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Liberal forest policy slammed |
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Written by MARK NIELSEN
Citizen staff
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Thursday, 08 May 2008 |
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BOB SIMPSONCAROLE JAMES
A high dollar and a struggling U.S. housing market may be two of the reasons why nearly 3,000 forest workers in the Prince George area have lost their jobs, but poor provincial government policy is also a cause, they contended during a press conference at the United Steel Workers' Prince George office.
"We have a government that has basically given up one of the most important industries in British Columbia," James said. "They've thrown up their hands and said 'there's nothing we can do, so we'll just let the industry go down.'"
Immediate steps by the government should include reinstating the job protection commissioner and the mill review closure process, said Sinclair, both eliminated when the Liberals came to power
"Today, you can close a mill with no consequence," he said. "You can close a pulp mill with no consequence, you can close a sawmill with no consequence and with no review."
Prince George North MLA Pat Bell dismissed the proposals as unrealistic.
"To try and suggest that companies should continue to operate at what is the lowest prices historically is just silly," he said. "Pope and Talbot in Mackenzie is out of business today because they're in bankruptcy, they have no cash left, they have no bankers that will lend them money."
The provincial government has earmarked $129 million from the community development trust, a bridging-through-retirement program, for tuitions for training upgrades, and additional money for job creation and other initiatives.
At the press conference, NDP forest critic Bob Simpson maintained it's federal government money and the province should at least match that total.
Bell said Simpson is correct in that it's a portion of a federal government pot administered by the provinces, but added there's only one taxpayer and Victoria is close to rolling out the initiatives that will come as a result.
"We're very excited about what's being brought forward and we think it's going to have a meaningful impact on workers throughout our region," Bell said.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 08 May 2008 )
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