Calls for Forests Minister Ravi Parmar to resign intensify amid wildfire crisis

PENTICTON — The Conservative Party of BC, and others, are intensifying calls for Forests Minister Ravi Parmar to resign, citing multiple mill closures that cost hundreds of high-paying jobs and the government’s handling of a destructive wildfire season that has claimed at least one life and forced more than 21,000 people from their homes.The pressure comes as the Bald Range wildfire near Summerland exploded "like a bomb" last Friday, triggering a widespread evacuations across the South Okanagan, the death of an 80-year-old Meadow Valley woman who died suddenly while attempting to flee the flames, and a provincial state of emergency..During a Monday press conference, while addressing criticism of the Eby government’s wildfire management, Parmar dismissed opposition questions with a curt reply: “I don’t have time for the BC Conservatives. If they want to play politics, they can fill their boots.”The comment drew immediate backlash online with many calling the comments insensitive and tone-deaf, and many others demanding Parmar step down..The calls are not new. In December 2025, after the permanent closure of the Crofton pulp mill on Vancouver Island — eliminating more than 350 jobs averaging about $100,000 a year — the Conservative caucus formally demanded Parmar’s resignation. They blamed Parmar and BC NDP policies for, amongst other things, a chronic fibre shortage, regulatory delays, and permitting bottlenecks that have hollowed out coastal forestry communities..“The closure of the Crofton Pulp Mill is a clear sign that B.C.’s coastal forest sector is collapsing right before our eyes,” the Conservatives said at the time. “Ravi Parmar, the Minister of Forests, has failed in his duty to protect forestry jobs and grow the sector, and we are calling on him to take responsibility and resign.”Earlier mill closures and missed harvest targets have fuelled the same argument: the minister does not understand or cannot manage his own file.A separate July 2025 Conservative campaign also targeted Parmar over the case of Charleigh Pollock, a terminally ill Langford girl with Batten disease. Conservatives accused the MLA of claiming credit for advocating on her behalf for continued coverage of a costly drug after the family said he largely ignored them for months. “NDP MLA Ravi Parmar lied straight to Charleigh’s family, claiming he was their advocate — when in reality he ignored them. That’s not oversight. That’s deception. We are calling on him to resign,” the party stated, launching a petition..Parmar, was first elected in a 2023 byelection to succeed former premier John Horgan and appointed Forests Minister in November 2024, entering the Forests portfolio as a career political staffer and former school board chair with no private-sector forestry experience and no background in emergency management. He holds a political science degree from the University of Victoria and worked as a senior advisor and chief of staff in the NDP government before being appointed minister.For his own part, Parmar has defended his record by pointing to indigenous partnerships, efforts to diversify markets amid U.S. tariffs, and the work of wildland firefighters. Over the last several days during press conferences, Parmar has shown sympathy to evacuees, thanked crews for their efforts on fires including Bald Range, and expressed condolences over the fatal evacuation.However, many are stating, including on the record, that Parmar's expressions of gratitude and staged high-visibility announcements cannot paper over the obvious structural problems related to files under his direct carriage: reduced fibre supply, closed mills, lost jobs, and a remarkable wildfire season marked by rapid fire growth, chaotic overnight evacuations, and now a death. Environmental groups have also attacked Parmar from the opposite direction, accusing him of accelerating old-growth logging through BC Timber Sales and making dismissive comments about caribou..As the Bald Range fire and dozens of other blazes continue to burn, opposition figures and residents argue the cumulative record — lost jobs, delayed permits, and a minister who publicly shrugs off accountability — leaves Parmar with no remaining credibility in the role. Conservatives, and many others across the political spectrum, say only his resignation would signal that the government is taking the crisis in forestry communities and public safety seriously.Parmar has given no indication he intends to step down. Premier David Eby has, so far, stood by his minister.

Calls for Forests Minister Ravi Parmar to resign intensify amid wildfire crisis

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