Jason Krips

Canada’s economy is facing an attack — and our forest industry is on the front lines. Our forest products face a staggering 55-per-cent tax on a market that takes half of the country’s lumber, pulp, and wood panels.  …Job number 1 is talking to our American neighbours about the value of Canadian forest products. Alberta-made lumber and wood panels facilitate the affordable construction of American homes. Our pulp serves as feedstock for industrial processes and helps create jobs for Americans. …Now is a strategic time to implement a forest manufacturing tax credit. Such credits exist in other sectors and could catalyze investments in forestry mills to create new products for new markets. …We should invest in new markets like India, Africa, and the Middle East and leverage existing relationships in Japan, China, and Korea. But we also need to have the infrastructure in place to support those new markets.