John Rustad

Following an announcement by Tolko industries that it will close all of its remaining operations in British Columbia for a two-week period starting December 21 to January 6, there is still no action on the part of John Horgan and the NDP to provide any assistance to the forest industry.

“Over the past six months we have witnessed the worst crisis in the forest industry in 40 years, and yet it has literally gone unnoticed by John Horgan and the NDP,” says BC Liberal Opposition Forestry Critic John Rustad. “In order to prevent any further job losses, the government must come to the assistance of one of the cornerstone industries in the province.”

Last June, the BC Liberals released a five-point action plan that would provide tax relief and other assistance to a forest industry in trouble. To date, there have been 105 mill curtailments and ten permanent and indefinite shutdowns under the watch of the inept NDP Forestry Minister Doug Donaldson.

“We can prevent further job loss if the government finally acts and does something to help an industry that is in desperate need of relief,” Rustad adds. “We are talking about the livelihood of hard-working British Columbians that the government is choosing to deliberately overlook.”