Industry News News Harvesting
Logging truck convoy delivers petition to BC legislature

A large group of forestry supporters, including a convoy of logging trucks from Vancouver Island, gathered at the B.C. legislature in Victoria yesterday to deliver an 8,000-signature petition that asks for the province to support a working forest.

The petition, organized by the BC Forestry Alliance and titled “Saving the working forest for all generations,” was addressed to B.C. Premier John Horgan, asking the government to bring into legislation, “The working forest, defined and dedicated to the purpose of harvesting and economic activities.”

The group was met by B.C. forests minister Doug Donaldson. “I appreciate the input I received today from members of the B.C. Forestry Alliance, and I can assure them that our government is more than willing to work with them to build a better future for B.C.’s forestry sector,” he said in a statement following the rally.

“We know there is a greater need, which is why we have been pressing the federal government to bring resources to the table, as they did during the 2008 downturn. I spoke with Seamus O’Regan, federal Minister of Natural Resources, last week and let him know that British Columbians believe that worker support is a shared responsibility,” Donaldson said.

The petition was delivered on the province’s budget day. The 2020 budget added $13 million for new forestry revitalization efforts, including innovations that convert wood into value-added products like biofuels, bioplastics and textiles.

Check out the videos of the convoy and rally, posted by the BC Forestry Alliance Facebook page:

(Listen to Donaldson’s comments at 1:19:30.)