Thank you, Mr. Chair and committee members. It's a pleasure to be here in front of this committee on behalf of the Alberta forestry industry.
The Alberta Softwood Lumber Trade Council represents sawmills in Alberta that export their products to the United States. The council is made up of nine companies, ranging from publicly listed companies to family-run mills. As mentioned by the chair, I am one of two co-chairs. In my other day role, I'm the president and CEO of the Alberta Forest Products Association, or AFPA. AFPA represents 29 forestry companies in Alberta, ranging from publicly listed companies to family businesses that have been passed down through generations. They range throughout the forestry value chain, from sawmills to pulp and paper mills to wood pellets and everything in between.
Our industry in Alberta creates 30,000 jobs and has a $14-billion impact on the province's economy. We're proud to be part of a Canadian forestry industry that stretches from coast to coast—an industry that creates 200,000 jobs nationally and is one of the largest employers of indigenous people in the country. We're equally proud of our environmental record and the fact that we grow three trees for every tree we harvest.
It's a good time to be having a conversation about the health of natural resource sectors like ours. You'll hear themes that are very similar to those you heard this morning from the earlier panel. As you know, we're approaching combined duties and tariffs of approximately 50%. For products that go to market, that takes nearly half of our production. The urgency of the situation cannot be underscored enough. We're beginning to see mills curtail shifts and lay off workers. With the remoteness of many of our communities, there's a risk that once these jobs leave town, they'll be hard to recover. The associated industries supported by forest jobs also will have a challenge to recover.
There are things we can do, both at home and abroad. Job number one, as you heard this morning, is crafting a durable agreement with the Americans. It's not just Canada that will be able to gain from a deal. American consumers are struggling with housing affordability. In fact, Americans already cannot afford to buy their first house until they're an average age of 38 years old. Adding costs through trade barriers exacerbates the situation.
Hundreds of thousands of Americans make their living transporting, retailing and building with our lumber. The confusion and uncertainty caused by tariffs has decimated the U.S. housing market. That's hurting people on both sides of the border. The United States supply 70% of their own lumber, but they need to import 30%. Our species, especially spruce, pine and fir play a unique role in structural building applications.
In making a deal, it's absolutely critical that our industry has a seat at the table and is part of regular two-way communications on the state of play. We have seen government amp up to support other industries, such as steel, aluminum, auto, dairy and energy. We need that similar level of urgency to achieve a deal for forestry, and for forestry to be treated as a priority sector along with these other keystone industries.
On the domestic side, we're starting to see positive signs that competitiveness and certainty are being taken seriously. For too long, our industry has had to navigate a maze of overlapping regulations between the provinces and the federal government, causing unreasonable delays and moratoriums that kick the can down the road. These delays do not achieve environmental objectives. Environmental objectives are already robustly regulated, but we need a system that offers a much quicker go-ahead when legislation is complied with.
In addition, we can and should be using more of our resources at home. That is one sure way to protect from trade barriers. Countries like Sweden, Norway and Austria have taken the lead in wood building. Here in Canada, the Province of British Columbia has taken the lead with legislation on wood building. We should have similar legislation that applies to federally procured projects nationwide. We should also absolutely continue to support market diversification and innovation to create new products for new markets.
We need to realize that we cannot diversify our way out of this problem. We need to work on a solution with our American friends and customers. It's time to roll up our sleeves and get a deal done—a deal that works for both countries.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair and committee members.