Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government is preparing financial support measures for the forest sector, while the United States increases customs duties on Canadian wood wood.
Carney promised an industry assistance program on Tuesday including $ 700 million in loan guarantees and $ 500 million in long -term support to help companies diversify their export markets and develop their products.
This promise follows the intensification of trade tensions with the United States concerning the lumber, a long-standing point of friction in Canado-American trade relations.
The United States Department of Commerce has recently announced its intention to identify anti-dumping rights on Canadian timber at just over 20 %, which the British Columbia Forest Industries Council has called “unjustified and punitive trade measures”.
This is a marked increase since the last revision of the rate by the United States, which was previously more than 7 %.
On Tuesday, the Prime Minister presented a series of support measures in a sawmill in West Kelowna, British Columbia. He argued that Canada would be its best customer by relying more on Canadian wood, while it is trying to double the pace of building new houses to reach nearly 500,000 per year in the next decade.
The Federal Minister for Aboriginal Services, Mandy Gull-Masty, reiterated, in French, the Prime Minister’s announcement during a press conference in Val-d’Or, Abitibi-Témiscamingue.
“We are actively working to double the construction of housing in Canada at 500,000 per year. A measure which should double the domestic demand for Canadian softwood,” said the minister before journalists.
This would represent an increase of nearly two billion-grain feet, and would double the demand for structural panels, an increase of almost a billion square feet, according to the government.
In accordance with the announcement made by Mr. Carney, Ms. Gull-Masty also said that the government would launch the “Maisons Canada” program this fall, which will allow Canada to start building affordable houses, using Canadian technology, workforce and timber.
The government would also set up a training program for the improvement and recycling of workers, which will include $ 50 million for those in the forest sector.
“At that pivotal moment in its history, Canada is starting to switch from dependence to resilience,” said Mark Carney from West Kelowna. “Together, we will write our own story, rather than letting others dictate theirs.”
“We build a single Canadian economy instead of 13,” he said, referring to the number of provinces and territories in Canada.