PRRD releases socio-economic impact study on Caribou Recovery Program

DAWSON CREEK, B.C. – The Peace River Regional District has released their own study on the socio-economic impacts that the proposed restoration of the South Peace Northern Caribou Ranges could have on the District.

This study, performed by Stantec Consulting Ltd. on behalf of the District, is released ahead of the Province’s study and is designed to get a better understanding of what impacts the Recovery Program could have on communities and industries if the Government were to go ahead with the Program.

According to the study, when combining forestry from Fort St. John, Dawson Creek and the Tree Farm License 48, the industry provides an estimated $1.1 billion in Provincial GDP, with 4,160 hours of employment per year, and provides $50 million in federal and $76 million in provincial government revenues in the Base Case.

If the Recovery Program were to go through, the study says there would be a 6.2 percent reduction in Provincial GDP, 5.4 percent reduction in employment, a 9.7 percent reduction in provincial tax revenues, and a 5.7 percent reduction in federal tax revenues across the Regional District.

Within the study, it also says that the Program would result in the closure of at least one mill in the Region.

The District had paid Stantec $41,624.82, excluding GST, for this work from the ‘Peace Initiatives’ account.

The full socio-economic impact study can be found on the Regional District’s website.