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By Caden Fanshaw

FORESTRY

Mackenzie hopeful to benefit from B.C. forestry modernization plan

Jun 2, 2021 | 3:26 PM

MACKENZIE – For Mackenzie, it’s a chance to revive an industry that has been the heart and soul of their community.

Not long ago, the major players all left their operations in Mackenzie, Mayor Joan Atkinson was honest in calling out CANFOR for sitting on a large tenure while their local mill sits idle.

It’s this exact scenario that triggered a response from Premier Horgan in the forestry announcement on Tuesday.

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“I think of the town of Mackenzie,” Horgan said, as he laid out how the intentions paper lays out a lot of potentially good news for Northern B.C. communities who have been decimated by the sector in recent years.

Atkinson was encouraged by the potential changes in legislation but was concerned about the timeline.

“The engagement process for this stretches into 2022,” said Atkinson. “Our community has been hurting for over 24 months already.”

Mackenzie will benefit in many ways, but most of all from better clarity for secondary industries.

Brink Forest Products is one of those industries operating in Prince George, who say the news is good across the board.

Bigger players like Canfor, Interfor, and West Fraser are considered the primary segment of the industry while Conifex, Brink, and others rely on the bigger players to stay afloat.

Brink described the situation as everyone working together, and while he’s optimistic, it serves as another reminder about the skill sets needed to fulfill the future needs of the industry.