The B.C. government says the federal government isn't giving the same level of attention to the softwood lumber industry as it is to other industries in the wake of the latest U.S. tariff increases.
Premier David Eby, Forests Minister Ravi Parmar and softwood union and industry representatives gathered in Burnaby Tuesday (Oct. 14), calling for urgent and immediate support from the federal government.
Beginning Tuesday, an additional 10 per cent tariff on imports of softwood lumber and timber into the United States took effect. That's in addition to the existing 35 per cent in tariffs.
Eby said the latest tariff means Canadian wood has a higher tariff rate going into the U.S. than Russia does.
“When auto parts makers, when people who work to build those auto parts, when it’s steel workers in Ontario, when their jobs are in trouble, when their jobs are threatened, it’s treated as a national emergency – and rightly so," Eby said during the news conference.
"These are foundational industries for Ontario, for Canada. I feel the urgency around those steel jobs as much as any Canadian.”
However, Eby said those gathered were asking for the same respect, concern and sense of emergency for the forest sector in Canada.
He said the contributions of the sector to the country's economy is massive and "provides a greater direct contribution to Canada's (gross domestic product) than auto parts and steel," as well as more direct employment than either sector.
"This additional threat that we are face from (U.S. President Donald Trump), we know that it isn’t just ‘Oh, another thing that Donald Trump is saying,'" Eby said.
"This threat is a direct threat to the livelihood, to the existence of mills in every corner of British Columbia. Those mills provide jobs for families, they use the money they earn there to pay the rent, to pay the mortgage and in some cases, to support entire communities.”
United Steel Workers District 3 director Scott Lunny said union members are worried, concerned, frustrated, angry and “really, to be frank, feeling like nobody has their back in this situation that we’re in right now, in particular with the additional tariffs put on by the United States.”
Lunny, who's union represents more than 10,000 workers in the industry, said forest-sector job are often anchor jobs in B.C.
"When those jobs are lost it’s not just the immediate worker, it’s their family that are impacted, it’s the truckers, the retail stores, the other public-sector workers in the community and when that happens, we hollow out those communities and it’s a huge problem. That’s the threat that we’re under right now.”
Unifor's western regional director Gavin McGarrigle said this was already a crisis before Trump took office.
“We’ve been saying that if you lose a facility in a community, what happens to people in communities like Prince George, like on Vancouver Island, like in the Interior when they’re trying to plan out a future? When they’re trying to wonder should they continue with that approach?
"Should they continue with that apprenticeship? Should they buy a house? Should they put their kids in school? Should they put down roots in that community or should they just pick up and leave?”
McGarrigle said that's the reality across B.C. right now.
Eby said as a British Columbian and a western premier he feels anxiety.
“Because Ottawa is in Ontario, because it’s beside Quebec, those provinces are often front of mind ... we have to be way more aggressive to make sure that we get our message heard.”
The premier added that the province is taking some measures in the meantime. These include employment insurance support, an advertising campaign in the U.S. to raise awareness among legislators that Russia has preferential access to the American market compared to Canada, and opening an office in the U.K. to service the Middle East, northern Africa and Europe for building and developing new trade relationships.
The U.S. government is also set to impose 25-per-cent increase on certain upholstered furniture, bringing that to 30 per cent in tariffs on Jan. 1, 2026. On the same day, a 25-per-cent increase on kitchen cabinets and vanities will take effect, bringing that to 50 per cent in tariffs.
