Mr. Speaker, hard-working people on Vancouver Island are struggling to get by. Forestry is in crisis. TimberWest is closing the Elk Falls sawmill in Campbell River and putting 275 workers out of jobs. Catalyst is slashing 145 workers from the pulp mill right next door. At Western Forest Products another 800 jobs on the B.C. coast are gone, yet more families without a pay cheque by the end of this week.
Five months ago the government promised that help would be coming for working families. Why is there no direct help from the government in the face of this crisis?