B.C. convening ‘softwood summit’ to address tariffs, industry struggles

The province’s struggling softwood lumber sector has been hammered by U.S. tariffs—a situation the premier says Ottawa must address.

Growing concern in the forestry industry has triggered what’s being called an emergency meeting with federal ministers coming to Vancouver next week.

B.C. Forestry Minister Ravi Parmar announced the development on Tuesday.

“We’re working out logistics right now for a softwood summit to be able to talk about this emerging issue,” said Parmar.

“For us here in British Columbia, forestry is our auto sector, forestry is our steel sector.”

The so-called summit is expected to include a demand for financial support from Ottawa. It will also involve industry players who are bracing for additional duties and tariffs on one of B.C.’s key exports.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he will be imposing an additional 10 percent tariff on Canadian goods in retaliation for Ontario airing anti-tariff TV ads stateside—bringing the total for lumber to 55 per cent.

Brian Menzies, with the Independent Wood Processors Association, welcomes the meeting in light of recent developments in the U.S.

“We need to do whatever we can to keep softwood lumber on the profile of the federal government,” said Menzies on Tuesday.

B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad says the NDP’s red tape and slow permitting created a problem for the industry long before the latest tariffs.

“This isn’t about a problem that Donald Trump created, this is a problem created by this government, so yes, the government should be acting like this is an emergency, because it is,” said Rustad.

“I’ve heard from the forestry sector, they say it’s an emergency, they say it’s a crisis.”

Despite the backlash from Trump to Ontario’s ads, Premier David Eby said Monday that B.C. is still going ahead with its own campaign focused on softwood lumber.

The intended audience? Americans.

“The only people paying the additional 10 per cent that the president announced are Americans, their prices are going to go up,” Eby said.

The ads will go up next month, costing about 75,000, and will target certain states that rely on B.C. lumber.