With the imminent shutdown of BC Tree Fruits Cooperative threatening over 300 farming families, countless employees, and affecting agricultural supply companies in British Columbia, BC United Leader Kevin Falcon and Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Food, MLA Ian Paton, are urgently calling on Premier David Eby and the NDP to take immediate action. This follows an agricultural town hall meeting with Falcon, Paton, and impacted farmers in the Okanagan.
BC United is calling for the following immediate actions:
“As BC Tree Fruits faces its most challenging period in its almost 90-year history, we are urging the NDP government to step up and provide the necessary resources to support this vital industry,” said BC United Leader, Kevin Falcon. “With the industry on the brink, where are Premier Eby and the Agriculture Minister? BC United is here listening and ready to assist in fixing this crisis. Now, David Eby and the NDP government must step up and do their part to help.”
The potential closure of the Cooperative highlights a dire need for government intervention to prevent significant job losses and major disruptions in British Columbia’s food supply chain. BC United is on the ground listening and demanding to know why David Eby and his Agriculture Minister are missing in action.
“The looming dissolution of the BC Tree Fruits Cooperative is a direct result of the NDP ignoring an issue until it becomes a full-blown crisis,” said BC United Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Food, MLA Ian Paton. “This cooperative is essential for packing, storing, and marketing various fruits and its closure could permanently damage B.C.’s fruit industry, impacting countless families and the economy.”
The BC Tree Fruits Cooperative is vital to the economy and has been a foundational institution in the Okanagan for nearly nine decades. Its closure risks devastating impacts on hundreds of farming families and the broader community. In this critical moment, only BC United is standing up for these farmers, who have heard nothing from the NDP or John Rustad’s party.
BC United is demanding immediate government action to safeguard this essential collective and protect British Columbia’s agricultural sector.