Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Steve Thomson has issued the following statement regarding federal Minister of Natural Resources Jim Carr’s announcement of a Federal-Provincial Task Force on Softwood Lumber:

British Columbia’s fifth consecutive balanced budget delivers the dividends of a strong and diversified economy and prudent fiscal management by cutting costs for middle-class B.C. families, investing in priority programs and services, and promoting a competitive, job-creating economy.

More than 180 Aboriginal learners in the Vancouver Island – B.C. Coast Region are receiving training in their communities through programs that will prepare them for jobs in sectors such as construction, forestry and eco-tourism.

Beginning April 1, 2017, the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations will be applying Safety Accord Forest Enterprise Certification Standard, known in the B.C. forest sector as SAFE, to specific contract areas.

Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Steve Thomson announced a contractor sustainability review this morning during his address to the annual Truck Loggers Association convention in Vancouver.

Twenty-eight underemployed or underskilled individuals are developing their skills by taking forest heavy-equipment operator or log truck driver training, made possible through the Canada-British Columbia Job Fund Agreement.

Premier Christy Clark announced that the largest shipment of mass timber from British Columbia to India is en route.

Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Minister Steve Thomson has issued the following statement in response to a ruling by the U.S. International Trade Commission:

The Great Bear Rainforest (Forest Management) Act is set to take effect Jan. 1, 2017, following the enactment of regulations that bring the act into force and fulfill government’s commitment to ecosystem-based management in the Great Bear Rainforest.