Ottawa Urged to Reject Lifting the Limit on Raw Log Exports

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The Ottawa administration has received a request to reject the proposal by Mosaic Forest Management to lift the limit on raw log exports from the province. The demand was raised by unions Unifor and the Public and Private Workers of Canada (PPWC), the Wilderness Committee and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA), in a letter addressed to the International Trade Minister Mary Ng.

The province’s raw log exporters including Mosaic has been demanding removal of the existing requirement of companies having to advertise the raw log exports to domestic buyers, so as to ensure that lumber produced in the B.C. region are used by domestic wood-manufacturing industry.

Torrance Coste, Wilderness Committee national campaign director urged the provincial administration not to weaken the log export rules, even for a temporary period. Kamal Sanghera, CEO, San Group demanded that the domestic demand should be satisfied first. Any change in rule could badly impact the province’s domestic producers and its forests, he added.

Meantime, Mosaic noted that some access to international markets and higher pricing is essential for it to maintain economical domestic log supply.

YOU MAY ALSO BE INTERESTED IN:

Canada's Softwood Lumber Industry Braces for Next Rough Ride Ahead

B.C.'s Four-Year Raw Log Exports Hit Historic High