The Liberal Fraser-Nicola MLA says her caucus is lobbying the NDP government to consider the impact of the forest sector of communities around the Interior.
Jackie Tegart says addressing the forest slowdown and jobs being lost in that sector is a top priority for her and many of her colleagues.
“It is critical that these people feel supported. And the other thing is that we can’t afford to lose them all. We can’t afford for all of them to move out of our communities. So that’s critical, how do we replace these jobs and keep people close to home,” Tegart says.
“When Tolko closed in Merritt [in 2016], we had a team in there the next day, talking about services in the community for the workers. We are calling on government to provide the same service to workers who are losing employment in this latest cutback in the forest sector.”
In Tegart’s riding, the West Fraser sawmill in Chasm is closing down this summer which will shed 176 jobs. Meanwhile, earlier this month, the Aspen Planers sawmill in Merritt cut one shift which put 50 people out of work.