic metres of timber have been direct awarded to Aboriginal owned forest companies. So much for another election promise to bring back open tendering.

Further, the BC government has also announced their intention to share revenue generated from forestry with native bands. This announcement is the thin edge of the wedge. If the BC government is prepared to share forestry revenue with native bands, obviously they are prepared to share the revenue from other natural resource development as well.

The natural resources of a province belong to all citizens of a province and all citizens of a province - native and non-native - benefit from the revenue generated from natural resource development.

This is because hospitals, schools and roads for example, are financed in part through tax dollars and revenue generated from natural resources. The act of handing over a percentage of this revenue to native bands has the affect of reducing the amount of general revenue that can be used to benefit all citizens of the province.

It is very important native Canadians enter the mainstream of Canada's economy. Viable business ventures are one way to achieve this. In a free market system, all players must be on an equal footing. Unfair competitive advantages, such as direct award contracts, business subsidies and robbing "Peter-to-pay-Paul", will only serve to create chaos and tension in the forest industry.