By Gordon Hoekstra, Prince George Citizen Staff
Northern Interior lumber remanufacturing firm East Fraser Fibre came out Wednesday in support of the proposed softwood deal with the U.S. It joins Jackpine Forest Products in Williams Lake which has already said the deal is necessary for the company to survive, and Brink Forest Products which on Tuesday clarified that it has conditional support for the deal. The three companies are leader in lumber remanufacturing and represent a significant amount of production in north and central B.C. The softwood deal is a proposal that we could accept, said East Fraser Fibre president Jerry Deere. "sure we like it a lot better, but we could accept the proposal."
Deere believes given that Canada has its top negotiators at the table, this may well be the best deal the country can get. If there is no deal, East Fraser would be able to continue to "plugging along," but its tough on the cash flow, said Deere. A deal on the other hand, means certainty, he said. "You know which markets you should be in, and in theory the duty hasn't effected the lumber price so the price should remain the same, which should mean we have 27 per cent more revenue, and it should keep us in a profit position." He said their position has been communicated to the provincial and federal governments. East Fraser Fibre employs 150 people at its two plants - in Mackenzie and Williams Lake. The latest softwood proposal would cap duty-free lumber shipments to the U.S. below Canada's normal market share. The Canadian government had proposed t allocate quota based on company's lumber shipments during a 30-month period ending Sept. 30, 2003. It would cap B.C.'s duty free share of the U.S. market at about 9 billion board feet - a nine per cent reduction. Deere said if he could change something, he would base quota allocation on a more recent period, just the last 12 months. Opposition to the deal has been mounting across Canada since the proposed deal was announced Dec.6.
The governments of Alberta, Ontario and Quebec have said they don't like the deal, a position shared by their lumber sectors. B.C. has not said whether it supports the deal. The lumber industry in B.C. is split. West Fraser, Canfor, Timberwest, Dunkley Lumber, Carrier Lumber, McBride Forest Industries and Vanderhoof Specialty Wood Products are against the deal.
B.C. Forests Minister Mike de Jong was in Prince George Tuesday to gauge support for the proposal, warning it may be the last chance to negotiate a deal with the U.S. New International Trade Minister Jim Peterson this week encouraged the provinces and Canadian industry to take a second look at the deal. Jackpine Forest Products president Gian Sandhu has said it's time for the B.C. government to start building consensus among the provinces and industry. Sandhu has said its company won't survive another year of tariffs.
Brink Forest Products president John Brink informed the B.C. Ministry of Forests Wednesday the company is "guardedly" in favor of the deal. However Brink does have issues with the Canadian government’s proposed method of dispersing quota. Brink wants quota to be set aside for new entrants, and wants to ensure the quota also goes to the last manufacturers of lumber before it was shipped across the border. Lumber remanufacturers use trim blocks and sometimes low quality lumber- to create high quality finger-jointed lumber by cutting and gluing the pieces.
