What is the Minister doing to reassure the one million Canadians whose livelihoods depend on the forestry industry, and when will we see a plan for our forestry communities facing uncertain times?
Just one more example of the Liberal government's mismanagement of the softwood lumber file. Still no plan for the job losses they say are to be expected, and no word on new negotiations.
Forestry manufacturers obtain their log supply from tenured crown land, remanufacturers obtain their lumber supply from local mills and both process their lumber to create value added lumber products.
This sub-sector accounts for 44% of the Canadian forest sector’s contribution to the Canadian economy.
Along with my Conservative colleagues, I've spent the last week meeting with small and medium sized forestry producers and remanufacturers, hearing that companies can’t balance their books, and have to cut back on lumber shipments to the United States. The bottom line? Job losses and mill closures.
I had the opportunity to ask Jim Carr about this important sub-sector and the uncertainty they now face. He responded by looking around the room and asking what a remanufacturer was.
How can we expect this government to protect high-quality, well-paying Canadian forestry jobs when they have no understanding of the industry? The Minister should spend less time in his Ottawa tower, and more time in the mill with our job creators.