LIBERAL PLAN LEAVES FOREST-DEPENDENT COMMUNITIES OUT AGAIN, MACDONALD SAYS
VICTORIA – Premier Christy Clark’s so-called jobs announcement Thursday leaves forest-dependent communities and forestry workers out in the cold once again, say the New Democrats.
“The entire Liberal strategy on forestry for the past decade has been based on wishful thinking and hoping for the best,” said New Democrat forest critic Norm Macdonald. “The result has been a loss of more than 34,000 good-paying, family-supporting jobs. Thursday’s announcement was more of the same.
“The sad truth is that this strategy will only result in fewer jobs in the forest industry, not more. As forest health continues to decline, it’s inevitable that we will have fewer trees to harvest as the years go by. Only by increasing the number of jobs we get per tree we cut down can we actually grow jobs in forestry.
“Any jobs plan that doesn’t present a strategy to increase the value we get out of our forests will just continue the failure that is the legacy of B.C. Liberal forest policy.
“As New Democrat leader Adrian Dix said yesterday, it is extremely disappointing that Vancouver Island and the Southern Interior seem to be absent from Ms. Clark’s plan, especially given that these are regions with an historical dependence on forestry,” said Macdonald.
Macdonald pointed out that under the Liberals, raw log exports have spiked in the past two years – up by 50 per cent from 2009 to 2010 alone. Raw log exports only exacerbate the problem, he said.
Macdonald said the premier should have announced a significant investment in forest health, which would have not only put people back to work today, but would have the added benefit of solidifying forestry in the decades to come.
“Our forests need to be seen as the infrastructure on which the forest industry is based,” said Macdonald. “Under the Liberals, tree-planting and silviculture has been severely cut at a time when the forests need it most. This will have serious implications for forestry in the future.
“A healthy forest industry needs a healthy forest. If Premier Clark was really serious about jobs, she would have recognized the problem and ensured there are resources to deal with it.”
Adrian Dix and the New Democrats believe that B.C. logs should support B.C. jobs as part of a forest strategy that respects First Nations, environmental and local needs.
