Debbie Haggard has watched forestry shape Port Alberni for decades, first through her family’s trucking business, then through her work in public service. That dual lens informs her argument that forestry remains foundational, even as the sector changes. A small business owner, former president of the Alberni Valley Chamber of Commerce and now a second-term councillor and regional vice-chair, Haggard brings both policy and practical experience to the discussion.
Her concern is personal. Her family’s third-generation trucking business, tied to forestry, is now diversifying for survival. “For the first time in over 50 years, we’re trying to diversify away from the forestry sector,” she said. “We can’t just rely on the forestry sector to keep the lights on anymore.”
That tension—loyalty to forestry and recognition that the model must evolve—runs through her message.
The stakes go beyond the mill
Haggard argues many people underestimate how deeply forestry supports community life. Her case is economic but also citizenship-based.
“The forestry sector is very important to our community,” she said. “We have approximately 900 jobs that are tied to the forestry sector.”
Forestry provides far more than just a paycheque; it’s the quiet bedrock for our schools, hospitals, and municipal infrastructure. It’s a reality that pushes back against the notion that we’re dealing with a simple single-industry debate.
She links those jobs to public services. If Port Alberni’s last mill closed, she warned, the city could lose roughly $5.5 million in tax revenue. That would force painful choices on recreation and services.
The ripple effect is undeniable: for every job in the woods, several more are sustained in the maintenance shops, transport lines, and service businesses that keep the sector moving.
Innovation is the future
Haggard’s vision for the future isn’t about nostalgia; it’s about a hard pivot. She points to her local paper mill as a blueprint, where constant experimentation with new products and technology is the only way to stay in the game.
“Our current paper mill has been very innovative and trying to come up with new products and new technology in order to stay relevant,” she said.
That necessity, she insists, isn’t just local—it’s existential for the entire sector. According to Haggard, the path forward is clear: modernize aging infrastructure, refine how we process second-growth fibre, and, crucially, attract the capital to make it happen. The missing piece of the puzzle, in her view, is the province’s ambivalence. She feels Victoria has yet to match that industrial urgency, treating the sector as an awkward secret rather than the essential economic engine it is.
“I feel like right now, it’s that deep, dark secret. Victoria needs to stand up and be proud that they have a forestry sector.”
That is less a political line than a call for industrial confidence.
Beyond the Old Myths
Haggard is tired of the outdated caricatures of her industry. “It’s not the industry of yesterday,” she insists. Modern forestry, she notes, is rarely about the blunt-force extraction of the past; it involves years of meticulous planning, negotiation, and regulatory compliance before a single tree is touched.
For Haggard, the narrative that pits “the environment” against “forestry” is a false choice. Instead, she sees them as inextricably linked. She is particularly focused on the wisdom embedded in Indigenous relationships to the land—a spiritual connection that she believes the broader resource sector needs to finally listen to, rather than ignore. To her, the future of forestry isn’t about choosing one over the other; it’s about adaptation, stewardship, and finding a way for both to exist in the same space.
A community worth fighting for
Haggard’s motivations, however, reach beyond the economic metrics of the industry. Her commitment to public life is driven by a simpler, more personal arithmetic.
“I wanted to make a better community, not only for my children, but for my grandchildren,” she said.
That forward-looking perspective underpins her stance on resource policy: decisions made today are the inheritance of the next generation. It’s also the engine of her optimism for Port Alberni. She speaks of a city that has weathered its share of turbulence, proving its resilience at every turn. In the end, Haggard’s story isn’t just about the timber trade—it’s about the grit of a town determined to turn its potential into something lasting.
Ian Biana writes for the Resource Works Accelerate team and can be reached at [email protected].
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