Worried agricultural and forestry producers in Outaouais and eastern Ontario

The announcement of Justin Trudeau’s departure, a few weeks before Donald Trump’s return to the White House, brings a new layer of uncertainty to certain industries already concerned in the Outaouais and eastern Ontario.

The US president-elect’s threats of tariffs are already worrying farmers in the region, according to the vice-president of the Union des cultivateurs franco-ontariens, Michel Dignard. But the political instability generated by the prorogation of parliament until March 24 and the elections which should follow do nothing to reassure them.

I don’t think Mr. Trump is going to wait until March. This will cause a little more concern on the markets he believes. It could be good for the cost of grain, but on the machinery and supply management side, we have no one who can defend us.

As long as we have not found a stable government, we can take the slap pretty hard.

We really didn’t need that […] Agriculture, we are used to challenges, we will adapt, it will not be fun.

The uncertain future of export and import rates also worries the president of the Outaouais-Laurentides Agricultural Producers Union, Stéphane Alary. He also regrets the legislative slowdowns that the prorogation of the government will cause.

As a dairy producer, he has been waiting for several years for the adoption of a bill proposed by the Bloc Québécois to protect supply management in international trade negotiations.

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Its most recent version, Bill C-282 which found itself at the heart of parliamentary news this fall with the Bloc Québécois ultimatum, was in its last phase of study in the Senate before the extension of the parliament. The bill is now destined to die on the order paper, especially if prorogation is followed by an election.

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It’s unfortunate, we still see delays occurring with these actions, explains Stéphane Alary. We must not forget that these people [les dirigeants élus] have been there sometimes 4 or 8 years, but we have been there for 100 years to protect the agricultural territory and production in all rural areas of Canada and Quebec.

What about forestry?

The forestry sector has already been in crisis in Quebec for several years.

In Outaouais, the temporary closure of the Résolu Forest Products plant in Maniwaki had a major impact on this economic engine in the region.

The president of the Forest Committee of the Union of Municipalities of Quebec, and mayor of Thurso, Mr. Benoit Lauzon, does not believe that the departure of Justin Trudeau will add to this very precarious situation in the industry.

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I think that since the election of Mr. Trump, the region, Quebec and the entire forestry industry are worried about the risk of tariffs being imposed. The departure of Mr. Trudeau changes nothing in that.

The Maniwaki plant, with tariffs of 25%, would be virtually impossible to reopen.

On the contrary, he believes that the fact that the Prime Minister remains in office until the election of his successor is beneficial, given his knowledge of issues.

The Canadian-American conflict over lumber has persisted since 2017, recalls Jean-François Samray, general management of the Quebec Forest Industry Council.

This will require the involvement at the highest level of the Prime Minister to ensure that this issue is resolved.he explains. So for us, [le départ de Trudeau] does not lead to more insecurity, because it is something that should have been resolved a long time ago and is still not resolved.

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With the United States’ wood needs, he believes that the new American administration will have to negotiate, despite Donald Trump’s attacks.

The first person who will be impacted [par de nouveaux tarifs] is the American consumer.

Jean-François Samray still says he is optimistic for the future of the industry in Quebec and Outaouais. He is confident that the reform of the forestry regime by Quebec Minister of Natural Resources and Forests, Maïté Blanchette Vézina, will be beneficial for producers.

The forest regime will bring much more certainty and more predictability for investmentshe concludes. So I think that’s good news.