Campbell River, B.C. – MP Aaron Gunn, MLA Anna Kindy, and six mayors from North Island held a press conference Monday, regarding their open letter to Eby and Carney calling for immediate action on B.C.’s coastal forestry crisis.
The letter describes a collapse of coastal B.C.’s forestry industry, highlighting the closure of nine coastal mills since 2018. They attribute this decline to Eby and Carney’s “Made-in-B.C.” and “Made in Canada” policies for causing significant obstacles to a healthy forestry industry.
Despite these policies being “Canada-centric,” the letter states that they have forced numerous mills to turn to the United States for fibre supply.
“Government policies shouldn’t leave Canadian mills begging for fibre from the United States. It’s an embarrassment for B.C. and a direct hit on local economies.” Said MP Gunn.
The letter calls for:
- Streamlining permitting timelines
- Restoring legal and regulatory certainty
- Abandoning one-size-fits-all land-use frameworks like 30×30
- Supporting a stable fibre supply to keep mills open and Canadians employed
Kermit Dahl, Mayor of Campbell River, states that these requests are not radical; rather, they are merely “…the basic conditions any business sector needs to survive.”
“Without a change in direction, we worry the worst is yet to come,” the letter warns. It concludes with a call to restore fairness in the industry, asserting that “British Columbia already has the best forestry workers anywhere in the world. They deserve government policies and support that allow them to succeed.”
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Media:
Alexander Assu