Recently, proposed amendments to the Park Act were introduced in the legislature to provide clarity for certain activities within B.C.'s provincial parks.

British Columbia is a natural gateway to Asia for trade and investment. Our province's ports are closer than are any in the U.S., and our competitive business environment, diverse and skilled workforce and quality of life makes B.C. an ideal place to do business.

Seventy per cent of B.C.'s caribou herds are in decline and identified as threatened

under the federal Species at Risk Act.

152,620 job openings are expected in the Vancouver Island/Coast region to 2020; about 23% of these (34,550) are expected to be newly created jobs.

A key part of the BC Jobs Plan is government's commitment to improving opportunities and resources for First Nations to participate in resource activity in their traditional territory.

Employment opportunities in the mining sector are expected to grow over the next decade, with more than 10,000 job openings expected by 2020. The industry will need skilled workers in several key occupations, including machinery and transportation equipment mechanics, primary production workers and vehicle drivers.

In 2011, the B.C. forest sector employed more than 53,000 workers. In addition to new jobs, as many as 25,000 job openings are expected across the sector over the next decade as existing workers retire.

With the release of 'Beyond the Beetle: A Mid-Term Timber Supply Action Plan', we have outlined a clear strategy to help our forests recover from the damage done by the mountain pine beetle infestation.

Several media reports in recent days have focused on temporary foreign workers hired to do work for Canada Dehua, a company that is undertaking coal exploration activities at two sites in northeastern British Columbia. The following facts have been absent from much of this reporting:

Ensuring a sustainable timber supply, with the right mix of tree species, is a top priority for the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations.