File Photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

SOFTWOOD LUMBER

‘Let’s get together’; Forest critic Stamer questions omission from new softwood lumber council

Feb 5, 2025 | 4:32 PM

KAMLOOPS — The B.C. government has announced the formation of a new softwood lumber advisory council tasked with advancing the provinces interests in the long-standing dispute with the United States.

Canada and the U.S. have not had a softwood lumber deal in place since 2015, with the Americans placing a 14.4 per cent duty on Canadian lumber since 2017. The new council is comprised of previous forestry workers and union leadership, but it does not include opposition parties, despite the fact Conservatives believe it’s not a partisan issue.

“There is a bunch of union representatives — I don’t know why they need three or four union representatives on a council such as this,” said Ward Stamer, BC Conservative forest critic and Kamloops-North Thompson MLA. “We have some serious questions and concerns with regards to that. Where is the representation from the legislature? There is nobody from our party. There is nobody from the Green Party. We just have these people who have been thrown together to come up with these ideas. I’m not entirely sure what this is going to accomplish.”

On top of the current duties is the threat of 25 per cent tariffs from the U.S. government. With a month before tariffs are potentially to be imposed, the protracted softwood lumber issue is becoming more acute.

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“We are in a precarious situation here right now,” added Stamer. “We had mills that were shutting down before the threat of tariffs and additional duties, and if we don’t get something straight right now in the next six months, we are going to have more closures. We are going to have more people out of work and we are going to be in a much worse place than we are right now. Let’s roll up our sleeves, let’s get together.”