Program Provides Jobs for Clearwater Workers

CLEARWATER – Clearwater residents in need of work are benefiting from two additional Job Opportunities Program projects worth $163,762 to clean up lands and trails.

“The Job Opportunities Program helps out people who need it most, our displaced forest workers,” says Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Terry Lake. “Every job counts, especially in economic times like these and these jobs will help to maintain important lands and trails, reducing the risk of wildfires in our forests.”

The Clearwater projects include:

•    $138,750 to the District of Clearwater for spacing stems, pruning ladder fuel and removing the residual fuel loading on approximately 111 hectares in the North Thompson Provincial Park to reduce the risk of interface fires. In addition, workers are upgrading existing trails in the park to allow for nordic ski grooming in the winter.
•    $25,012 to the District of Clearwater for implementing fuel management treatments by spacing stems, pruning ladder fuels and removing residual fuel loading on approximately 14.6 hectares of land in the School District #73 area.

“On behalf of the citizens of Clearwater and surrounding area we are delighted to receive this funding to provide employment to our citizens and to make the area less vulnerable to wildfire impacts,” says Clearwater Mayor John Harwood.

First announced in May 2008, the Job Opportunities Program is one component of the federally-funded, $129-million Community Development Trust. In July 2009, the provincial government committed an additional $30 million towards the program, which the federal government is matching on a project-by-project basis through the Community Adjustment Fund.

The Province’s contribution to the Job Opportunities Program is part of its commitment to provide stability for workers and communities, maintain the workforce during the economic downturn and help British Columbians gain new skills to be successful in the future.

For more information about the Job Opportunities Program, go to www.cd.gov.bc.ca/cdt/

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