Nechako Lakes MLA John Rustad has a new job in the Legislature as long as the Liberals hold onto power.
He’s taking on the role of Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources (FLNRO) and will keep his Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation portfolio.
“What we need to work on with FLNRO is softwood lumber. Obviously, the US government has put a countervailing duty in place. They’re talking about taking some additional steps which we’ll find out about here potentially as early as Monday morning.”
.@JohnRustad4BC will also maintain role as Minister of Aboriginal Relations & Reconciliation | #bcpoli pic.twitter.com/tPl8usNcjD
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) June 22, 2017
Rustad says the Liberal government will look to eliminate slash burning.
He wants to avoid a carbon tax on slash burning as he’s afraid it will become the cost of business and won’t stimulate any change.
The Liberals have also decided to implement the United Nation Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
However, Rustad says they’ll leave out some clauses regarding ‘asserted territory’.
“The NDP and Greens have talked about fully implementing UNDRIP – I think, quite frankly, that’s unrealistic given that more than 110 per cent of British Columbia is asserted. Even in the Tsilhqot’in case there wasn’t 100 per cent of the territory that was asserted as title.”
“So we need to work through exactly how to interpret that and how to address that issue that works for both First Nations, the provincial and the federal government. UNDRIP by itself can’t be implemented by any one jurisdiction – it covers multiple jurisdictions by our Canadian constitution.”
The Legislature is set to vote on this week’s throne speech next week.
– with files from Daryl Vandenberg, My Bulkley Lakes Now
NEW: #ThroneBC speech strikes a balance between economic, social, and environmental principles, https://t.co/CGTv4OEeiZ
— BC Government News (@BCGovNews) June 22, 2017