Prince George City Council dove into a request that would see the Province conduct a public inquiry into B.C.’s forest and wildfire management.
The committee report to council was discussed during yesterday’s (Wednesday) meeting, for a closer look at forest management practices and wildfire risk and severity, and determining what is and isn’t working to strengthen long-term resilience of B.C’s forests and communities.
One of the biggest concerns brought forward in establishing a public inquiry was the cost associated with it, something Councillor Ron Polillo noted.
“I think a full blown public inquiry would be millions of dollars.”
“It is a very timely and important topic, I just wonder if the government would even touch it at this time, especially fiscally, there’s quite a challenge all over the place, but especially provincially.”
Councillor Brian Skakun did jump on that concern at the start of discussions, noting wildfire damages bringing costs to tourism, insurance, property and livestock loss.
On the other side of the coin, Councillor Cori Ramsay said while this may not get provincial support, it could push support to other forestry advocacy asks already on the table.
“This will get the province’s attention, and they will focus on the other advocacy asks.” said Councillor Ramsay. “It will light a fire under the Minister of Forests. That’s what we want, to push our forest advocacy forward.”
The recommendations to have the request sent to the Union of B.C. Municipalities with a letter from the mayor be sent to the province was passed.
Other items discussed during the meeting include exploring urban bee hives, active transportation plan, and inland port.
The full agenda can be found here.
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