Short-term employment opportunities on northern Vancouver Island have kept forest workers affected by changes in the sector employed under the government’s Forest Employment Program (FEP).
The FEP provides short-term employment opportunities for forestry contractors and workers affected by mill curtailments, old-growth deferrals and other forestry-sector impacts. Projects, often involving Indigenous partnerships, include funding upgrades to forest service roads, range infrastructure, recreational trails, community access and wildfire mitigation. The projects are part of $185 million over three years from Budget 2022 to provide co-ordinated and comprehensive supports for forestry workers, industry, communities and First Nations that may be affected by new restrictions on old-growth logging.
On the northern part of Vancouver Island there were 20 FEP projects approved in 2021-22, totalling more than $1.3 million in the communities of Nimpkish, Port Alice, Port McNeill, Port Hardy, Woss and Zeballos.
