Politicians from B.C. and Ottawa met in Vancouver on Monday for a forestry summit on how to prop up the industry in the face of American fees and tariffs topping 50 per cent.
B.C. Premier David Eby said the province is pushing for more federal aid for the industry.
“It is one of the largest employers, one of the biggest contributors to our provincial GDP,” Eby said on Monday.
“And when you look across the country, it’s larger than the automotive sector, it’s larger than aluminium and steel combined. It has an impact right across the country, and it deserves to be treated with the seriousness and respect that a sector of that size should command.”
Eby said he is confident that the federal government understands the importance of the logging industry to communities both large and small across the province.
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“We have a shared commitment to work together to address the crisis that the sector faces,” Eby added.
“The unfair and unjustified tariffs imposed by the white House on this sector directly threatens thousands of jobs right across the country. And our deep concern is that without imminent action, that things will get significantly worse for families and for communities across the country, and particularly in British Columbia.”
Eby said the provincial and federal governments have agreed to form a task force to support the forestry sector.
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Dominic LeBlanc, the minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade, was also at the meeting on Monday and said he was able to update Eby on negotiations with the United States
“This is a critical industry to the fabric of the whole country,” LeBlanc said.
“We see British Columbia, of course, is a dominant player in Canada in this industry. That’s why we thought it was important for us to hear directly from the premier, from his government and from representatives of the workers in the industry.”
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Challenges facing the forestry sector
LeBlanc said the task force will make sure the forestry sector in B.C. has access to the programs that have been announced by the federal government and if necessary, fast-track this process.
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“The forest sector is incredibly diverse in B.C., from little tiny mom and pop shops, to great big, internationally traded companies., and so making sure that that, there are supports in place and that was what we were, pitching today, supports in place to respond to that diversity and support workers keep the industry intact and make sure that the whole organ system that supports the body of the timber industry here is functioning well through this incredibly difficult time as we pivot to new markets, is crucially important,” he said.
In September, the Americans imposed anti-dumping and countervailing duties on Canadian companies ranging from 26 per cent to more than 47 per cent, and then added another 10 per cent last month, claiming Canada’s industry is a U.S. national security threat.
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Another round of tariffs for lumber sector
The softwood lumber dispute has been a friction point for decades, with the United States imposing duties alleging Canada subsidizes its industry.
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The B.C. Council of Forest Industries issued a statement last month on behalf of businesses, unions and other industry groups, saying the government must bring the same urgency to the lumber file as it has to disputes with the U.S. over steel, aluminum and energy.
-with files from The Canadian Press
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