Natural Resources

Opening remarks

Thank you. Good morning, everyone. My name is Andy Rielly. I am the board chair of the Independent Wood Processors Association of BC. Our organization has 60 member companies, mostly located in the Lower Mainland and on Vancouver Island. Member companies are small and medium-sized firms, all non-tenured, engaged in the value-added manufacturing process of B.C. softwood. We represent roughly $2 billion in sales and employ 3,800 people directly. Roughly 70% of our production ships to the United States. I have been employed in the B.C. value-added industry since 1984, having worked at Sauder Industries and MacMillan Bloedel. In 1995, I started my own company, Rielly Lumber. Over the past 41 years, I have witnessed a great deal of change in the forestry industry. This is the fourth time I have experienced a softwood lumber dispute with the United States. In my four decades of enjoyable and rewarding work in the value-added business, I have never seen a critical situation facing us like we have today. I would like to offer my perspective as the association board chair, employer, investor and business owner, particularly as it relates to the softwood lumber dispute. I'd like to…

Opening remarks

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…

Opening remarks

Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today and to join our colleagues from across the country. My name is Andrew de Vries. I'm the chief executive officer of Canadian Forest Owners. I'm joined by Vincent Miville. Canadian Forest Owners is a national association representing 480,000 private Canadian forest owners who own 10% of Canada's managed forests but are responsible for 20% of Canada's forestry production. Our members actively manage their forests to produce timber, conserve biodiversity, sequester carbon, mitigate fire risk and support rural economies. These landowners provide an important local source of timber supply to almost every mill in Canada, yet their contributions are more often than not overlooked in policy discussions.

Opening remarks

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…

Opening remarks

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. I've had the chance to meet with several committee members in recent weeks, and I appreciate the ongoing dialogue about the challenges and opportunities facing Canada's forestry sector. My name is Luc Thériault. I am the president of the wood products business at Domtar, but I'm here today in my role as co-chair of the Canadian Lumber Trade Alliance. I would like to acknowledge my fellow co-chair, Brad Thorlakson, who is here today as well. The Canadian Lumber Trade Alliance was formed in 2001 and today includes provincial associations and companies from across Canada, representing nearly 80% of Canada's softwood lumber production that is exported to the U.S. The forestry industry is more aligned than ever before with companies, industry associations, labour and everyone throughout the value chain working together. Our industry directly supports over 200,000 jobs and sustains more than 300 forest-dependent communities across Canada. The stability of hundreds of rural and northern communities depends on a strong and predictable forestry…

Opening remarks

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, committee members. The OFIA represents 55 member companies that make forestry products and sustainably manage 27 million hectares of public forest in Ontario, contributing $5.4 billion in provincial GDP and supporting 128,000 direct and indirect jobs. I'm going to leave you with four key messages today. Number one, we continue to experience an evolution and consolidation of the North American pulp and paper sector. In 2005 there were 16 pulp and paper mills in Ontario. There are currently three operating. In the last two years alone, we have seen the closure of a containerboard facility in Trenton, Ontario, affecting 150 jobs; the closure of the Espanola pulp and paper mill, the largest employer in town, affecting 450 jobs; and the continued idling of the Terrace Bay pulp mill, impacting 400 workers. In 2003 there were 103,000 people directly employed in paper manufacturing across Canada, and today that number is 46,000. Message number two is that lumber producers are facing unprecedented challenges. The forestry sector is highly integrated: Sawdust, woodchips and bark produced at sawmills become the feedstock for pulp and paper mills and…

Opening remarks

I would say that what's different from previous disputes is that there's been a big strategic shift change in competitive access to U.S. markets. Right now, we're paying, as you know, 45% duties to access the European market, and the Scandinavians and the Europeans are entering that market with similar products at a 10% duty. The fallacy of the Americans becoming self-sufficient quickly in lumber is challenging. It's not going to happen. I've calculated that they need to build 55 sawmills to replace the Canadian industry, and that's just not going to happen quickly. Also, our customers in America use different species and value our SPF from Canada. I guess what's different is that Canada has had probably the least competitive access to U.S. markets and been one of their largest suppliers, and other parts of the world, I think, are displacing the Canadian industry. That's really a shame. I guess what we look for in a durable solution with the federal government and between Canada and the U.S. is getting us access so that we can reinvest and grow our business. As you've said, our family has been through all five rounds of lumber disputes. I know it's hard, but all previous…