Quebec lumber mill closing temporarily due to U.S. tariffs

Scierie St-Michel is closing for two months amid the trade war with the U.S. (Facebook/Scierie St-Michel Inc.)

A lumber mill in Saint-Michel-des-Saints, Que., says it has to suspend all activities until October due to U.S. tariffs.

The Scierie St-Michel will stop its sawmill and forestry operations as of Monday, Aug. 4, and will reopen Oct. 13. The planning mill will close on Aug. 18. The closure will impact about 250 employees.

In a news release, the mill said the closure is a result of the ongoing trade war and could be extended.

“This suspension of operations is due to the increase in countervailing and anti-dumping duties to over 34.45 per cent by the U.S. government and threats of additional taxes in the future,” it said. “We hoped until the last minute that the Canadian government would reach an agreement that would spare us the worst, but this was not possible.”

The U.S. commerce department announced Friday it is nearly tripling anti-dumping duties on Canadian softwood to 20.56 per cent, up from 7.66 per cent.

It claims Canadian producers sell softwood below market value prices and tacked on countervailing duties because the U.S. considers the product to be government subsidized.

The mill also said forestry management in the province must be modernized as the industry has been unstable. It pointed to the controversial Bill 97, which critics say would lead to major environmental and social setbacks.

Indigenous activists have protested the bill and accuse the government of giving the forestry industry carte blanche to exploit the resource.

Jean-François Champoux, president and CEO of Scierie St-Michel, urges the government to work with First Nations to pass the bill and “[create] a favourable business environment for our industry through this modernization.”

The two-month pause is meant to “ensure the long-term sustainability” of the business.

“When employees return in October, we will need certainty regarding a settlement on U.S. countervailing and anti-dumping duties, the modernization of the forestry regime with Bill 97, including a settlement with First Nations on forestry, otherwise this shutdown will be extended indefinitely,” Champoux said.