Group calls for funding help to stop pine beetle

OTTAWA — Canadian Chamber of Commerce chief executive Perrin Beatty has asked for immediate federal funding to stop the spread of the destructive mountain pine beetle.

In a letter sent to Natural Resource Minister Amarjeet Sohi, Beatty said “The infestation will soon be in reach of the forests that border Alberta and Saskatchewan. If this forest becomes infested, there will be a clear path for the beetle to spread across the rest of Canada.”

Alberta has been largely left to fund efforts to keep the beetle at bay, spending more than $500 million since 2004, he said.