McBride Community Forest manager fired

By: Frank Green

The general manager of the McBride Community Forest Corporation was fired on Friday.

Marc Von Der Gonna, the now-former GM, confirmed the firing, but declined to comment.

McBride Mayor Loranne Martin sits on the corporation’s board, along with Councillors Edee Tracy, Ralph Bezanson, and Sharon Reichert, as well as Regional District Representative Dannielle Alan.

“I was not involved in that decision,” Alan said, who said she otherwise had “no comment.”

None of the other board members could be reached for comment, despite repeated attempts.

The McBride Community Forest Corporation broke rules on multiple occasions during Von Der Gonna’s tenure. An MCFC contractor caused environmental harm to a fish-bearing stream—which an auditor called a “significant non-compliance.” The Corporation also logged trees it wasn’t authorized to, which landed it in court with the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations.