Written by GORDON HOEKSTRA
Citizen staff
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Wednesday, 26 November 2008 |
The B.C. government does not need to wait for a bailout package from Ottawa in order to provide more assistance for forest workers -- the province can act now, Opposition forestry critic Bob Simpson said Wednesday.
Simpson was reacting to statements from Premier Gordon Campbell and Forests Minister Pat Bell, who have said the federal government needs to treat the forest sector the same as the auto sector if any financial assistance is provided. Ottawa is considering some kind of bailout package for the auto sector.
"The provincial Liberals have not spent one red cent to help forest workers. They do not have to wait for these goofy negotiations with the feds," said Simpson, MLA for Cariboo North.
The B.C. Liberal government has stressed it is simply saying that if Ottawa is going to provide benefits to one sector, it should also help the forest sector which has been struggling in B.C. for the past two years.
Money that has been spent to create work projects in hard-hit communities and help laid-off forest workers with pension bridging and retraining, has come from $129 million in financial aid provided by the federal government. The money was promised in January by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and was meted out to the provinces later in the year.
The B.C. New Democrats have been calling for the provincial government to add money, as the forest downturn has escalated. In the Northern Interior, thousands of forest workers have lost their job.
Simpson did not put a figure on how much money the province should add to the federal community and worker funding, but said one of the issues that needs to be determined is what kind of skills will be needed for a changing forest sector.
Simpson stressed the province should use the crisis to prepare for the future, ensuring forest workers have the skills to work in a bio-energy sector. He said there is already a shortage of power engineers, instrument technicians and tradespeople. Simpson also noted that the $5,000 one-time-only retraining money workers are eligible does not cover costs for workers that have to travel outside their smaller forest-based communities.
There's no reason the province should not also be asking the federal government to extend unemployment benefits for forestry workers, said Simpson.
Bell pointed out it was the federal government that raised the idea of a bailout for the auto and aerospace industries. "We don't think it's appropriate to provide benefits to one industry and not to everyone," he said.
Bell stressed he was not being critical of the federal government, adding it's unknown whether Ottawa will create a broad-based program that supports industry. "Certainly that's our hope," said Bell, MLA for Prince George North.
He said the B.C. government is in favour of setting the appropriate framework that ensures a competitive global forest industry -- a package that examines taxes, transportation infrastructure, research and development and international marketing.
If the federal government is going to put money into play directly, that should go workers, said Bell.
The programs being funded with the $129 million in aid are working well, he added. "We're happy with the way it has worked," he said.
Bell noted there is money left over from the federal aid package.
About $4.25 million has been spent on providing tuition to 800 laid-off forest workers, another $68 million in pension bridging to 1,700 workers and $8 million in work projects.
About 70 part-time jobs alone have been created in Mackenzie with about $1 million in spending so far. That leaves nearly $49 million from the aid package. The province is already considering another intake of pension bridging, said Bell.
United Steelworkers official Terry Tate of Prince George said a key is beefing up training in order to improve the skills for the changing forest sector.
Of equal importance is finding a way to extend a federal work share program that tops up workers' wages when companies reduce their work weeks, said Tate. "That's critical because it keeps people working. Rather than have 500 more people unemployed, let's do what we can to keep them working," he said.
Tate said he expected more mills to turn to this program as the market picture has not improved. Lumber and panel prices continue to suffer from a collapse in U.S. housing and a global economic slowdown.
Cariboo-Prince George MP Dick Harris has said he is pushing Human Resources Development Canada to allow extensions to the work-share program.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 26 November 2008 )
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