International Trade committee  Thank you. As I mentioned in my opening comments, we're what we would call a small to mid-sized company. We don't have the ability to go to the public markets to raise financing. I think of various operations that we've purchased, where we as a family have had to put our houses up for security—the total disclosure on the part of the family, the ownership of the company.

International Trade committee  I certainly would have been, through the BC Lumber Trade Council. I sit on that board, so any kind of communication coming back from Ottawa through the BC Lumber Trade Council I would have been part of.

International Trade committee  I don't think that comes into any of the thinking. It's all about the value of the product going across the border. The costs associated with that aren't considered at all.

International Trade committee  Yes. It's an interesting dilemma, because the world we live in today is very different from how it was when these disputes started. A lot of the assumptions that were being fed into the dispute.... As you point out, there's a lot less fibre supply today. There's a lot less lumber going across the border today.

International Trade committee  Mr. Reedy has been gone for a long time. I imagine that views and approaches have changed dramatically since then. My understanding is that back in those days, there were two groups in B.C., with differing views of how this should be approached. Today, as I mentioned, we are members of the BC Lumber Trade Council; therefore, we support and are supporting the messaging from the BC Lumber Trade Council on a combined and collaborative effort.

International Trade committee  That is correct.

International Trade committee  The changes to the number of mills in the province is really based on the available fibre supply. As most of the committee members are probably aware, we had a mountain pine beetle infestation go through the province back in the 1980s, 1990s and into the 2000s. It attacked a lot of the interior lodgepole pine—which is really the staple for a large part of the interior industry.

International Trade committee  Yes, we've come off a sugar high. There's no doubt about it. Those were two of the best years the industry had experienced probably ever—certainly in recent memory. One year we hit $1,600 CAD—$1,000 USD—for dimensional lumber. Then we came down to the lofty low of $1,400 the following year.

International Trade committee  Thank you very much. Obviously, I'd like high-value products to be excluded and recognized as something different. What they did back then—and I believe it was something that was put into the negotiated agreement at the very end—was put in a cap on the value. They said that after a certain amount, which I believe back then was $500, there wouldn't be any extra duty paid.

International Trade committee  High-value products, as you point out, don't get behind drywall. This tends to be a product that is graded on visuals and feel, because it's what people are using in home finishings and renovations, products like ceilings and walls, feature walls and flooring. It would probably be used in baseboards, casings around windows, siding to houses and decking, particularly when you're looking at a product like cedar.

International Trade committee  Good morning, and thank you for the opportunity to present to the committee. I am Nick Arkle. I'm the chief executive officer of Gorman Bros. Lumber, based out of the Okanagan, here in British Columbia. We are a B.C.-based, independent, family-owned and -operated company that is currently in its third generation.

International Trade committee  Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I'd like to recognize that we operate on and alongside the Okanagan Syilx and Secwépemc nations. I'd also like to give a special welcome to Richard Cannings, who I know resides most of the year just 40 minutes south of us. It's nice to see him on the panel.