As the province continues to work hard on the B.C. Jobs plan, and in light of the great economic news we’ve discovered this week, I think it would be an appropriate time to highlight some news from one of our region’s top industries: forestry.
Last week we found out exports to the Pacific Rim are at record highs, outstripping exports to the U.S. for the very first time. Lumber exports to China rose by 60 per cent in 2011, surpassing the $1 billion dollar mark. For the Cariboo-Chilcotin this is amazing news as some of our top resources are wood products, pulp and paper products. To help provide access to personalized help with natural resource inquiries and application packages, the B.C. government opened its second FrontCounter BC office this year. Located in 100 Mile House, the FrontCounter BC office is a dedicated call centre which provides easy access to government services that help to enable quicker job creation and support regional economic development. It offers more than 130 natural resource-related permits and authorizations and provides services on behalf of 16 additional partner agencies. The Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations also recently announced an innovative silviculture partnership which offers private investors the chance to create forestry jobs, fight global warming and reduce our carbon footprint. By issuing a request for proposals from parties interested in replanting Crown land damaged by wildfires, pine beetle and other factors not related to commercial timber harvesting, we give British Columbians the chance to apply innovative methods to restoring our forests. Interested parties have until March 8 to submit their proposals.
There is clearly a lot going on in the Cariboo-Chilcotin’s forestry sector. We’re witnessing government offer the private sector the opportunity to change things up and apply innovative solutions to forestry challenges; we’re supporting job creation with valuable resources; we’re witnessing exponential growth in the forestry sector with some very impressive numbers to back it all up. As Pat Bell, the minister of jobs, tourism and innovation, and Premier Christy Clark continue to work hard at strengthening our ties to Asian markets, I am incredibly optimistic about our forestry industry looking forward.
Donna Barnett is the Liberal MLA for Cariboo-Chilcotin.