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Government diversifying economy amid pulpmill, sawmill shutdowns
PRINCE GEORGE – Following a string of pulpmill and sawmill closures in Northern B.C that has impacted communities like Chetwynd, Houston B.C., Prince George, and more, the B.C. Government announced $13 million of funding for manufacturing businesses in north B.C. While the government says forestry will always be heavily supported, as it remains one of our province’s biggest industries, Minister of Jobs, Economic Development, and Innovation Brenda Bailey says diversifying the economy is a big focus.
“We know the forestry sector has been hit by a whole bunch of different factors, including what the markets look like right now. For example, we know that yellow pine is almost half of the price folks are getting than they were just a year ago. So there’s a lot of really difficult things that are facing the forestry sector kind of all at once,” Bailey said.