Northerners Waiting for Public Forums on Job Cuts
Friday, May 07, 2004 at 13:30
The decision to exclude average northern citizens from consultation meetings about job cuts in the Environment department is not going over well.
Environment Minister David Forbes talked about office closures and changes to the province’s forest fire policy with northern leaders and department staff in La Ronge last night and in Prince Albert a few weeks ago.
He’s also tentatively scheduled to attend a similar gathering in Buffalo Narrows on Monday.
But a spokesman from Forbes’ office says there are no public forums scheduled on this issue, and likely won’t be until August at the earliest.
La Loche resident Don Montgrand says residents in his community were under the impression they would be able to talk with the minister sometime this spring.
Northern Affairs minister Buckley Belanger is apparently hosting Monday’s meeting in Buffalo Narrows.
A spokesperson from his office says Belanger wanted to make sure the people affected the most by the government’s measures would have first access to Forbes.