Image Credit: CFJC Today

By James Peters

COVID-19

100 Mile House mayor confident tree-planters will follow strict pandemic-related rules

May 12, 2020 | 12:49 PM

100 MILE HOUSE, B.C. — Millions of trees are planted in the B.C. Interior every year, but the business model has never been built to be pandemic-friendly.

Private companies contracted by the B.C. Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development hire temporary workers, many who enter the province and live in camps while they work.

That has raised concerns from residents in the South Cariboo, home to many tree-planting camps. Residents routinely see workers coming into communities in groups for groceries and supplies.

100 Mile House Mayor Mitch Campsall says local officials raised that issue with the province shortly after the pandemic was declared.

“About a month before they came, we understood where, what and how they were coming,” Campsall told CFJC Today. “Obviously, we jumped to the concern and we got on the bandwagon. There are a whole whack of communities in the same boat.”

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The ministry has imposed stringent rules around living arrangements in camps this year, and is only allowing a few people to enter communities for supplies.

“They’re allowed two people and that’s their job – they come in and get stuff from town and they go back out. They’re not all allowed; they have to stay within their camp,” said Campsall. “If they come out of their camps, they lose their job. It’s very, very strict.”

“The tree-planters that come into these communities, they had to go into quarantine for 15 days first, before they could even come here,” Campsall continued. “Once they’re here, they’re not allowed to leave their camp. If they leave their camp, they will lose their jobs.”

Given the strict rules, Campsall says the government is happy to hear from people who witness violations.

“We want people to be watching for it because, if it does happen, we’ll be phoning [the provincial forests ministry] and forestry is in charge of making sure this does happen. We have tree-planters who are actually in our community, they’re in some of the motels. They have security guards who are there to make sure they do not leave.”

“I believe [the government’s rules] will be enforced because the contractors do not want to lose their contracts and the tree-planters don’t want to lose their jobs. Now, if they aren’t being followed, we need to know right away and we can do something about it.”

Campsall added the way his community has handled the pandemic, following closely the guidelines set out by Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, has made him proud to be from the South Cariboo.