Prince George-Mackenzie Liberal MLA Mike Morris is taking a swipe at Premier John Horgan and the NDP government for a recent announcement that no funding is coming to assist the struggling forestry sector.
Many facilities in the north have been forced to implement curtailments this summer putting workers in a tough spot.
What made Morris even more furious is that Horgan then turned around and spent a million dollars to purchase free tickets to a symphony concert for families located in the Lower Mainland.
“We haven’t seen him up here in talking to the folks to get a handle on what’s going on and what they are going to do and to spend that money is a slap in the face to forest-dependent communities.”
“You know, I don’t know whether it is by design or if they don’t really give a darn but they certainly doing themselves any favours – to spend that kind of money so that people could attend a free concert in Vancouver rather than helping thousands of individuals who have lost their jobs is a sin.”
Morris along with Prince George-Valemount MLA Shirley Bond will be attending a roundtable discussion regarding the sector tomorrow (Friday) at 10 am from the Chamber of Commerce office on Vancouver Street.
As for what the approach will be from Morris at the meeting, he wants to hear straight from the public on how the recent curtailments and shutdowns are impacting their day-to-day lives.
“I just want to listen to what the people have to say. I want to listen as to what vision the people have regarding forestry 10, 20, 30 years from now and what we need to do to make forestry a viable industry in British Columbia in the coming decades.”
Morris and the BC Liberals plan to use this meeting as a sounding board so they can take the NDP to task once the Legislature resumes in the fall.
“We’re gaining all kinds of ammunition when the house commences again in October and Question Period comes up they better have some answers to support what they’ve been doing here and I don’t think they are going to have any answers that are going to please the people up here in rural British Columbia.”
“I think they are more focused on politics and winning the votes in the Lower Mainland if there is an election in the foreseeable future that’s where their voter base is right now and that is who they are pandering to and they seem to be thumbing their nose to the rest of British Columbia.”
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