One thing that is about as predictable as the weather is the lumber industry. It is very cyclical, very “peaks and valleys”. That's just the unfortunate nature of the beast. We have layoffs and we have closures, but the employment insurance system is important for the base support of workers, which the employers and the workers all pay into. It is important that there not be barriers when workers need this support most. Any benefits that are negotiated or provided shouldn't be barriers to access to EI.
I believe the federal government is on the right track with the measures it has instituted on a temporary basis, but as I said in my opening remarks, making access to EI permanent when people are in fact laid off and/or suffer a closure is paramount.
In terms of what the federal government should do to continue to help, I think that all the aspects—making sure there is a fair trade environment, making sure that there is a competitive tax environment, making sure there is support for workers—all those things are paramount to ensure that the industry is vibrant and that it thrives in the future.
It's going to take some work: all the things we've talked about today concerning other products from the forest, and what we've talked about in B.C., whereby we can get more value out of the timber in the forest so that nothing is left behind and so that everything is extracted and used for different products. I think those kinds of programs are important to make sure that the industry thrives.