The committee met to study the forestry industry, hearing from Geoff Cape of Assembly Corporation, Susan Yurkovich of Canfor Corporation, Scott Hughes of Hupaco Wood Products, Jake Power of PowerWood Corporation, Martin Luckert, professor emeritus at the University of Alberta, and Jeff Bromley of the United Steelworkers.
Geoff Cape advocated for integrating the softwood lumber transformation agenda with the Build Canada Homes program, recommending multi-year procurement pipelines for manufactured housing, a strategic industrialization fund with federal loan guarantees, and reformed contract payment terms to support factory-based construction. He noted that while efficient wood-engineered products could reduce per-unit lumber use by 20% to 30%, the mass timber market should grow by over a billion dollars in five to 10 years, and he stressed the need to harmonize building codes and fast-track approvals for certified factories.
Susan Yurkovich described the financial burden of U.S. duties, with Canfor having paid over $1 billion in deposits since 2016 and facing a combined duty rate of 57.6%. She recommended that federal loan programs be made meaningful and easy to access, that a capital investment fund be established to retool facilities for higher-value products and new markets, that funding for market expansion be restored, that permitting be streamlined, and that the Canada Revenue Agency expedite corporate tax refunds to provide immediate liquidity.
Scott Hughes emphasized that the U.S. takes 77.5% of Canadian lumber and that no other market can absorb that volume in the near term, so aggressive negotiations for a long-term managed trade agreement must remain the top priority. He called for a national "wood first" procurement policy, faster approvals for builders using wood, and respect for provincial jurisdictions, while noting that retooling a single mill for European markets costs $50 million to $100 million and takes 18 to 24 months.
Jake Power argued that trade certainty with the U.S. should be the number one priority, as no amount of diversification can replace that market, and he cautioned that policies meant to diversify can sometimes commoditize specialty products. He recommended that the federal government own a national forest products tracking system to meet EU traceability requirements at affordable costs for small and medium enterprises, and he noted that removing the carbon tax on natural gas freed enough cash for his company to hire another skilled worker.
Martin Luckert stated that climate change and trade disruptions are creating unprecedented volatility that overreaches provincial tenure policies, marking the beginning of a new era for federal forest policy. He suggested that the federal government could help by delineating rights and responsibilities for managing carbon, supporting research on forest dynamics under climate change, and fostering cooperation across multiple scales of government rather than attempting power shifts.
Jeff Bromley reported that 15 operations have closed in northern British Columbia alone, with a direct correlation between U.S. duties and job losses, and he stressed that while loan programs and training are helpful, the impact of losing 75% of exports to the U.S. is too great to be offset by diversification. He supported expanded EI access for affected workers and the use of Canadian wood in government procurement, and he noted that indigenous peoples make up 11,000 of the 220,000 workers in the industry.
The committee also heard brief exchanges where members questioned witnesses on the impact of the carbon tax, the need for a trade deal, and the role of government policy, but no procedural debate, motions, or votes occurred during this meeting.
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