[LabComm] CAMPBELL POLICIES LEAVE RESOURCE COMMUNITIES VULNERABLE

[BC NDP NEWSWIRE]

CAMPBELL POLICIES LEAVE RESOURCE COMMUNITIES VULNERABLE

Barriere Suffered when Fire Devastated Community

MEDIA RELEASE					               
For immediate release
April 21, 2005

(Barriere) -- When wildfire devastated the town of Barriere, the community became one of the first to face the hard reality of Gordon Campbell's "New Era" for rural and resource communities, NDP Leader Carole James said today.

James made the comments at a campaign stop outside the former Tolko millsite, destroyed by the August 2003 fire.

"In early 2003, Gordon Campbell's Liberals removed balance from the Forest Act and put the demands of big forest companies ahead of the needs of communities," said James. "When fire devastated the community of Barriere later that year, the consequences of the imbalance became all too clear. Tolko walked away from the community with its hold on the local log supply completely intact."

James said that the imbalance came from changes that:
*	eliminated the requirement that companies return 5% of their license when that license is transferred to another company, encouraging consolidation and reducing competition;
*	removed cut control restrictions that required companies to cut a certain amount of timber each year, exaggerating the boom and bust cycle of the industry that cut control was put in place to ameliorate; and,
*	eliminated the local processing requirement, encouraging companies to move processing jobs out of small communities.

"Even worse, Gordon Campbell paid more than $600,000 to make it easier for the town's primary employer to walk away," said James. "When a BC community needs support, the Gordon Campbell government delivers the opposite, even as Campbell claims credit for the economy."

James said that for four years, the Gordon Campbell government has all but ignored the communities of central and interior British Columbia. "Gordon Campbell has taken every opportunity to shift the balance against communities," said James. "It's time to restore balance and end one-sided decision-making."

"I am committed to ensuring that people in all regions share in the benefits of a strong, competitive economy," said James. "My plan includes regional economic investment to support resource dependant communities. It also includes local input on decisions in forest communities on new or expanded timber allocations, harvesting agreements, and log exports."

James said that regional and community leaders -- not Victoria based insiders -- would decide how to invest to build sustainable, diversified economies.

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