Research Paper on:
British Columbia's Trade Unions

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
In order to consider the role which the trades unions should play in  the current economic climate of British Columbia, it is useful to consider to what extent the regions resource based economy has changed over the years, and whether these changes have  significantly affected the position of the trades union movement within the economy as a whole.  Traditionally, British Columbia has always been seen as heavily dependent on the forestry industry, since this formed the basis for its early industrialisation and the communities associated with  this development. However, as Matthaus (2002) points out, despite a public perception that the logging industry is still central to British Columbian economy, this is in fact no longer the  case. Even though forestry still plays a part on the  industrial growth of the region, it is also the case that BC no longer takes a dominant role in the market for wood products, since there are other countries which  can produce and process wood fibre at a much smaller cost than can BC. In addition, environmentalists have become somewhat concerned about the impact which logging will have on BCs  old growth forests, which has also affected BCs position in the world wood market (Matthaus, 2002, PG).  Historically, BCs economy has been based on resources such as lumber and coal which have found it difficult to stay competitive without severe cutting