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Defending beetle spending

MP Dick Harris has defended the Canadian government’s decision to use $26 million of the $39.6 million mountain pine beetle funding, announced by Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn, to fight the beetle’s spread.

Harris was responding to comments by Cariboo North MLA Bob Simpson, the NDP forests and range critic, who accused the federal government of being out of touch with the problem of forest dependent communities impacted by the infestation, the Williams Lake Tribune reported.

Harris said the $26 million spend was focused on north-eastern BC, where up to 50% of the beetles were killed in trees below the snow line last winter. Actions included an aggressive cut and burn program supported by the B.C. and Alberta governments, he added.

According to Harris, $7 million is earmarked for fire remediation, $2 million for marketing pine beetle-infested wood, and $6 million for geoscience projects to stimulate mining activity.