RECENT RESEARCH on the current E & N lands ownership is contained is this article:
Who currently owns those portions of the E&N lands that were previously owned by TimberWest
< From the initial E&N Land grant (1800s) until 2011, the lands were privately owned (fee simple) by a number of successive companies (including MacMillan Bloedel, Pacific Forest Products, Weyerhauser and others)
< The most recent owner was TimberWest
< TimberWest was a publicly traded company, meaning that all its annual reports and other important documents had to be made publicly available (they can be seen today by searching the SEDAR public database (link: www.sedarplus.ca))
< In their last annual report filed on SEDAR as a private company (in 2010) they state “TimberWest is well positioned as the largest owner of private forest lands in Western Canada. The Company owns in fee simple approximately 320,000 hectares/791,000 acres of private land.”
< In their last annual report filed on SEDAR as a private company (in 2010) they also state “Couverdon, the real estate division of TimberWest, has developed a long range strategic plan to realize value from land that has a higher and better use than timberlands.”
< In April 2011 TimberWest (including all its lands and subsidiary companies) was acquired in a deal for 1.03 billion dollars by two Canadian Pension Funds (the BC investment management Corporation or bcIMC and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board)
(link: prnewswire.com/timberwest-announces-agreement-to-be-acquired-by-bcimc-and-psp-investments-valued-at-103-billion)
Who are these new owners of these 791,000 acres of land on Vancouver Island ??
OWNER #1
The British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (bcIMC) began operations under the Public Sector Pension Plans Act in 2000 to provide investment services to British Columbia’s public sector.According to the BC Public Sector Pension Plans Act……
(5)The investment management corporation is an agent of the government.
(6)The investment management corporation, as an agent of the government, is not liable for taxation except as the government is liable for taxation.
(7)The Business Corporations Act and, despite section 11 of the Financial Institutions Act, the Financial Institutions Act do not apply to the investment management corporation, but the Lieutenant Governor in Council may direct that certain provisions of the Business Corporations Act and the Financial Institutions Act apply to the investment management corporation.
(8)For the purposes of the Securities Act and its regulations, the investment management corporation must be treated in the same manner as the government is treated under that Act.
7 (1)The capital of the investment management corporation is one share with a par value of $10.
(2)The share in the investment management corporation must be issued to and registered in the name of the Minister of Finance and must be held by that minister on behalf of the government.What does this mean??….the proportion of the E&N lands that are owned by bcIMC are owned by the government of British Columbia and thereby by the people of British Columbia
OWNER #2
The Public Sector Pension Investment Board was established by the Public Sector Pension Investment Board Act in 1999. We are a Canadian Crown corporation that invests funds for the pension plans of the federal public service, the Canadian Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Reserve Force
According to the Public Sector Pension Investment Board Act……
3.1 (1) The capital of the Board is $100. The Minister shall pay the capital of the Board out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
(2) The capital is divided into 10 shares having a par value of $10 each. The shares shall be issued to the Minister to be held on behalf of Her Majesty in right of Canada.
(3) The shares issued to the Minister shall be registered by the Board in the name of the Minister.
What does this mean??….the proportion of the E&N lands that are owned by Public Sector Pension Investment Board are owned by the government of Canada and thereby by the people of Canada
Who are the owners of Island TimberLands
(the other major owner of former E&N lands)
< In 2005, bcIMC purchased a 28.3% stake in Island Timberlands and then furthered their investment in 2014 when Brookfield sold their remaining stake in Island Timberlands. AIMco also holds a 25% stake in Island Timberlands (AIMco, 2009)
(Financiers in the forests on Vancouver Island, British Columbia: On fixes and colonial enclosures. (2018) J. Agrarian Change 19(2): 270- 294)
< Although not traceable in the public records……apparently a government owned Chinese Corporation was also trying to purchase a 12.5% stake in Island TimberLands, however there is no public record as to whether this purchase occurred…(link: campbellrivermirror.com/china-poised-to-buy-chunk-of-timberlands)
As citizens of British Columbia and Alberta and as citizens of Canada, we need to demand from our governments that we have unfettered access to those portions of the E&N lands that were previously owned by TimberWest and Island TimberLands