BC NDP

No transition assistance, and no plan to save jobs

In question period today, New Democrats raised the situation facing workers and families in Kitimat who will be hurt by the closure of Eurocan. Here is a breakdown of the questions that were asked and the answers that were given:

• Will the B.C. Liberal government give Kitimat $2 million dollars in transitional funding as was done before the election for Fort St. James and Mackenzie? No.
  
• Will the B.C. Liberal government reopen the Community Development Trust in order to give workers access to early retirement options? No.
  
• Why has the B.C. Liberal government refused to put together a provincial strategy to protect forest jobs in the wake of more than 50 mill closures and 25,000 jobs lost? No answer.
  

Instead of addressing the issue at hand, the forest minister listed government initiatives that will not replace or save Eurocan jobs, will have little to no positive impact on Kitimat workers, lie in the distant future, or are nothing but plans on a drawing board.

What is apparent from this exchange is that the B.C. Liberals have no plan to prevent the continuing loss of forestry jobs in this province, and they have no intention of helping struggling communities cope with the loss of major employers now that the election is over

A draft transcript of today’s question period can be found here: http://www.leg.bc.ca/hansard/39th1st/H91102y.htm