Recently the people of Mackenzie once again held a rally to stand up for their community. My thoughts are with them and everyone who has been impacted by the mill curtailment. I know this is a difficult time for people.
I come from a mill town myself, and the situation in Mackenzie triggers memories of my own family struggling after the local mill closed when I was a child. There is no question that the Interior forest industry is facing some challenging circumstances, and towns like Mackenzie are feeling the brunt of it.
I first want to acknowledge the advocacy of Mayor Joan Atkinson, labour leaders, and the organizers of the “Mackenzie Matters” movement for supporting their community and making sure that their voices are heard. We are listening.
We have concluded the first few weeks of the BC Legislature session and I was shocked that the issues facing Mackenzie were not brought up once by MLA Mike Morris or any BC Liberal MLA. Instead of listening to and fighting for his community in the BC Legislature, BC Liberal MLA Morris recently said to the media:
“The reality of the matter is we no longer have the fibre to support the infrastructure that is there. Modernization of sawmills in different parts of the province is causing some of the fibre to be directed to those facilities. And Mackenzie, quite frankly, doesn’t compete.”
It is a shame that MLA Morris and the BC Liberals have given up this fight. It may be because the challenges facing Mackenzie were caused in large part by BC Liberal inaction.
The problems in the forest industry didn’t happen overnight. In 2003, the BC Liberals brought in destructive legislation that led to the overall concentration of the forest industry. This only benefited large corporations and has decimated forest-dependent communities. The BC Liberals also failed to do the hard work to prepare forest workers and communities for the end of the mountain pine beetle harvest. In 2015, they buried an expert report that predicted the closure of 13 mills in the Interior.
Our government strongly believes forestry has a bright and sustainable future in BC. One that puts forestry workers, their families and communities like Mackenzie first. The actions we have taken in supporting the forest sector are always guided by this.
Minister Doug Donaldson introduced Bill 22 which ensures that all tenue transfers are approved by the Minister to ensure it is in the public’s interest. Under the BC Liberals, companies traded tenure like hockey cards.
I am proud to be working with Mayor Atkinson to deal with the serious challenges facing Mackenzie and I appreciate her sentiments and reminders that decisions affecting Mackenzie should be made in the community and not in corporate board rooms.
We are working with forestry companies to help them work through the challenges they are dealing with so that people can return to work. And we are seeing some positive results. Conifex recently recommenced operations following its temporary curtailment at its Mackenzie, British Columbia sawmill on a two-shift, five days per week basis. This is partly because they see our government’s commitment to Mackenzie, its workers and families.
Premier John Horgan, Minister Doug Donaldson and I will continue to be strong advocates for Mackenzie. Our government’s first priority is and will always be to the people who live and work here, and in forestry communities across the province.
Ravi Kahlon is the Parliamentary Secretary for Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development
