The Kamloops-North Thompson MLA is concerned with where dollars are coming from to fund a forest relief program for B.C. communities.

Peter Milobar says the $69 million announced last week to support forest workers is being reallocated from the province’s rural dividend program, which funds capital projects in communities of fewer than 25,000 people.

“In Clearwater’s case, there was a community application for $50,000, a district application for $170,000 of the rural dividend fund. That $220,000 dollars has now been withdrawn, in terms of even having an application process, and replaced by a $100,000-dollar grant under this new $69-million-dollar fund. It’s completely laughable,” Milobar says.

“There’s communities out there that are not forest dependent that now will not get to access rural dividend funds… It’s reprehensible the false hope they [the provincial government] were putting out there to communities last week knowing full well they were literally taking away dollars at the same time they were giving dollars out.”

According to a letter sent out to applicants by Forest Minister Doug Donaldson, applications province-wide for the latest intake of rural dividend funds from the province were suspended to accommodate the $69 million for forestry, and “applications submitted in the 2019 intake period will be retained for vetting and funding consideration at a future date.”