Premier Paints Positive Picture
By 250 News
Premier Gordon Campbell sits down for one on one interview with Opinion250's Ben Meisner
In an exclusive interview with Opinion250’s Ben Meisner, Premier Gordon Campbell says when it comes to the softwood deal, the British Columbia Government will decide what is best for British Columbia. Still, the Premier says the softwood deal may not be perfect, "But what we have to ask ourselves is this;Are we capable of getting a softwood agreement?"
The Premier says both the Prime Minister and the Minister of Trade have been great to listen to B.C.’S concerns, but the reality is, the industry is very diverse, and the country is vast, so it may not be possible to get a deal that will make everyone happy.
The Premier says he takes his hat off to people who say the beetle problem is actually presenting an opportunity and pointed to a Prince George comapny that is setting up a pellet plant with a view to European markets.
The Premier says the resource industry is the future . He says the province wil have to start getting companies to start looking at the Nechako Basin andthe Bowser basin. He is also excited about the Pacific Gateway. "That isn’t Vancouver, that is all of British Columbia." The port in Prince Rupert may be the "gateway" to the Pacific, but there is a significant role for the City of Prince George which can become the inland facility. "We think this can become a major intermodal inland port as part of the Pacific Gateway."
There have been plenty of rumours about test drilling for natural gas and oil in the Prince George region, but so far, no nibbles. The Premier says "What you have to do is put out better bait to get a bigger bite".
The complete interview will be available on Shaw’s The Daily, Saturday July 29th, and Sunday July 30th at 9 p.m. both days. The complete interview will also be available on opinion250 sometime next week.
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Posted by: Palopu on July 21 2006 9:53 PM
When I see thousands of logging trucks loaded to the hilt with logs coming into town and to the mills, it makes me wonder who is hording all the money. Prince George should be the Calgary of BC. It's the spruce capital of the world!
We have raped and pillaged this province of its timber forever, and our governments still don't have enough money? Why aren't we rich like the Albertans? Oil, timber, timber, oil, both are are hugely in demand. Just go buy a two by four from one of the building supply stores to find out how precious they are.
Are we charging enough for stumpage fees? Perhaps, like the Americans say, we are subsidizing the logging industry. I don't see the community of Prince George benefiting from all this.