Horgan calls out province’s ‘missed opportunity’ in reaching new lumber agreement

Apr 1, 2017 | 2:42 PM

KAMLOOPS — B.C. NDP leader John Horgan says the provinces trade envoys missed the mark in negotiating a softwood lumber deal between the U.S and Canada.

Speaking at a news conference in Kamloops earlier this week, Horgan said the Liberals failure to negotiate a new lumber agreement with the Obama administration, who he refers to as the most progressive, far-sighted government the U.S has ever seen, has made reaching an agreement under Trump’s protectionism that much more difficult.

For him, it’s too little, too late.

“The Liberals didn’t send an envoy to Washington until February after the International Trade Commission had already ruled against our manufacturers in British Columbia,” said Horgan. “I think that’s a day late and a dollar short. If the government was serious, rather than trying to find a market for gas in a sea of gas, they would’ve been making sure we’re getting more jobs from every scrap of wood coming out of our province.”