Analysts express cautious optimism after the prime minister announced $ 1.2 billion in federal support for the soft wood industry, one of the largest employers in BC.
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Tuesday that the Federal Government would spend up to $ 700 million in loan guarantees for forest companies and $ 500 million, largely in subsidies and contributions, to stimulate the development of products and market diversification for the affected industry and millions to reluctant to wood workers.
The BC forest industry has received great successes in recent years, since increasing US tariffs on soft wood imports have stacked on several other challenges that have led to thousands of job losses.
The members of the forest industry of the province, as well as the BC forest minister, welcomed the financing announcement on Tuesday, especially because the federal government has been previously accused of ignoring the struggles of the soft wood industry in BC
Analysts say that long -term changes and diversification in the forest industry are needed to keep it sustainable, but solving industry barriers to US exports would be the most effective short -term measure.
“I’m going to be wishing to work with my colleague [federal Natural Resources Minister] Tim Hodson by ensuring that British Columbia obtains his fair part of those dollars, that capital financing, which I hope can help transform this sector, “BC forest minister Ravi Parmar said Tuesday.
Parmar told the Canadian press that participation would be somewhere between 40 and 50 percent, given the size of the provincial soft wood industry.
The minister elected the Carney government for not ignoring the soft wood industry, and said that the government of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had not turned it into a priority.
“I would say that from the previous liberal administration to this, it is a night and day comparison,” he told CBC News Network.
“I really appreciate that the prime minister shows a very strong leadership to ensure that we can obtain a long -term soft wooden agreement.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced more than $ 1 billion to support the besieged soft wood industry of Canada. Brian Menzies, executive director of the Independent Wood Processors association, says that new support measures are “a good step in the right direction.”
Push for diversification
The United States has long been the largest market for BC wood exports, which represents more than two thirds in the market for the industry of approximately $ 10 billion.
But in the midst of a series of challenges for the forest industry of the province, including an infestation of mountain pine beetles that has killed hundreds of thousands of trees, factories have been closing around the province in recent years, and the main forest companies are opening new factories in the United States.
In 2023, Statistics Canada numbers showed that BC had lost more than 40,000 jobs in the forest sector since the early 1990s.
In addition to Tuesday’s financing announcement, Carney announced that his government would use wood and Canadian workers as part of their promise to build affordable houses.
Kurt Niquidet, president of the BC Lumber Trade Council, said the liquidity support announced by Carney on Tuesday would help in the short term, but a long -term negotiated agreement with the US. UU. It must be the priority.
“Diversification, as well as market growth within Canada, is also useful and welcome. But that will be more a longer -term initiative,” said Niquidet.
Kurt Niquidet, president of the BC Lumber Trade Council, says that the negotiation of an agreement with the United States must be ‘front and center’ together with additional support. This occurs after Prime Minister Mark Carney promised to use Canadian wood to build houses and provide financial support to the Canadian wood industry.
Russ Taylor, an analyst and consultant of the forestry industry, said the BC forest industry had been fighting for incursions into non -American markets for some time.
“We have been trying for decades to expand our exports of products to the markets, and the United States is the best option, partly because we do what they want, and the other markets of the world really do not want what we do,” he said.
“So it is a real challenge to get out of the US market.”
The United States government has increased tariffs on Canadian soft wood imports. Washington considers Canadian bump rates for crown harvest an unfair government subsidy. As Akshay Kulkarni reports, it is the last blow to the forest industry in BC difficulties.
Last month, the United States Department of Commerce decided to increase anti -dumping tasks in Canadian wood to 20.56 percent.
If combined with compensatory tasks, the total rate of rate in Canadian wood would be almost 35 percent.
Parmar pointed out that the president of the United States, Donald Trump, has also initiated a federal investigation into American and wood American imports, citing “national security”, which could further affect the BC forest industry when combined with tariffs.
Even so, he remained optimistic about the efforts of the BC government to diversify its wood exports, particularly in the Asia and Pacific region in Vietnam and Japan.
“We are going to seek to find these new partners, and I think the US administration will take several steps, I hope, to ensure an agreement,” he said.
“But if they don’t, I think they will pay the price for higher wood costs in the coming years.”
Call to get more direct support
A union representative welcomed the federal money announced on Tuesday, but said it should be done more to obtain money directly to workers with difficulties.
“The loan guarantees offer, which must be linked to employment guarantees and community guarantees, and make sure the money keeps the industry where it is … and keeps people working,” said Gavin McGarrigle, western regional director of the Unifor Union, which represents more than 22,000 forest workers throughout Canada.
Gavin McGarrigle, Western Regional Director of Unifor and member of the Softwood BC Wood Advisory Council, tells you that the $ 700 million in loan guarantees and $ 500 million for diversification will not be enough to support fired workers and the necessary investment in the Softwood wood facilities. While welcoming money, it tells BC Today, presenter, Michelle Eliot, there should have been more consultation with unions and direct support for workers.
McGarrigle is in the BC Soft Wood Advisory Council and said that the federal government needs to consult the industry and unions to ensure that money is properly spent.
“It is not good to talk about the training of people for the work of the future if they have no job today,” he said.
“And that is what people in these sectors and industries are seeing, making sure they get a guarantee that their installation will be stable during the next year or two.”
