The Trump administration could worsen the acute crisis facing Quebec’s forestry industry, according to the Quebec Minister of Natural Resources and Forests.
Published at 9:00 a.m.
“It is certain that in terms of natural resources and protectionism, we know and expect that there will be a tightening,” indicated Minister Maïté Blanchette Vézina after addressing members of the Council on Tuesday of international relations of Montreal.
The minister is part of the interministerial committee formed by Prime Minister François Legault the day after the American election to defend the interests of Quebec against the expected protectionist wind from the south.
For decades, Canadian lumber has been hit by American tariffs. These prices have just increased from 8% to 14.5% on average. A reassessment of these rights by the US Commerce Department is expected early next year.
The lumber conflict will be monitored very closely by the new committee, assured the minister. The latest increase in American duties has added to an already very difficult situation for the Quebec forestry sector, she recognizes.
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, THE PRESS
The Minister of Natural Resources and Forests, Maïté Blanchette Vézina
Until recently, the price of lumber was lower than the operating cost of many factories in Quebec. The industry also suffers from the reduction in the forest area that it can exploit, due to forest fires and the increase in protected areas.
The British Columbia company Interfor, owner of the sawmills that belonged to Domtar in Quebec, recently sold all its Quebec operations and closed its Montreal head office, citing growing difficulties in supplying wood in Quebec, aggravated by the fires. forest of 2023.
Also, the federal government’s threat to impose an emergency decree to protect caribou habitat in Quebec weighs on the forestry industry. The Quebec Forest Industry Council estimates that the federal decree could deprive the Quebec economy of 6.5 billion over 10 years.
“The threat of a federal decree is very, very, very damaging for the regions of Quebec,” added Maïté Blanchette Vézina on Tuesday.
The minister still thinks that it is possible to come to an agreement with the federal government regarding the protection of the caribou, but she invites it to make an about-face on the subject of the emergency decree. “I encourage the federal government to step back and let the provinces manage their territory,” she said.
Despite all the ills that afflict it, the lumber sector could soon be relieved by the rise in prices on the market, according to the minister.
“The price is rising with the revival of construction that we are seeing emerge with the drop in interest rates,” she said. When the price of wood is there, businesses operate well despite rising costs. »
The Minister of Natural Resources is more optimistic for the mining sector, despite the American tariff threat which could affect all sectors of activity. Quebec has all the critical and strategic minerals necessary in the sectors of the future, she argued in her speech. “There are opportunities to be seized,” according to her, and the United States will remain a “natural partner” for Quebec.
