City of Williams Lake Mayor Surinderpal Rathor attended the annual Council of Forest Industries (COFI) conference in Vancouver.
He was joined by other Interior elected officials that included District of 100 Mile House Mayor Maureen Pinkney, Quesnel Mayor Ron Paull, and Cariboo Regional District Area E Director Melynda Neufeld.
The City of Williams Lake said it continues to urge the Minister of Forests to assign a senior official with decision making authority to be the primary point of contact focused on the Cariboo region with the mandate to deliver timely solutions to stabilize the forest sector in the BC Interior.
In a letter to the Minister, it called for implementation of a proposed pilot program to enable operational timber pricing flexibility that will recognize the real price of timber harvesting and transportation costs to address areas of specific operational challenge like steep slopes or far distances.
While the Minister of Forests has indicated support for the proposed pilot, the City of Williams Lake said it has yet to be implemented.
“We are hearing from the forest community that there is not a Provincial sense of urgency in developing new strategies that could bring relief to the industry,” Mayor Rathor stated in a release, “It is critical that there is action and commitment to address these challenges. We want an assurance that the ministry is moving at a pace that will see hard-working producers feel heard and respected with solutions that will make a difference now, not years from now.”
The City of Williams Lake said it will continue to advocate for a review and serious consideration of offers of support to BC Timber Sales so that they can reach their annual sales targets.
First Nations and licensees have been calling for mechanisms that allow for more collaborative permit development within BCTS operating areas.
Something going on in the Cariboo you think people should know about?
Send us a news tip by emailing cariboonews@vistaradio.ca.
