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| Blissett speaking at a recent Pulp and Paper Workers' Convention in Cranbrook |
Kootenay East NDP candidate Norma Blissett
has high praise for leader Adrian Dix’s announcement Monday that an NDP
government would invest money in the forests of BC.
“As a former forester, I am happy to see my
party presenting a five-point plan to revitalize the forest industry in
B.C. It’s beyond time for investment in our forests to happen,” said
Blissett.
The plan will:
- invest in skills training to address the
critical shortage of skilled workers in the forest sector as part of a broader
skills training plan.
- implement a five-year forest health plan that will increase funding
by $400 million over the next five years.
- provide support for industry-led efforts
to identify new global markets and grow forest product exports.
- use BC logs to create BC jobs.
We will work with stakeholders to reduce raw log exports and create more
value-added forestry jobs in BC.
- establish a Jobs Protection Commissioner to support communities in
transition due to the impacts of the pine beetle infestation.
“BC’s forests represent a trillion-dollar
asset that has been badly mismanaged by the BC Liberals for more than a
decade,” said Blissett. “The volume of raw logs exported has doubled since
2009, and since 2001 the BC Forest Service has been cut by over 1000
positions—one quarter of its workforce—meaning fewer boots on the ground to
manage BC’s greatest resource.”
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| Norma Blissett speaking to Pulp and Paper Workers |
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