Budworm spruce: Irving has done an intensive lobbying

Patrick Bellerose

Thursday, 1 march 2018 18:38

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Thursday, 1 march 2018 18:38

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The company’s Irving, New Brunswick, has been intensive lobbying in the year prior to the announcement of a federal assistance of $ 75 million to the Atlantic provinces to combat the budworm spruce, an amount to which Quebec will not be entitled.

• READ ALSO: Budworm the spruce: $ 75 million for the Atlantic, not a penny for the Quebec

A research done by the Parti québécois reveals that the lobbyists of the company in new brunswick, very much present, especially in the forest industry, have met with members of the Trudeau government, of the political employees or officials to 31 times over the course of the last year to talk about forestry.

The minister of Health, Ginette Petitpas Taylor, the minister of Agriculture Lawrence MacAulay and the minister of veterans affairs Seamus O’regan (all members of the Atlantic provinces), in particular, were met by representatives of Irving on the subject.

Moreover, 16 lobbyists Irving, tx have registered budworm the spruce to their mandate.

The Quebec excluded

In its budget unveiled Tuesday, the federal government has announced a sum of $ 74.75 million in order to “prevent the spread” of the pest insect in the Atlantic provinces. The amount will be borne 60% by the federal government, the rest from the provinces and the forest industry.

In Quebec, the office of the minister of the Forest, Luc Blanchette, said he is “surprised and a little disappointed” to learn of the news during the tabling of the budget Morneau, without having been consulted in advance.

Lobbying

“The lobby [Irving] is an extremely powerful, efficient and has a lot of inputs in Ottawa, unlike Quebec, which is little or not listened to,” laments the critic of the parti québecois in the field of forests, wildlife and parks, Sylvain Roy.

It holds responsible the minister Blanchette. “It has not done its job and has not had the audacity to go and claim, at Ottawa,” said Sylvain Roy.

The cabinet of the minister, it recalls that it sent two letters to the federal government about the budworm the spruce, in addition to meeting with the canadian minister of natural Resources “at least once”.

The press secretary of the minister Blanchette, Youann Blouin, added that the government Couillard still has not received explanations on the lack of the province in this program.

The calls and e-mails the Log to the cabinet of the federal minister of Finance also remained without response.