Yesterday during Question Period I rose once more to ask the Minister of Forests, Lands,  Natural Resources and Rural Development about British Columbia’s forest industry. In the first question I once more asked the Minister about glyphosate (Roundup®) spraying in BC forests. This was the topic of a question I asked the Minister on November 7. In my supplemental question, I asked the Minister what he will be doing in 2019 to overhaul our important forestry industry in British Columbia.

What’s remarkable about this exchange is that as I started my initial question, Ben Stewart, the MLA for Kelowna West, heckled me loudly suggesting that I was not asking important questions. It was a head turner for me as I had just witnessed two days of the BC Liberals’ outrageous behaviour in Question Period. In fact, over the course of this entire session, the BC Liberals have asked the same questions over and over again. Very few of them have any relevance to issues that matters to British Columbians except those who take delight in the political posturing of the BC Liberals through gotcha politics.

Below I reproduce the video and text of the exchange during Question Period. Those watching the video will note the spoonerism glysophate instead of glyphosate. This was unintentional and reflects the fact that when I speak fast I sometimes utter spoonerisms.

Video of Exchange

Question

A. Weaver: A few weeks ago, I asked the Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development when B.C. would stop spraying our forests with….

Interjection.

A. Weaver: It’s interesting, as I got interrupted by a member opposite, suggesting that asking about this is not important. Rather, what it’s important, it seems to me, is the, frankly, shocking games that I’m watching going on here.

So to the member from West Kelowna who doesn’t think the issue of glyphosate spraying in British Columbia forests is important, I continue. Glyphosate kills the species that provide an essential line of defense against wildfires and pine beetle. In the member’s riding itself, in the riding of Kelowna West, we have pine and we have wildfire that he should be concerned about. Maybe he should be spending some time on this issue.

Glyphosate harms human health and animal health. It’s symptomatic of 20th century forest management practices, and as reported in Business in Vancouver last week, B.C.’s forest industry is currently undergoing falling lumber prices, production cuts and staff layoffs. We need to change our forest practices now if we are going to have flourishing sustainable ecosystems and industry.

Now, I recognize, again, that forestry is not an important issue for the members opposite. But it is on this side of the House. For that, I ask the following question to the Minister of Forests, Land and Natural Resources. What evidence is the minister still gathering to make a decision about the ongoing use of glyphosates given that the evidence seems to be very clear that we should stop now?

Answer

Hon. D. Donaldson: I welcome the question from the Leader of the Third Party. I welcome the question because it’s of interest to people in rural areas, and natural resource management is of interest to people across the province.

We’re committed to protecting the important biodiversity of forests while ensuring a continued vibrant forest sector. As the member knows, the herbicide glyphosate is approved by Health Canada for weed control and is used selectively in northern B.C. to improve survival and growth of seedlings and young trees.

Recently the ministry started to allow increased levels of aspen and broadleaf in managed stands throughout B.C., which will lead to a further decline of the use of herbicides. In fact, in certain ecosystems, up to 1,000 aspen per hectare are acceptable in conifer plantations. Overall, the use of glyphosate is decreasing. We will continue to look at any evidence to improve silviculture strategies in the province.

Supplementary Question

A. Weaver: Indigenous peoples have managed forests for their ecological, cultural and economic value for thousands of years. There’s substantial traditional knowledge surrounding forest management, and every recent report on forestry and fire has highlighted the need for Indigenous collaboration and leadership.

Another issue clearly not an important question for the member for Kelowna West is this: UBC has proposed a national Indigenous forestry school for their Okanagan campus. If developed, this program will establish a holistic curriculum that integrates Indigenous knowledge to deal with wildfire and forest health, wealth creation and governance, and how to maximize the value of our forests.

This concept is a perfect example of reconciliation and innovation in an era of climate change and, frankly, an issue that I think we should be discussing here in question period rather than the games that we’re seeing played opposite.

To the Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources, there are a multitude of opportunities like the one proposed by UBC. We can and need to do better now, not tomorrow. What exactly will the minister be doing in 2019 to overhaul our important forestry industry in British Columbia?

Answer

Hon. D. Donaldson: You know, I haven’t had, in all of this fall question period session, the ability to touch on the wildfire situation that occurred in 2018. The member used wildfire examples in his question. I would just like to say, and ask all members to join me, in congratulating the B.C. Wildfire Service staff, the contractors and the volunteers who ensured that not one single life was lost in the entire 2018 season.

The member touched on a number of topics. I’ll be brief in my answer, but I wanted to first acknowledge the efforts that UBC’s faculty of forestry is bringing — I met with the dean, John Innis — to create an Okanagan campus national Indigenous forestry school. I know the Minister of Advanced Education is aware and eagerly awaiting to receive a proposal around that.

That’s in order to blend and ensure that Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge is combined with western knowledge to better manage the forest sector. That will involve ensuring that the forest sector is productive and ensures that we’re managing with both First Nations and western science.