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7/7/2009
Provincial NDP Leader Carole James is critical of possible job cuts coming in B.C.'s Forests and Environment Ministries.
She says at a time the Forest Industry is in crisis, the Government's reponse should not be to cut the budget by 12 per cent, and kill more than 200 jobs."It's going in the wrong direction. And it's one more example where the Government wasn't up front with British Columbians. I certainly didn't hear the Premier when he travelled through Kamloops tell the people of Kamloops that he's going to cut the Ministry of Forests Budget by 12 percent"
James says she fears it's another sign the coming deficit will be far worse than feared.
The B.C Government and Service Employees Union has posted the planned cuts online.
But Forests Minister Pat Bell says, not quite so fast.
He maintains it's premature to say so many people will be losing their jobs.
But he can't rule out job losses either. "Well, across government we're considering all of our options. There's no question we're in very challenging economic times. The public is well aware of the challenges that are being faced, And they're looking to Government to makes sure that we provide the best possible services at the lowest possible cost, so we're working though the process making sure that each and every service that we provide is the right one for the public and that we do our best to protect all of the jobs of the public service."
Bell says everyone will know more about what's going to happen when the Provincial Budget comes out on September First.
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