Liberals fail to protect Canadian forestry jobs

OTTAWA – Today, the Liberals failed to get a new deal to protect Canadian forestry jobs after promising to do so for the industry. This failure to reach a new softwood lumber deal by today’s expiry date will gravely hurt Canadian companies and workers.

“The Liberal government failed to get the job done before time ran out. Workers cannot afford to be caught in the middle of another softwood lumber trade war,” said NDP Trade Critic, Tracey Ramsey (Essex). “The Minister refused to give any assurances to workers who want to know what her government will do to protect forestry jobs in Canada.”

The NDP spent the last few weeks urging the government to secure a deal that respects the significant regional differences in Canada’s forestry sector and one that protects Canadian jobs. The 2006 SLA expired on October 12, 2015, but included a 12-month standstill provision that prevented the U.S. from applying anti-dumping or countervailing duties. The Liberal government had until today to get a new deal for the Canadian Forestry industry.

“As Canadian companies face a new round of unfair trade measures from the US, what measures will the Liberal government now take to support this industry?” asked Ramsey. “This failure from the Liberals to secure a new agreement for the forestry industry could lead to a loss of up to 22,000 Canadian jobs.”