Conservatives and New Democrats are joining forces to sound the alarm on looming reductions to the annual allowable cut in northern BC.
Both MPs Todd Doherty and Nathan Cullen will be putting pressure on Ottawa to release mitigation and federal arrears for the pine beetle response. They met today in Prince George for a press conference highlighting the matter to the public and the ‘perfect storm’ that as Doherty says plunges the north into ‘uncertain times.’
Chair of the Omenica Beetle Action Coalition Bill Miller at the press conference says over 12 hundred jobs are at stake with a 25 per cent reduction of the median income in northern communities.
“Over the next decade the AAC cut is projected to decline by more that 13 million cubic metres; that’s a huge impact,” says Miller, pointing to investments needed in silviculture and agriculture technologies to help soften the economic blow.
“Lets look at growing our trees faster, lets look at those innovative ideas that the Europeans, the Scandinavians, have been doing for decades. We can get more out of our forest floors if we start investing in it,” also saying that agriculture used to surpass forestry in gross domestic product.
Doherty indicated that the ongoing softwood lumber dispute will also prove as a related economic hurdle, and is frustrated with the Prime Minister’s premature NAFTA stance with Trump.
Both MPs will be pushing for funds to be released that will flow through the province to deal with cuts to the AAC and its effects on communities.
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