Panel data provided by Madison's Canadian Lumber Reporter.

Tories on Beetle Tour Today

By Elaine Macdonald

Prince George M.P. D ick Harris is hosting some party colleagues on a mountain pine beetle tour today.

Harris invited all M.P's from the province to join him in Prince George for a first hand look at the devastation of the forest.  He was expecting about a dozen M.P's to  be here for the tour.  

The M.P.'s will take a chopper tour of the region, not unlike the tour taken by Party Leader Stephen Harper last week.  Harris says he arranged the tour so his colleagues from other parts of the province have a clear vision of the magnitude of the problem.  

The mountain pine beetle has already  destroyed 7 million hectares of forest.  The Conservatives have pledged  that if they form the next government they will  dedicate a $100 million dollars a year for ten years  to prepare for changes to the forestry industry.  

It is estimated that in ten years, the fall out from the pine beetle devastation will result in the  closure of mills,  and loss of jobs, unless the  fiber industry  makes some major adjustments and the region makes some major efforts to diversify its economy.

The federal government has just given the province a hundred million dollars to deal with the pine beetle. While there are many critics who say the money is too little too late, Federal Industry Minister David Emerson said the money should be considered a  "downpayment".
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