Liberal Rural Caucus

By Cheryl Jahn

Opposition Plan

Opposition Liberals have forestry plan

Jul 15, 2019 | 2:50 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – It was a show of force. Fifteen MLA’s from rural BC all gathered to talk issues in their ridings and all of rural BC. Not surprisingly, the crisis in forestry was top of mind. The group took time to publicly present a plan to help forest-dependent communities.

That plans looks like this:

1. The provincial government needs to take a leadership role and match employment opportunities between displaced workers and employers. The transition teams must be focused on supporting mill workers, contractors and small businesses, all of which have been heavily impacted by mill closures and curtailments.

2. Workers in affected regions have been suffering through multiple mill closures, forest fires and flooding. Adequate social services, including mental health services, need to be prioritized in these communities to address the cumulative impacts on workers and their communities.

3. The provincial government must ask the federal government to establish programs such as retirement bridging for eligible workers and work-sharing.

CANFOR REACTION

More local reaction to devastating cuts announced by Canfor

1h ago

Dale Culver

RCMP show support for officers charged with obstruction of justice in Dale Culver trial

2h ago

Evac centre opens

Wildfire forces early opening of Prince George reception centre for Fort Nelson evacuees

2h ago

4. Forest fire fuel mitigation can employ workers immediately. The provincial government must make money available to local governments specifically for displaced forestry workers to remove fuel to reduce the risk of wildfires in communities.

5. There needs to be a government-wide response to the crisis in the forestry sector. So far the Premier and the Minister has been missing in action and there needs to be a specific Cabinet Working Group to address the crisis. The plan is destined for Premier John Horgan’s desk. It isn’t the first time a letter with the same message was sent to Horgan’s office. A similar letter was sent a month ago, with so response.

“He has said to workers ‘You have to be patient’ and ‘This isn’t a problem of our making.’ We had a response from the Finance Minister, who said there will be no money, no support in terms of the forest sector,” says John Rustad, Opposition Forestry Critic. “So that has been the response and it’s very disappointing.”

The Premier posted an opinion piece in an Okanagan public on July 12, stating that community response teams have been dispatched to impacted communities. “These teams meet with workers and line up prospects for jobs and retraining.” He adds that his government will be launching public engagement in Interior communities later this month.