Mayor returns from meeting with B.C. ministers
By Kyra Hoggan
Castlegar mayor Lawrence Chernoff and city manager John Malcolm are back from a day-trip to Victoria to discuss city concerns after the local forestry office was downsized, resulting in 15 local job cuts.
The duo spent Tuesday meeting with Minister of Forests and Range Pat Bell, as well as Minister of Community and Rural Development Bill Bennett.
“The idea of the meeting was to express our concerns over the way the announcement was made to the community (through the media), and to say we’re not happy about any jobs leaving Castlegar,” Chernoff said. “Especially we’ve gone to such great lengths to work with the province over Celgar and Interfor; to improve job stability in Castlegar.”
Chernoff said the ministers agreed there should be better communication with local government when such decisions are made, but the logic behind why Nelson was chosen over Castlegar (for a forestry base) remains, to Chernoff, a mystery.
“Our expression to both ministers was that we need cooperation and partnership to diversify our economy and reduce our dependency on the pulp mill,” he said. “They clearly understood how disappointed we were when we arrived in Victoria, and why we came to Victoria.”
He said the downsizing of the local forest office is not a decision the province is likely to reverse, but at least now Castlegar is on the provincial radar, and either or both of the ministries may be able to offer assistance in other ways to forward the city’s goals.
“They understand what we’re trying to do,” he said. “We’re looking for help in seeing the community grow and be sustainable well into the future.”
