David Eby

Forests are at the heart of our identity as British Columbians. All of us in the province depend on the forests to provide the materials to build homes and businesses. …Forests sustain people by providing good jobs for tens of thousands of us in the woods, in the mills, and on the roads as truck loggers. Others create products from forestry that we use every day. Those are jobs that sustain many families and sustain wood products that are part of how we will reduce carbon pollution and fight climate change. But there are real challenges. We know forestry operations are having trouble getting access to fibre. The allowable annual cut has significantly decreased in many regions owing to devastating wildfires and the end of the beetle-kill harvest. The unfair and unfounded imposition of a softwood lumber duty by the United States, as well as unfavourable market conditions, have also contributed to challenging times.

We need to build on our longstanding strengths if we’re to overcome these challenges. Forestry is a foundation of the BC economy. We will continue to make investments to ensure it remains a strong and sustainable industry. …We are helping to diversify local economies to make them more resilient through the transition from high-volume to high-value production. We introduced a $180-million BC Jobs Manufacturing Fund to do just that. …In September, I spoke at a Global Buyers Mission conference, the first premier of the province to do so. Among the attendees in Whistler were buyers from all over the world. The reason for the interest is clear—BC has world-class forests, a world-class forest sector, and produces world-class forest products. Our province has deep roots and a proud history in forestry. All British Columbians have benefitted from the bounty of this natural resource, and we intend to do all we can to ensure these benefits are long-lasting.