International Trade Committee on May 7th, 2026

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

That's great. I think the term you used, “collateral damage”, is probably exactly the words I was searching for.

Since your industry is sometimes collateral damage in these disputes, do you think you get enough transparency or information from the government, when there are potential threats to your industry, before those threats come?

[Chris Davison]

I think that has to be assessed on a case-by-case basis because it's rarely, if ever, clear where the threats are going to come from, when and how they're going to arise, and with how much lead time. I think that's something that has to be considered on a case-by-case basis.

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

That's fair enough.

Do you think we should strive to provide those industries with more information and transparency from the government when they might be facing a threat, unbeknownst to them, due to actions they had no hand in?

[Chris Davison]

Absolutely. I think anyone would want to get as much information as possible in advance of a potential threat to their industry. Sometimes that allows us to take pre-emptive action or to attempt to seek redress on a particular issue, depending on its origins and nature. Certainly, the more we know before things happen, the better.

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Thank you very much.

Mr. Niquidet, when's the last time your industry had an agreement on softwood lumber?

[Kurt Niquidet]

The last agreement expired in October 2015.

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Thank you very much.

It was 2015. I think your testimony is that you feel pretty confident that the government has your back. When do you expect that you'll have a softwood lumber agreement?

[Kurt Niquidet]

It's difficult to predict. The government has communicated to us that it's a priority in its engagement with the U.S. However, it takes two to tango, so that's dependent on the U.S.

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

I'm sorry. I have limited time.

Would your preference be to get more loans from the government or to actually have an agreement on softwood lumber?

[Kurt Niquidet]

I think our preference for the solution is to get a long-term agreement.

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

That's great. Hopefully, we can expect that in an expeditious manner.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much.

Before we go on to the next speaker, I want to say that it's always nice to have visitors to the committee. We have two very special young women who are visiting us today, so I just want to acknowledge that they're here. I expect they're Ms. Block's grandchildren, who are visiting Ottawa today.

Welcome to the international trade committee.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Ms. Acan, please go ahead for five minutes.

[Sima Acan, Liberal, Oakville West, ON]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

Mr. Niquidet, British Columbia's Minister Ravi Parmar led one of B.C.'s largest forestry missions in November, with 61 delegates, coming back with a signed agreement with the Japan 2x4 Home Builders Association for what he described as “powerful partnerships” that protect jobs and open new markets. COFI was a part of this mission.

Beyond the signed agreement, how did this translate on the ground with Japanese buyers and builders, and what doors have opened that were not open before?

[Kurt Niquidet]

I think it sent a signal. There were concerns around the reliability of our supply. There are existing relationships, but given some of the disruptions that we've had, such as to our timber supply or the port strikes I talked about earlier, there were concerns about the reliability of our supplies going forward. I think some existing relationships were renewed, as well as some new relationships established.

[Sima Acan, Liberal, Oakville West, ON]

That's good news.

In addition to that, Minister Sidhu is leading a federal team Canada mission to Japan in June 2026, with forestry named as a priority sector. What should that mission be focused on, specifically, for the lumber and wood product sector? What is the most important deliverable that COFI wants to come out of this meeting?

[Kurt Niquidet]

There are a couple of things. There's the existing market, and we have lost some market share in our existing market, which has been focused more on the residential side. It's also establishing new markets, which is more on the non-residential side of things.

One key thing is that we have Canada Wood, which is an agency that COFI and the federal and provincial governments fund. They have offices in Japan, and it's important that they're supported. To establish these markets, it really takes time. There are a lot of technical issues that need to be worked through in order to grow and establish these markets.

Therefore, it's funding for Canada Wood and also looking at some of the opportunities in the non-residential sector.

[Sima Acan, Liberal, Oakville West, ON]

Thank you very much for your input.

Mr. Davison, Canada has long been one of Japan's most reliable and significant suppliers of raw canola seed, with exports increasing by 39.3% in 2024-25 compared to the previous year. However, most of the value-added processing, including crushing, refining and finished oil production, continues to take place in Japan. As a result, the processing margins and many of these associated jobs are being captured abroad rather than in provinces like Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

What would it take for Canada to shift this dynamic and export more processed canola products rather than primarily raw seed?

[Chris Davison]

You're right. The statistics you referenced reiterate the long-standing and ongoing benefits of the canola trade between Canada and Japan. You're also right that Japan also has a domestic crush industry, which our canola seed supports through the export of Canadian canola seed to Japan.

There are a number of factors at play at any given time. As we have here in Canada, Japan has domestic policy goals to support its own industries. That's certainly a factor. We look at market dynamics, competitive products, the cost of bringing that product into the market and the uniqueness of the food sector in Japan. There have also been TRQ tariff-related elements to that in the past, where there have been some adjustments in the last few years.

We look at those as more medium- and long-term propositions rather than things that are likely to change in the immediate short term.

[Sima Acan, Liberal, Oakville West, ON]

Regarding that change, could you please elaborate on why this transition has not already occurred? For example, are there tariff or non-tariff structures that make importing raw seed more attractive to Japanese buyers than importing processed canola oil or other finished products?

[Chris Davison]

Yes, that's correct.

As I said, Japan has a well-established domestic crush industry that is supported through the imports of, certainly, Canadian canola but other oilseed products as well. That has been the key driver in that regard. That gets factored into other considerations, such as supply and demand, price and the products they are sourcing from other competitive markets, whether that's canola or other oilseed products such as soybeans and the like.

We have seen volumes of oil exports to Japan previously, but as I alluded to in my opening remarks, they are at significantly smaller volumes.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much.

Thank you to our witnesses for their excellent testimony today.

We will now adjourn the meeting, and we will go to the informal part with witnesses from GAC.

I move adjournment.