Resolute Forest Products sawmill in Thunder Bay. Courtesy Resolute Forest Products
A 25 percent tariff is going to hurt the lumber industry in Canada.
Madelaine Kennedy is a forester with Weyerhaeuser in Kenora and says it just won’t affect sawmills and paper mills.
“If say, the sawmill in one community is idling, also the poplar and birch in that forested area, won’t be harvested, which would affect our wood supply,” Kennedy told a pre-budget hearing in Kenora last week.
“So, the forest industry is very interconnected.”
Kennedy adds the extra tariffs, on top of the Softwood Lumber duties, will affect production north of the border.
“Given that we’re expecting an increase in tariffs, that will obviously affect the sawmills, and the profit they are making on their product.”
Kennedy suggests a 25 percent tariff from the US will lead to mills decreasing production, idling or closing altogether.
(Photo: Resolute sawmill in Thunder Bay)
