$69M in aid announced for the B.C. Interior's forestry workers

The BC government has announced $69-million in aid for foresty workers affected by the hundreds of layoffs at BC Interior mills.

At least 22 Interior mills have either closed or curtailed operations this year due to challenging market conditions impacted by high log costs, devastating fire seasons and the mountain pine beetle.

"While the forest sector must reduce surplus milling capacity to remain competitive, it cannot do so at the expense of the workers, contractors and communities who built the industry," said Premier John Horgan.

"Our government will ensure that forest workers impacted by mill closures are supported."

To support interior forest workers & communities impacted by mill closures, we're taking actions including:

✅ Job placement coordination office
✅ Early retirement bridging program
✅ Short-term forest employment programhttps://t.co/7yTVn7378E

— BC Government News (@BCGovNews) September 17, 2019

According to the provincial government, the $69-million will be spent as follows:

• $40 million to establish a new cost-shared, early-retirement bridging program for older forest workers;
• $15 million to establish a new short-term forest employment program, focused on fire prevention and community resiliency projects;
• $12 million for workers to access skills training, and for employer and community grants for training;
• $2 million to establish a new job placement co-ordination office that will track the transition and employment of impacted forest workers on an individual basis;

BC’s high priced stumpage system, a fee businesses pay when they harvest timber from Crown land, has been labled as a leading cause to the industry's economic downtown.

However, the BC government has said is not considering adjusting stumpage fees.

Accordin to the Ministry of Forests, any intervention in stumpage prices would weaken legal cases against duties imposed by the United States on Canadian softwood lumber.