John Rustad

B.C. Conservative Party leader John Rustad says B.C. needs to “get back to a place where we respect our forest sector.” Rustad was in Vanderhoof Sept. 14 to announce his party’s policies associated with the forestry industry. He listed several pillars to the policy, including: defining the land area that will be prioritized for the harvest of primary forest products and meeting of biodiversity goals; replacing stumpage with a value-added end product tax; implementing a “one project, one permit” process; undertaking a complete review of how wildfires are managed in B.C.; and investing in workforce training for the forest sector, “so British Columbians can access the expanded opportunities that will be created.” The first thing that needs to be done, he said, is creating certainty for the forest sector. …Premier David Eby said his government will look to connect existing tenures with new users as part of responding to those closures.