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Aid Package For B. C.

Vancouver, BC -Premier Gordon Campbell has confirmed his government’s plans to devote part of the $1 billion national community development fund on forestry workers and forestry-dependent towns. According to a recent report by The Vancouver Sun, BC will receive $129 million from Ottawa over a three year span in the form of an aid package designed to help towns that depend on industries facing downturns.

“We’re working with forest companies, labour and communities to ensure that B. C.’s forest sector receives effective, timely assistance to deal with the impact of market volatility and cyclical change,” the Sun reported Campbell as saying in a statement. The pledge came during the same week that Price- WaterhouseCoopers labeled 2008 as the worst year to date for British Columbia’s forestry sector. The Vancouver Sun further reported that more than 11,000 people have been laid off, both permanently and indefinitely from the forestry industry since January 2007.