We all know about or have personally felt the effects of the forestry industry’s downturn over the last few years.

We all know about or have personally felt the effects of the forestry industry’s downturn over the last few years.

The Ministry of Labour will begin a focused engagement with stakeholders about contract tendering in B.C.’s forestry sector to identify improvements that will support the long-term stability of jobs and economic recovery in the sector.

The Province has protected jobs and workers impacted by COVID-19 with an online variance application that simplified the process to extend temporary layoffs, resulting in the approval of more than 500 variances that protect more than 9,100 jobs across a variety of economic sectors.

B.C.’s provincial health officer (PHO) has released an order for industrial camps and guidelines to protect people working in the silviculture sector during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Harry Bains, Minister of Labour, has appointed Amanda Rogers and Vince Ready as special mediators in the eight-month collective bargaining dispute between Western Forest Products and the United Steelworkers Local 1-1937.

Recently, I introduced new legislation that will better protect thousands of people coming to work in B.C. under the federal Temporary Foreign Worker Program.