AFTER promising to end the Western Forest Products strike and get British Columbians back to work before the holidays, Premier John Horgan has once again failed the thousands of workers who remain on strike after mediation talks broke down last weekend, leaving no relief in sight for those caught in the months-long dispute, say the BC Liberals.
“People are losing their vehicles, falling behind on bills, and are barely able to support their families and John Horgan simply ignores them,” said BC Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson on Wednesday. “Hundreds of workers from the North Island who came to Victoria to ask for help were promised an end to this strike by Horgan. Now we’ve learned they won’t be seeing any help from the NDP at all and the strike will continue to drag on, which is not surprising given that John Horgan has no problem breaking his promises to British Columbians.”
“The NDP government’s response to this strike has been absolutely unacceptable and it’s time for the Premier to actually do something rather than continue to make empty promises,” added BC Liberal Labour Critic John Martin. “There are options out there that the NDP can use to get these people back to work. The United Steelworkers are one of John Horgan’s biggest donors, surely he can call them up and ask for help on behalf of the people of this province who are suffering. It’s absolutely shameful that he’s choosing to ignore thousands of British Columbians for what appears to be purely political reasoning.”
There have so far been 10 permanent or indefinite mill closures and over 10,000 job losses in B.C’s forestry sector this year.
Haha. criticism coming from the absolute masters of broken promises, that’s rich.
i don’t understand why every other province and state with forestry sector is not just working but thriving. Why is BC having hardship in its forestry sector? My bet is high taxes, including carbon taxes, that drive up operational costs and high stump rates are part of the equation. NDP policies at work?