Katrine Conroy, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, has released the following statement in response to Paper Excellence’s announcement of indefinite curtailment of its Catalyst Paper tiskʷat mill at Powell River:

Katrine Conroy, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, and Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation, have issued the following joint statement in response to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s final determination in its second administrative review regarding countervailing and anti-dumping duties applied to Canada’s softwood lumber exports to the United States:

‘Na̲mg̲is First Nation and the Province have signed a letter of intent to negotiate a Forestry Reconciliation Agreement that, along with an updated Forestry Fund Agreement, will enhance governance capacity, develop a sustainable forestry program and improve the social, economic and cultural well-being of people in the community.

The B.C. government has provided more than $490,000 in grants to six local governments and First Nations in the Cariboo Fire Centre to support wildfire risk reduction initiatives and help keep communities safe.