More than 100 logging trucks will be making their way from Merritt to Vancouver to protest the mill closures and curtailments as well as the many job losses that have occurred as a result.

Organizer Howard McKimmon says he’s been talking with people directly involved in the forest industry and they’re devastated and don’t know where to turn. The group is headed to UBCM to let BC politicians know how they feel although they don’t have any meetings scheduled with anyone. “We’re going to go down there and make some noise. I’d like apologize to the people of Vancouver ahead of time. We’re not there to inconvenience anybody, but we really do need to get our message across. For every logging job that is lost in a community, there are probably 10 or 15 other jobs that are affected.”

McKimmon says the big message is that there needs to be a change to stumpage to help ease the cost of getting lumber from the forests to the mill, one of the major hurdles for the BC forest industry. He says it started as a rally for logging truckers, but it has gone way beyond that. “It’s everybody this is impacting throughout the forest based communities. We’ve got trailer manufacturers, we’ve got people working in the downtown core selling groceries, they’re here. It’s big.”

The convoy left Merritt around 10:00 this morning and should arrive in Vancouver early this afternoon.