News Release - June 24, 2008
VICTORIA - New Democrat MLA John Horgan is calling on the new Forest Minister Pat Bell to separate himself from his predecessor's woeful record by reconsidering the decision to allow the removal of lands from Tree Farm Licenses on western Vancouver Island.
Horgan wrote to Minister Bell today, saying that former minister Rich Coleman's decision to release 28,000 hectares of land from the TFLs in the Jordan River and Shirley areas has had profound effects on the region.
Despite Coleman's assurances that the land removals would secure jobs, Western Forest Products issued layoff notices to 2,000 more workers last week.
"This latest layoff by WFP makes it clear that while the company and its shareholders may have benefited from these land deletions, workers and the forest-dependent communities of Vancouver Island did not," wrote Horgan.
Horgan also noted that, "Beyond the impact on forest workers is the significant impact on land use planning on the west coast of Vancouver Island."
Horgan told Bell that "every justification for the decision to delete these lands has now been rendered moot by current events.
"I urge you to do the right thing and reverse the decision so that the forest workers of Vancouver lsland will continue to have access to a viable forest land base and so communities can plan for growth. To allow the decision to stand will reinforce the view in my community that your government is disinterested in the lives of people and driven purely by corporate pressure."
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Contact: Tim Renneberg 250 356 0592
