Canadian National train service employees represented by the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference will get a 3% annual raise under an arbitrator’s contract decision. Arbitrator William Kaplan released his decision Monday on the three-year contract, which runs from Jan. 1, 2024, through Dec. 31, 2026. When CN and the TCRC were unable to reach a negotiated settlement during their contract talks, the Canada Industrial Relations Board sent the matter to binding arbitration in August 2024 after a brief lockout. Kaplan urged the railway and union to iron out their differences regarding changes to work rules. “Both parties proposed detailed changes to work rules. And both parties described the proposals they sought as justified by demonstrated need, and the ones advanced by the other party as breakthroughs that would never be accepted in free collective bargaining,” Kaplan wrote.
Premier David Eby cautioned last week that BC should not make too much of the appearance that the country “dodged a bullet” in the latest round of tariff fire from the US. …Eby’s fears were borne out, when the US announced a plan to more than double the duty against Canadian softwood. …Eby told the legislature that Forests Ministry staff are “working on a proposal to defer stumpage.” The tariff threat likely means a setback for the ambitious goal that Eby set for the forest minister, Ravi Parmar. He directed Parmar to “work toward…a harvest of 45 million cubic metres per year”. The increase would be 50 per cent greater than last year’s 30 million cubic metres harvest, but still well short of the almost 60 million harvested the year the New Democrats took office. …Though the industry welcomed the premier’s target for increasing the harvest, it remains privately skeptical that the NDP can make the necessary changes in regulation and permitting to bring about the increase.
The US is set to more than double the duty it charges on softwood lumber imports from Canada, with the planned new rate set at 34.45%, up from the previous 14.54%. …New softwood lumber duties were long-feared amid the growing trade war between Canada and the US, and would be the latest blow to BC’s beleaguered forestry industry, which has seen thousands of workers laid off over the last few years. BC Premier David Eby condemned the planned duty hike as an “attack on forest workers and British Columbians” in a statement on Saturday. While Canada may have been spared additional tariffs from the US on Wednesday, anxiety around levies on BC’s softwood lumber industry remains high. …Under the U.S. Tariff Act, the Department of Commerce determines whether goods are being sold at less than fair value or if they’re benefiting from subsidies provided by foreign governments.
Canadian lumber has been left out of Trump’s tariff blitz, despite the president’s repeated threats to add to import taxes to a big chunk of US wood supply. Prices for two-by-fours are tumbling. Lumber futures contracts shed 8.7% to end at $606 per thousand board feet, the lowest price since mid February. They are on track for their worst day since the pandemic-era lumber bubble burst three years ago. Prices had risen this year in anticipation of another layer of import taxes. …That climb is unwinding. But the decline can also be chalked up to expectations that tariffs will push up residential construction prices and strain affordability. The tariffs Trump announced Wednesday will add about $6,400 to the cost of building an average house, UBS analyst John Lovallo estimates. That assumes that about 7% of the materials are imported and subject to an average tariff of 22%. [to access the full story a WSJ subscription is required]
MONTREAL — The notion that Canadian companies can simply switch supply chains in response to American tariffs is a fantasy, experts say. Businesses north of the border are looking elsewhere to source their material and sell their products. But companies caught up in tightly braided supply channels after decades of trade pacts and sector specialization may quickly bump into barriers around everything from transport and labour costs to resource availability, manufacturing capacity and market saturation. …Cancelling contracts with Canadian suppliers would trigger breakage fees of up to $500 million per U.S. factory, the group said. Many parts cross the border multiple times before final assembly. …Auto, lumber and steel producers would face some of the toughest challenges in the hunt for new markets, Paschen said. …Forestry players face an entirely different dilemma. Lumber exports, while ample, have a low value per volume compared to some other commodities.
Sweeping new tariffs announced by Donald Trump provoked dismay, threats of countermeasures and urgent calls for talks to find ways to rescind the stiff new import taxes imposed on goods from countries around the globe. …Trump maintains they will draw factories and jobs back to the United States. …European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said it was a “major blow to the world economy.” …British Prime Minister Kier Starmer said he hopes to get the tariffs lifted with a trade deal. …Financial markets were jolted. …China’s Commerce Ministry said Beijing would “resolutely take countermeasures to safeguard its own rights and interests,” without saying exactly what it might do. …Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she would wait to see how Trump’s announcement will affect Mexico, which like Canada was spared for goods already qualified under their free trade agreement with the United States, though previously announced 25% tariffs on auto imports took effect Thursday.
OTTAWA — Canada’s exemption from Donald Trump’s global tariffs was “like dodging a bullet into the path of a tank”, say business leaders as other levies are poised to hit key industries that drive the country’s economy. …Canada was noticeably absent, alongside trade ally Mexico. Prime minister Mark Carney said 25% tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, as well as on automobiles, will come into effect within hours. Canada would “fight these measures with countermeasures” he said. Already, Canada had put a 25% tax on C$30bn worth of US goods in response to Trump’s tariffs. …Carney warned that while Trump had preserved key elements of the bilateral relationship, the global tariffs “fundamentally change the international trading system”. …On Wednesday, a bipartisan group of senators passed a resolution to end the national fentanyl emergency the president invoked to justify the 25% tax on Canadian imports. …House speaker Mike Johnson is unlikely to bring the measure to a vote.
