Whereas rural communities across British Columbia have historic and ongoing cultural and economic connections to forest and timber industries; And whereas the closure of major employers such as mills can affect not only the immediately laidoff workers, but their families, and the economic viability of the entire community; And whereas the Province of BC has committed to multimillion dollar funds such as the Rural Economic Development Fund and the BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund; And whereas spending from these funds can be avoided if rural areas do not lose jobs unnecessarily: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM calls upon the Province of BC to streamline and expedite the necessary approvals for forestry practices, including cutting permits CPs, annual allowable cut AAC, and necessary First Nations consultation within BCs Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, and to strictly follow stated approval timelines.
Ministry of Forests The Ministry of Forests is focused on supporting a strong economy and with offices located in small communities across the province there is a high degree of awareness of the importance of the forest economy, stewardship values and the importance of meaningful reconciliation with indigenous peoples. It is also recognized that forests in the interior of BC have been impacted by large scale mountain pine beetle epidemics, catastrophic wildfires and in some locations atmospheric river events and recurrent droughts, all of which have led to concerns with cumulative effects on many stewardship values. The Ministry continues to work closely with communities to ensure that forest harvesting can be done in ways that are seen to be sustainable and respectful of the many interests in our provincial forests. Of particular interest is the opportunity to work across communities to develop Forest Landscape Planning that can provide better confidence in forest management outcomes and more timely and predictable forest authorization timelines.