Marty Warren
In September, our union and our movement lost a great leader – Leo W. Gerard, our longtime International President. …Today in our ongoing trade crisis with the US, Leo’s lessons on “fighting back” continue to resonate with me as a leader and trade unionist. …With an era of new leadership in our great union upon us, I am proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with International President-elect Roxanne Brown. She is a powerful and inspiring voice for workers across North America and around the globe. …Here in Canada, I’m proud of how we have been fighting every day since massive tariffs were imposed on Canadian steel, aluminum and forestry products. …Our union has led the way in demanding the federal government provide immediate support for communities under pressure and to deliver a real industrial strategy that secures the future of Canadian-made wood and forest products. …As the year draws to a close, I’m also thinking of our members who may be on strike or locked out over the holidays.
The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) held a hearing regarding the six-year review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Though some stakeholders advocated for maintaining the current framework, many called for targeted updates. Despite varied perspectives, there was broad consensus that USMCA should be preserved. Transshipment and circumvention of Section 232 tariffs emerged as recurring concerns, particularly from the automotive, steel and aluminum, and wood and lumber sectors. …Stakeholders from the wood products, millwork and cabinetry industries raised serious concerns about how USMCA’s current rules of origin are being exploited to circumvent U.S. trade remedies and undermine domestic manufacturers. …The organization’s representative urged the adoption of Labor Value Content (LVC) rules for wood products modeled after those used in the automotive sector to ensure that qualifying goods reflect substantial North American production and fair labor practices.
The negotiations that remade the North American Free Trade Agreement were, as one participant put it, a series of “near-death” experiences. …In the years since the U.S.M.C.A was signed, Mexico and Canada have become America’s top trading partners. Millions of jobs depend on this economic alliance, which exceeds $1.8 trillion in trade. …Last week, Trump suggested that he would exit the U.S.M.C.A.: “We’ll either let it expire or, well, maybe work out another deal with Mexico and Canada.” Some observers discount Trump’s bluster as mere gamesmanship. …He returned to the White House on a promise to create jobs and lower prices—to make the country “boom like we’ve never boomed before.” Instead, tariffs are fuelling inflation, and many experts believe that it is only a matter of time before the economy starts hemorrhaging jobs. …As in the previous round of negotiations, time does not appear to be on Trump’s side.
As US President Trump sticks with his campaign of tariffs on imports from Canada, some American industries are accusing Canadian competitors of using cheap materials from China in ways that violate free trade rules and undercut U.S. companies. The accusations emerged during recent public hearings in Washington into the future of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). …Luke Meisner, counsel for the American Kitchen Cabinet Alliance, told the hearings that Canada and Mexico have become conduits for products from China, circumventing the hefty countervailing duties the US imposed on Chinese-made cabinets and materials in 2020. …Over the past five years, Canada “dramatically increased” its imports of made-in-China cabinets and cabinet materials — such as plywood, medium-density fibreboard (MDF) and moulding — while at the same time boosting exports of finished cabinets to the US, Meisner said. …The Canadian Kitchen Cabinet Association defends its products as Canadian-made.
Over 600 public servants were notified this week that their jobs are on the line, with Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) feeling the brunt of the potential cuts. The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) said in a news release that 219 workers at NRCan received warning that their position could be cut. In addition, the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) told Radio-Canada that 200 of its members at NRCan were also given notices of a potential layoff. …Jean Bérubé, a forest pathologist at NRCan who is also a union rep for 3,000 federal research scientists, said he was informed his position is being eliminated.The federal government’s cuts to the public service feel similar to those occurring south of the border under the second administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, he said. …Bérubé pointed to the emergence of the invasive Emerald ash borer that has killed millions of ash trees in Canada’s urban areas.
OTTAWA, ON
Domtar officials are reassuring their Port Alberni workers that the closure of the company’s Crofton Mill will have minimal impact here. Chris Stoicheff – Senior Director of Public Affairs at Domtar – says the company and entire industry needs provincial forestry rules to change to ensure fibre supply to BC mills. “We’re going to continue to operate that mill for the foreseeable future, but I think we’re also quite direct about the challenges that the industry is facing in BC and what we’ve been quite clear that those are policy driven constraints.” he said. Stoicheff says while most of Port Alberni’s pulp came from Crofton, that supply will now come from their Howe Sound mill. He said local MP Gord Johns work to secure a biomass tax credit is an example of the government support the forest industry needs.
Western Forest Products says the temporary curtailment at its Chemainus sawmill will extend into the new year, while work slowdowns are expected at its other mills across Vancouver Island in December. The WFP curtailment in Chemainus began in June, affecting about 150 workers, with work yet to resume. …Meanwhile, reduced hours are expected at other work sites on the Island later this month. “In the latter half of December, we will take temporary downtime at our Saltair mill in Ladysmith, Duke Point mill in Nanaimo, and Cowichan Bay mill in Duncan,” said Babita Khunkhun, senior director of communications at WFP. “This will involve reduced operating hours, an extended holiday break and adjusted shift schedules.” Khunkhun says regular operations are expected to resume at all of those mills – except for Chemainus – on Jan. 6 “depending on market conditions and available log supply.”
VANCOUVER, BC
The effect of 10% tariffs on Canadian wood imports was the subject of a public hearing before the state’s Maine-Canadian Legislative Advisory Commission Wednesday. Dana Doran is executive director of the Professional Logging Contractors of the Northeast who says his members are struggling to stay afloat. “If they buy wood from Canada it’s hit by a 10% tariff on those raw logs. If they export any of their finished product they’re subject to any of the export tariffs,” Doran said. “So we’ve seen a chaotic situation that has occurred over the past 8 weeks because of the situation with tariffs.” Doran says if the U.S. had more domestic manufacturing of building and construction products it would have a bigger share of the marketplace, which could blunt tariffs. But Canada, he says, has 60% of that market.