Skip to main content

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

Forestry has a bright future if we can get rid of this government that seems hell bent on driving it into the ground ~~ John Rustad

Nechako Lake MLA, and
Forestry Critic, John Rustad

The following was posted on social media yesterday, by Nechako MLA John Rustad – he granted his permission to share it here:


Ian Paton and I attended a rally in Campbell River on Monday in support of forest dependent families and communities.

About 150 people attended, braving the blustery, wet evening. Speakers talked about the challenges they are facing, the strike that is in its 6th month and the need for HELP!

Why is Horgan’s NDP government so hell bent on destroying BC’s forest industry? And now that negotiations have broken down, this will be a very bleak Christmas for thousands of forestry dependent families. Forestry feeds my family.

One hundred and twenty thousand (120,000) workers in the province depend on a healthy forest sector.

The north Island is getting the worst of it. Horgan’s NDP should immediately bring help to those struggling families. They need to bring in back to work legislation so that a cooling off period can take place. And they need to immediately role back their policies that are making BC’s forest sector uneconomical.

Enough is enough Mr. Horgan.

Do the right thing or call an election so BC can have a government that will respect families, communities and the forest sector.


FOOTNOTE:

I asked John about the rejection of Jim Pattison’s offer to purchase all shares of Canifor ... this is what he had to say:

“I am not surprised by the rejection of the Canfor privatization offer. Forestry has a bright future if we can get rid of this government that seems hell bent on driving it into the ground”.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

“4.5 million hectares of forest lands have burned since 2023, and the best they can do is point to a 90-hectare block being salvaged?” ~~ Ward Stamer, Kamloops-North Thompson MLA

Today, BC NDP forest Minister Ravi Parmar made this pronouncement; ‘Removing red tape has sped up permitting, allowing for more wood to be salvaged, quicker’. 4.5 million hectares of forest lands have burned since 2023, and the best they can do is point to a 90-hectare block?    ~~ BC Conservative Forests Critic Ward Stamer While acknowledging the NDP government has recognized improvements were needed in permitting and accessing burnt fibre in a timely fashion, the reality is, they are barely making a dent in the problem.  This government's recognition that only seven percent of pulp mill fibre came from burnt timber in 2024-25, quite simply put, is a failure. And the recent announcement, just three weeks ago, that the Crofton Pulp Mill would be permanently closing, is proof of that.     Instead of Premier David Eby’s government addressing core issues being faced by British Columbia’s forest industry, they are doing little more than manipulating the facts, ...
1 comment
Read more

A message from BC Conservative MLA Ward Stamer, and the Kamloops – North Thompson Riding Association

2025 was a busy first year. As a Caucus, we worked very hard to defeat Bills 14 and 15, legislation which allows the provincial government to move ahead without environmental assessments on renewable projects, and that also allows cabinet to build infrastructure projects without getting approval from local municipal governments. This is not acceptable to your BC Conservative caucus, and we will continue to press this government for open and transparent projects in the future.  Two things we had success in were having the first Private Members bill passed in over 40 years. The first was Jody Toors Prenatal and Post Natal Care bill, and then there was my private members Bill M217 Mandatory Dashcams in commercial vehicles (passed second reading unanimously and is heading to Committee in February). Regrettably, much of the legislation passed by the government was little more than housekeeping bills, or opportunities to strengthen the ability of Cabinet Ministers to bypass the BC legi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Wildfire waste plan torched -- Forestry critic Stamer calls BC's wildfire salvage rate 'a failure'

Claims that BC is making progress salvaging wildfire-damaged timber are masking deeper problems in the forest sector, the province’s forestry critic says. Last week, BC’s Ministry of Forests said mills in the province processed more than one million cubic metres of wildfire chips in 2024-25, up from 500,000 cubic metres in 2023 and representing about seven per cent of all processed wood. Kamloops-North Thompson BC Conservative MLA Ward Stamer said those claims of progress ignore the reality that only a fraction of burned timber is being used ... CLICK HERE for the full story
Post a Comment
Read more

Labels

Show more