Forest owners are collateral victims of the softwood lumber dispute. Although the duties imposed by the United States are primarily intended to penalize royalties on timber from public forests, they have the effect of creating a depressed price environment for all those who harvest softwood lumber, reducing sawmill revenues and weakening demand for Canadian forest products.
These duties act like a hidden tax on forest producers. When sawmills close or reduce their operations, producers' incomes fall sharply.
Furthermore, these producers are not protected by social safety nets such as employment insurance, and they are even excluded from support programs offered to the forestry industry. This is an injustice that must be corrected if we want to preserve the integrity of the supply chain.
We are therefore calling on the federal government to introduce tax support and private forest development assistance programs. In addition, the Canadian government must negotiate a softwood lumber agreement that provides tax and quota exemptions for all lumber produced from softwood lumber sourced from private forests.
Of course, we support government initiatives to diversify markets, develop value-added products, promote the use of wood in construction, and implement public procurement policies that favour wood. However, these initiatives must be designed to strengthen the entire supply chain, including by creating partnerships with forest producers who supply local softwood lumber.