Horgan wants to “revitalize the forest industry’s social contract with British Columbians”

The BC NDP’s latest speech from the throne and budget painted rural communities and resource development in few broad strokes, but Premier John Horgan followed it up by noting one important change coming to forestry rules in the province. Horgan says his government plans to restore appurtenancy rules that tie timber harvests to processing at local mills. The rules were eliminated by the BC Liberals in the early 2000s and devastated economies in forestry dependent communities in rural B.C., including Fort Nelson, as mills shut down and processing went elsewhere deemed more profitable. Restoring the rules is part of a move to “revitalize the forest industry’s social contract with British Columbians,” the government noted in its throne speech.