Hello and thank you. I'm Colin Barker and I'm the director of the softwood lumber division at Global Affairs Canada.
The high lumber prices at the moment are insulating companies against the impact of the duties, certainly, so that is helping companies weather the current situation. Obviously there are negative impacts on consumers and the homebuilding sector as a result of those high prices, so it's not sustainable in the long term, and eventually prices will come back down as supply is increased. Certainly, the lower the price goes, the more impact the duties have. Over the past few years, the price has been at a favourable level, but we can't assume that will always be the case.
As the minister pointed out, it certainly will be our priority now that the new administration is taking shape to investigate ways that we can perhaps arrive at a new negotiated agreement to this dispute. Certainly, our efforts on the litigation side will also help to increase the pressure on the U.S. to come to the table, as will our co-operation with groups in the U.S. such as the home builders association. Their press release was pointed out earlier in the discussion. They're an important advocacy ally in the U.S. to convince the administration and Congress that it's time to come back to the table on this issue.