Premier Christy Clark said the B.C. Liberals will make forest health "a real priority concern" if they secure re-election next month.
In an exclusive interview with the Citizen on Friday morning, prior to her address at the Council of Forest Industries conference, Clark said she wasn't willing to reveal her party's plans for a post-mountain pine beetle forest inventory - but hinted strongly that an announcement is coming soon.
"We're going to find a way to do it and it absolutely needs to be done," she said. "We are going to have it costed and we're not going to do it on the backs of the people who work in the forest industry."
Clark credited the work of Nechako Lakes MLA John Rustad who chaired the all-party special timber supply committee that provided its report in August for giving the government a base from which to work.
"You can expect more news about where we're going to take forest revitalization in the coming days," Clark said.
In an interview with the Citizen in January, Rustad said the Liberals would carry out a fresh inventory of the fibre supply in areas affected by the mountain pine beetle.
The NDP have also made forest health a key part of their election campaign to date and have pledged $20 million over a four or five year period to address forest health.
During Friday's 30-minute interview, Clark answered a host of questions ranging from the impact of the provincial carbon tax on northerners to how expected growth in the region will impact on government health care spending. Throughout the discussion, Clark constantly returned to the theme of the importance of balanced budgets leading to economic growth, which is expected to be a cornerstone of the Liberals re-election efforts.
Although Clark has pledged not to raise the carbon tax for five years, she said no additional relief is planned in her party's election platform for northerners who feel taxes on fuel are unduly harsh due to the colder climate and vast distances travelled in the region.
"We'll see after the election," she said. "It's got to be something we can afford. I think northerners would agree with me, the number one priority is to make sure that we're not leaving our kids with mountains of debt."
The premier also preached patience to those looking for additional capital funding for schools. School District 57 has identified Kelly Road secondary school and Nasdeh Yoh elementary school as facilities in need of replacement. In the case of Kelly Road a heavy load of snow had the roof visibly sagging in some sections and required repairs to the tune of $300,000.
This year the province froze capital funding in order to balance the books but Clark suggested more money could be available for new schools next year.
"We have looked after the projects that absolutely need to be looked after," Clark said. "We're going to make sure as we have more budget room and that will probably be next year, get back to those capital priorities and obviously there are some big priorities in Prince George that we need to get to."
Clark expects the continued sale of surplus government assets combined with a growing economy and a new tax on high-income earners will give the province the fiscal flexibility to increase its capital budget.
"You balance your budget, you grow your economy," Clark said. "You grow your economy you have enough to pay for schools because the money starts to come back in a circle."
A Clark government would also spend more on health care in the region, in large part due to the fact the premier expects more people to move to the north as the resource boom continues. She pledged to keep up service levels as the population increases and said northern B.C. won't suffer the same fate as Alberta's oil patch.
"We do not want another Fort McMurray," she said. "What's happened in Fort McMurray, where the growth in the community has completely outstripped their ability to look after each other can't happen in British Columbia. We have to learn that lesson."
In order to follow through on all those commitments, Clark must first win the election. With public opinion polls constantly putting her party behind the NDP by double digit margins, the premier acknowledges she is the underdog heading into the vote on May 14. However, Clark expects that to change once the campaign begins in earnest.
"You're being compared to perfection a lot when you're in government," she said. "When we get into the election period I'm not going to be compared to perfection, I'm going to be compared to [NDP leader] Adrian Dix - and I like those odds. I think I can go in the underdog and come out successful."
