Premier John Horgan says his government plans to rebuild the solid wood and secondary timber industries by ensuring more logs are processed in British Columbia. In a speech to the annual Truck Loggers Convention, Horgan says the forest sector revitalization plan will be done through incentives and regulation changes. The policy changes include increasing penalties for late reporting of wood waste, and reducing the waste by redirecting it to pulp and paper mills. The premier says the actions will reverse a systematic decline that has taken place in the coastal forest sector over the past two decades. He says the plan will be implemented through a series of legislative, regulatory and policy changes over the next two years. Truck Loggers Association executive director David Elstone says the announcement addresses growing concerns about forest management on the coast.

Original Article