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Staggering BC job losses and the continued abandonment of forest workers
February 6, 2009
The B.C. Federation of Labour is calling on the provincial and federal governments to act quickly to address soaring job losses in the province.
Statistics Canada today reported 35,000 jobs were lost in BC in January. The job losses in BC account for almost one quarter of all jobs lost in Canada last month.
“The Gordon Campbell government would have us believe that BC is well positioned to weather the current economic downturn,” says Jim Sinclair, President of the B.C. Federation of Labour. “This will come as little relief to the tens of thousands of people who lost their jobs last month or the people who are worried about losing their jobs in the months ahead.
Also today, Timber West announced it was taking 54,000 hectares out of its forest lands and creating a real estate development company on Vancouver Island.
“Instead of abandoning the forest sector, we need companies and governments that are committed to a sustainable forest industry that creates good jobs and strong communities,” says Sinclair. “Regardless of where you live in BC, the removal of working forest land is a bad sign for our economic growth.”
The Federation is also calling on the Harper government to expand eligibility to Employment Insurance (EI) for unemployed workers. The January Federal Budget extended the EI benefits period but did nothing to address the fact that most unemployed workers do not qualify for EI.
“Sixty percent of unemployed workers discover they are ineligible for EI even though they have contributed to the plan,” says Sinclair. “The EI system is broken and needs to be overhauled to help all unemployed workers facing hardship.”
For more information: Evan Stewart, Director of Communications (604) 430-1421.
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