Natural Resources Committee on Nov. 27th, 2025

[Claude Guay, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC]

Can you ask the members to have discussions outside?

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Duguid]

Yes.

Colleagues, if you could, let's show the witness and our colleague—

[Mario Simard, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Duguid]

—our respect and our attention.

Thank you.

[Mario Simard, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

I’ll continue. Someone was telling me that strangling them and holding the wood might be the solution.

Isn’t there a diplomacy to be established between people in the construction sector in the United States and you? Anyway, they need the fibre that you’re able to give them. They must directly face the consequences of the current situation.

Does this kind of discussion exist between industries and their various clients?

[Michel Lessard]

There are two things.

First, strangling them can be extremely difficult, as we need that market. It’s our largest market. As I mentioned earlier, reaching 500,000 constructions per year, thus doubling what we are currently doing, will not be enough. Of course, it would help us. We obviously take everything we can. However, we still need that market, as it’s a natural market. We were talking about transport. It’s easier to deliver our products to the United States; strangling them could therefore be a little bit more difficult, as we might get caught in our own game.

Second, there are those who buy our wood in the United States. We’re in constant communication with these people. They certainly find the situation difficult. Canadian wood is highly valued, especially spruce. Mr. Malette knows the northern sector very well. It’s a good material that home builders really like to use because it’s lightweight and strong. It’s a highly valued wood. Furthermore, there’s certainly pressure being applied by major retailers, whether it’s Home Depot, Lowe’s or builders’ associations, among others, but there’s a very powerful lobby in the United States, namely the American forest industry coalition.

[Mario Simard, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

Is it more powerful than its Canadian counterpart?

[Michel Lessard]

You have to believe it is.

[Mario Simard, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

You still have discussions and connections with these people, right?

[Michel Lessard]

Yes, absolutely.

[Mario Simard, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

So it would be entirely possible to organize a trip for a group to talk with these people and try to demonstrate the benefits of our forestry industry and perhaps have an influence on public decision‑makers.

[Michel Lessard]

Yes, absolutely.

There is no bad idea. Everything that can be attempted must be done to resolve the situation.

[Mario Simard, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

Earlier, you mentioned support for exports through a competitive investment fund.

What did you mean by that in the proposals you made? I think Mr. Guay responded regarding the Business Development Bank of Canada. I know there have been issues with linking. You also talked about a competitive investment fund to make the industry more competitive.

What do you mean by that?

[Michel Lessard]

It would help us invest in the factories we currently have.

Again, I’ve been working in the forestry sector for 35 years. I’ve often come knocking at the door of the federal government, but there always seemed to be fears about helping the forestry industry. Even if our projects didn’t necessarily directly involve lumber, even if the connection was very indirect, there was always a fear of helping us.

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Duguid]

Thank you—

[Michel Lessard]

Today, we see doors opening.

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Duguid]

Thank you.

[Michel Lessard]

To conclude, I would add that it would help us improve.

This fund would also help us if there were employee retraining.

[Mario Simard, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Duguid]

Colleagues, we're coming to the top of the hour. I'm going to suggest a quick round so that we get through all parties. Mr. Tochor will have three minutes, Mr. McKinnon will have three and Monsieur Simard will have one and a half.

Mr. Tochor.

[Corey Tochor, Conservative, Saskatoon—University, SK]

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you to our witness for being here today.

In your earlier testimony, you talked about watching the news. Back in 2006, we had some breakthroughs. We had relative peace in the sector for 10 years. Then 2015 happened. For the last 10 years, the times have been a little bit difficult for the men and women who work in the sector.

Have you seen a change? When you're talking about the news that you've been watching, do you think they're portraying the pain that you've witnessed in the sector?

[Michel Lessard]

I'm sorry. I missed the last part.

[Corey Tochor, Conservative, Saskatoon—University, SK]

I'm talking about the pain and suffering of some of the workers in the last few years.

[Michel Lessard]

Are they greater, do you mean?

[Corey Tochor, Conservative, Saskatoon—University, SK]

Are they larger than what is being portrayed in the news right now? You're an expert in the industry of forestry.