Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would like to begin by thanking you, the clerk, committee staff, the interpreters and all the committee members for the opportunity to make a submission and join you here today.
As you said, my name is Ken Neumann. I'm the national director for the United Steelworkers in Canada. The United Steelworkers union represents 225,000 members active in Canada and another 600,000 members in the United States. Our members are employed in industries in virtually every economic sector, including those directly dependent on North American trade.
Because of our binational structure, we have a unique understanding of the importance of ensuring strong, integrated American markets. In the United States, things are moving quickly. President Biden’s March 31 announcement of the American jobs plan, including a commitment to invest $2 trillion in transit systems, homes and buildings and water infrastructure, could have serious implications for Canada. This is especially true, as it is widely expected that the upcoming infrastructure bill will expand buy American provisions to cover more products and sub-federal infrastructure projects that receive federal funding.
Infrastructure projects rely on products such as steel, aluminum and wood products, many of which are currently produced in Canada. We must move quickly to ensure that Canada is not left out of these plans. As our Steelworkers International President Tom Conway recently said while applauding President Biden’s overall initiatives, “Canada is not the problem facing U.S. manufacturing and workers. Co-operation between Canada and U.S. will build on our long-standing and productive trading relationship”. So how productive is that relationship?
As you may know, the Canadian aluminum and steel industries alone ship $16 billion worth of products to the United States every year. That is 90% of all Canadian steel exports and two-thirds of total aluminum revenue. Over 38,000 Canadians are directly employed in these industries and over 140,000 more jobs are connected to them indirectly. Canada’s forest sector employs over 200,000 workers directly, and the U.S. is our top destination, accounting for about 75% of our softwood lumber exports alone. Our supply chains are already heavily integrated. In the auto sector, for instance, what starts out as a steel slab may cross the border five or six times for processing before it ends up in its final form. For the strong economic relationship between the two countries to continue, we have to secure an across-the-board exemption from the buy American legislation; we need a binational procurement strategy that emphasizes the use of high-quality, environmentally friendly products made in North America; and we need to finally get a solution to the decades-long softwood lumber dispute.
During the previous U.S. administration, the United Steelworkers stood strong against the section 232 tariffs on Canadian steel and our aluminum. A decade ago, we worked with the Obama administration to create a North American strategy that benefited workers on both sides of the border. Now, as part of a plan to continue building on our relationship, we are advocating for a North American buy clean strategy that would prioritize consideration of the environmental impact of materials used in public construction projects. A recent buy clean report prepared by Blue Green Canada, an alliance of labour and environmental organizations founded by the Steelworkers, demonstrates that steel, aluminum, cement and wood products produced in Canada have some of the lowest carbon emissions in the entire world. These relatively low environmental impacts fit the stated goals of President Biden and our Canadian government and would protect and create jobs.
Canada’s timber products do represent an opportunity for reduced carbon impact, but before the U.S. and Canada can work together in the forestry sector, we have to see a long-term deal that addresses the softwood lumber dispute once and for all. As it stands, thousands of workers face layoffs every time the United States reimposes softwood lumber tariffs. While the NAFTA dispute resolution system made its way into CUSMA, an overall resolution to the softwood dispute was not part of the negotiations.
The severity of the problem is currently masked by sky-high lumber prices. We need to find a solution before prices drop again and workers end up paying the price. If Canada approaches the situation strategically, the United Steelworkers believe there is an opportunity for Canadian workers to benefit from President Biden's massive infrastructure, environment and job investment.
To that end, we will continue to work both in Canada and the United States to promote a clean-energy North American manufacturing sector. We cannot let this opportunity pass us by.
Thank you again. I also look forward to your questions.