A year ago, NDP leader John Horgan鈥檚 government was facing a long truck convoy of out-of-work loggers in downtown Vancouver and farmers protesting on the B.C. legislature steps in Victoria.
One of the issues was the province鈥檚 move to cancel a $25 million 鈥渞ural dividend鈥� fund, shelving community applications to diversify local economies that have lost forest and other industrial employment. The money went toward retraining and other relief for the four latest victims of rural mill closures, Quesnel, Fort St. James, Vavenby and Chasm.
That kind of cost restraint goes out the window with the B.C. NDP鈥檚 pandemic election plan, which features a $3 billion-per-year 鈥渞ecovery investment fund鈥� to add to the government鈥檚 $23 billion capital works budget for schools, roads, hospitals and other infrastructure.
The , the first to be released in full for the surprise Oct. 24 election, also adds another $400 million program to 鈥渞evitalize community infrastructure,鈥� likely based on applications from municipalities like the late, lamented rural dividend.
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The big news on forest policy is a vow to 鈥渄edicate a specific portion of the annual allowable cut towards higher value producers who can demonstrate their ability to create new jobs.鈥� That is a step beyond additional fees and wood salvage regulations that the NDP government has imposed on an industry with widespread shutdowns in recent years.
The NDP platform promises only to continue 鈥渟ignificant investments鈥� in tree planting, wildfire protection and silviculture. Other industries get more vague support.
鈥淲e鈥檒l create a Mining Innovation Hub to identify and support innovation, offering training for workers in new technologies, regulatory excellence, environmental management and low-carbon approaches,鈥� the party says.
Agriculture gets a similar mention, with a promise of a new 鈥渞egenerative agriculture network鈥� to merge traditional farming with technologies 鈥渟uch as robotics, precision farming, and mesh networks.鈥�
tfletcher@blackpress.ca
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