Democrats in the U.S. Senate are moving forward on a resolution to block sweeping tariffs targeting Canada as President Donald Trump presses Republican lawmakers to continue backing his trade agenda. Sen. Tim Kaine plans to force a vote on Trump’s use of the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, also called IEEPA, to declare an emergency over fentanyl trafficking to hit Canada with devastating duties. “The president has justified the imposition of these tariffs on, in my view, a made-up emergency,” Kaine said Tuesday. U.S. government data shows the volume of fentanyl seized at the northern border is tiny. The Annual Threat Assessment report, released last week, does not mention Canada in its section on illicit drugs and fentanyl. The vote will test whether Republican senators continue to back Trump’s tariffs on Canada — tariffs that, according to polling, are not supported by most Americans.
The United States is scheduled to unveil reciprocal tariffs on a wide array of trading partners, including Canada. Dubbed “Liberation Day” by Donald Trump, the measures are meant to even things out with those who, in Trump’s eyes, have unfairly taken advantage of the US with tariffs and other non-tariff barriers. …Aside from steel, aluminum and autos, which are already facing separate tariffs, here are the issues the U.S. has singled out as problematic in their trade with Canada that could factor in to the Liberation Day announcement, and what economists and trade officials have to say about them. What Trump says: He has lumped his anger about dairy and lumber tariffs together, threatening to act immediately on unfair treatment by Canada. He also said the U.S. does not need any Canadian lumber. Reality Check: There is far from enough lumber produced in the U.S. to meet building demand.
White House aides have drafted a proposal that would levy tariffs of roughly 20% on most imports, the Washington Post reported. The report cited three people familiar with the matter. It also said White House advisers cautioned that several options are still on the table, meaning the 20% tariffs may not come to pass. Another plan being considered is the country-by-country “reciprocal” approach, according to the Washington Post. The report comes a day before April 2, when President Donald Trump is set to announce his larger plans for global trade. The date has loomed over Wall Street, where stocks have been struggling in part due to uncertainty around rapidly changing global trade policy. Unlike the tariffs already announced by the Trump administration, the new plan is expected to be more widespread and permanent as opposed to targeting specific countries or industries. 
Teal Cedar Products has lost a bid for damages against the B.C. government over its declaration of First Nations rights on Haida Gwaii. The company argued the recognition of title over the lumber-rich but highly protected island archipelago deprived it of its ability to harvest despite Teal holding tree farm and forest licences in the area. It argued the B.C. government didn’t act in good faith, essentially expropriated property where Teal had business interests, and failed in a promise to keep the company whole during its negotiations with the Haida Gwaii Management Council over Indigenous title to the former Queen Charlotte Islands. B.C. Supreme Court Judge Brenda Brown rejected all three rationales and dismissed the claim for damages against either of the defendants, the B.C. government or the management council. …Teal obtained the two tenures from TimberWest in 2008, before selling them to A&A Trading Ltd. in late 2016.
Another wave of sawmill closures swept across British Columbia in 2024, from West Fraser’s Fraser Lake facility to Canfor’s operations in Polar, Vanderhoof, and Fort St. John. As the Northern View reported, Chief Robert Michelle of the Stellat’en warned that “the economic impact for our communities will be dire,” citing job losses not just in the Fraser Lake mill but also among log haulers, restaurant workers and gas station employees… It is clear that current conditions cannot sustain profitable operations, leaving businesses struggling and workers unemployed. The fundamental issue lies in how Victoria approaches forest policy. The government faces mounting pressure from multiple stakeholders. Environmental groups advocate for reduced harvesting levels, while Indigenous communities seek both greater access to timber supplies and a larger role in forest management. While environmental protection and Indigenous rights are important considerations in forest management, and rightly so, the government’s approach has failed to balance these priorities with economic sustainability.
In April 2023, close to 600 USW activists, staff and retirees from across the country gathered in Toronto for the 55th USW National Policy Conference, this central body that guides our union’s direction in Canada. 
The United States has announced sweeping changes to encourage more logging in the country’s national forests. A new emergency order requires rolling back environmental protections on national forests… A big question for forestry economists is whether the U.S. is in need of significantly larger lumber production. …The forest products industry will only begin quickly cutting and milling more U.S. timber if there is demand, Jeff Reimer, an economics professor at Oregon State University said. Much of the lumber needs in the eastern part of the U.S. are met by private forests he said, that won’t be impacted by the new Forest Service requirements. But lumber in the west is almost all from Canada. …”Loggers and mills need to have …assurance that they can sell their products at a profit,” Reimer said. “If we see high inventories of unsold housing and low (weak) housing starts, then the demand for lumber is probably low.”
President Donald Trump is prepared to impose tariffs on many Canadian products that are shipped to the United States. Included on the list of tariffs are the wood products industry, which is facing a 25 percent tariff on products shipped south of the border. In response to the President’s actions, the Vermont House Committee on Agriculture and Forestry took testimony from two employees at the Agency of Natural Resources last week… In the past two years Vermont has lost two sawmills, becoming more reliant on Canada. Vermont imported $52 million in sawmill and wood products from Canada in 2024. Pierson said some of the wood was shipped from Vermont to Canada where it was processed and shipped south.
Willis, a business of WTW, and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) have launched a new $2.5 million wildfire resilience insurance for the Tahoe Donner Association in Truckee, California. Described as “first-of-its-kind,” this policy directly links insurance costs to proactive wildfire risk mitigation efforts. Developed in partnership with UC Berkeley’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment, the policy aims to demonstrate how ecological forest management practices can lead to reduced premiums and increased insurance availability. Such techniques include tree thinning to improve the health and growth of the remaining trees and planned fires to clear out flammable vegetation, both proven to reduce wildfire risk and make forests healthier. Tahoe Donner has completed forest management projects over 1,520 acres since 2015. …This new policy, covering 1,345 acres of Tahoe Donner’s land, secures a 39% lower premium and an 89% lower deductible than would have been possible without the nature-based forest management.
