The BC Conservatives sent a message to the BC NDP ahead of an emergency summit on the forestry sector, reminding them that while tariffs exacerbated the problem, the government "helped create" the crisis to begin with.Premier David Eby and Forestry Minister Ravi Parmar are set to meet with other provincial and federal leaders in Vancouver on Monday to discuss the path forward for the struggling industry."We welcome any real relief for forestry workers and their families, but let's not pretend this summit is anything more than damage control for a crisis the NDP helped create," the BC Conservatives wrote in a statement, pointing out that while the annual allowable cut in BC is around 63 million cubic metres, only 32 million was harvested in 2024 — before President Donald Trump implemented tariffs.The party argued that the shortcomings in the sector are "not because of international trade," but "years of provincial mismanagement, red tape, and policy paralysis.""David Eby's government has tied the forestry sector in knots with broken permitting systems, ideological land-use policies, and a stumpage model that has left us uncompetitive, undercut, and exposed," they lamented. "Now, with tariffs hammering our exports, we're watching another taxpayer-funded photo op while real jobs and entire towns disappear."Americans imposed tariffs ranging from 26% to 47% in September, then added 10% in October..The party argued that "half this crisis is made in the US, the other half is made in Victoria," and that "while Eby smiles for the cameras in Vancouver, mills are shutting down, and workers are being 'transitioned' out of careers they never wanted to leave.""We don’t need another roundtable," they declared. "We don’t need more announcements. We need a government that will get out of the way and fight for our forestry workers."The BC Conservatives vowed to "scrap the broken stumpage model, streamline permits with a one-project, one-permit process, shift to a fibre-based AAC Ban glyphosate aerial spraying and restore proper wildfire management, rebuild the workforce through skills training and emergency support, and take a real stand on internal trade barriers and foreign tariffs.""BC's forestry sector doesn’t need sympathy from the same politicians who helped run it into the ground," they concluded. "It needs a government that gives a damn and knows what the hell it’s doing. If Eby wants a 'Team Canada' approach, he should start by taking serious steps to protect jobs and communities, rather than undermining our economy with excessive red tape and symbolic summits."
