British Columbia forestry critic Norm Macdonald says Premier Christy Clark's throne speech ignores issues of forest health, loss of jobs through log exports

Lorena Madrigal

REVELSTOKE, B.C. , October 4, 2011 (Revelstoke Times Review) – Revelstoke MLA and Opposition forestry critic Norm Macdonald has panned the Oct. 3 provincial throne speech for its lack of focus on forest issues.

“In a province where forestry was once our largest industry, it is incomprehensible to me that this Premier can go through an entire throne speech and not once mention forestry," Macdonald said in a statement. "The government is ignoring their responsibility to promote forest health and is continuing to allow employment to go off-shore through raw log exports.

“People in this area are grappling with real issues, and struggling as a result of decisions and policies made by this government,” Macdonald said. “Christy Clark came into office promising to do government differently, but so far we’ve seen little proof of that."

The NDP MLA characterized the speech as lacking meaningful initiatives, saying it was a "rehash of previous announcements."

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