Goulard Lumber and all the little companies depend upon access to the U.S. market, even if they don't sell directly to the U.S. If we don't have access to the U.S. market, then all the big companies are going to flood the Canadian market. They are dependent on keeping the softwood lumber agreement, even if they think their market is in Canada. If the other lumber companies can't get into the U.S., it's going to depress prices in Canada. They depend on selling their chips to the pulp industry. The money that is spent on transforming the pulp industry and its ability to not be dependent on fossil fuels and become more self-sufficient, both economically and environmentally, creates a client for the chips from the lumber industry.
I can go on, but the truth is that while you may be independently owned, you don't get to live independently because the industry is actually integrated.