Cariboo-Prince George MP Todd Doherty is calling 2019 a “significant” year for his riding.
Doherty explained the area has been dealing with significant job losses, specifically in the forestry sector.
“When I was on the doorsteps in the campaign, they didn’t want to hear about SNC or blackface, or anything like that, or any of the ethical scandals that took place over the last 4 years,” he said.
“People wanted to talk about the forestry downturn, and what was taking place in our neighborhoods and our communities.”
Doherty said the issue remains high on his priority list.
He said a lack of a softwood lumber agreement is significant.
“You couple the fact that it’s getting harder to source our fiber, it’s getting more costly to do business, we have had significant devastation due to infestation and wildfires, and then you have 23 percent tariffs heaped on top of that.”
However, Doherty commented a new contract would not be enough for those affected by job losses.
“In a perfect world, we would have seen a center into a new agreement either over the last four years or at least have it rolled into the new NAFTA agreement.”
As for next year’s to-do list, Doherty said he wants economic consistency to help with the fallout from job losses.