Category Archives: Business & Politics

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Business & Politics

High-sticking by U.S. on trade is nothing new for us

By Tom Fletcher
The Western Standard
February 19, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

B.C.’s rookie forests minister Ravi Parmar had a strong case to make as he travelled to Sacramento last week to meet with California business and government representatives. The state lost more than 16,000 structures in the recent wildfires … and California’s construction industry knows it will need B.C. and Alberta lumber for a rebuild that will take years. …Parmar says U.S. insurance companies confirmed that high-sticking Canada with more border fees for lumber will drive up costs for California fire claims and other new construction.  A classic case for this dysfunctional relationship is Interfor Corp. …now one of the biggest lumber producers in the world, with a strategy to respond to trade attacks by expanding U.S. production. …Canadian forest companies shifting their investment to the U.S. involves other factors, such as pine beetle damage and governments restricting timber supply to satisfy often overblown environmental protests. But the effect is what Trump is after, moving jobs from Canada to the U.S.

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Buying power from Corner Brook paper mill isn’t a Hydro handout, mayor says

By Alex Kennedy
CBC News
February 19, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

Corner Brook Mayor Jim Parsons says Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro isn’t providing a handout by buying Corner Brook Pulp and Paper’s electricity from Deer Lake Power. Hydro is buying power at 27.5 cents per kilowatt hour — nearly double the average domestic electricity rate — and it doesn’t need it to supply customers. ..But Parsons said they’re a very stable backup when they have problems elsewhere,” Parsons said. “Yes the rate is high, but it’s what you would pay for this kind of thing. So I think that yes, it is important that our government supports the mill in various ways, but I think it’s a mischaracterization to say this is a handout.” …”The paper industry is changing, and the mill needs change to remain current. And this is one of the ways in which they can remain current,” Goulding said. …Kruger employs 425 people with a deep trickle-down effect.

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US Lumber Coalition Letter to President Trump Highlights Success of Trade Law Enforcement

By US Lumber Coalition
PR Newswire
February 19, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Lumber Coalition in a letter to President Trump highlights the success of the enforcement of the U.S. trade laws that has added eight billion board feet of production capacity and produced an additional 30 billion board feet of softwood lumber since 2016. …”Unfortunately, even with the enforcement of the U.S. trade laws, Canada continues to engage in massive dumping of their excess lumber production into the U.S. market in an attempt to desperately hold on to their market share at the expense of American workers and their families,” stated Zoltan van Heyningen. “We anticipate that the U.S. Department of Commerce will soon confirm this egregious dumping behavior.” The letter concludes that continued strong enforcement of the U.S. trade laws… is exactly what must happen to keep expanding U.S. lumber manufacturing and availability to build more American homes with American lumber.

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In Wake of California Fires, Insurance Faces Complex Future, Says Professor

By Josette Corazza
University of Virginia School of Law
February 19, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States

Kenneth Abraham

Before wildfires raged across Southern California in January, several major insurers had already paused or canceled coverage in the state, citing the high risk of fire, state caps on premiums and increased construction costs there. With losses expected to exceed $250 billion from this year’s fires, the question isn’t if someone will pay, but who, says Professor Kenneth S. Abraham of the University of Virginia School of Law. Whether it is through rising insurance premiums, taxpayer-funded bailouts or homeowners absorbing significant losses, the financial burden of these catastrophes must ultimately be shouldered by someone, he explains in a new essay published by the Harvard Law Review Blog. “About the California Fires” considers the challenges and principles of insurance in the state, particularly in the context of increasing wildfire risks and their implications for homeowners and insurers. Abraham answers questions regarding the past, present and future of fire insurance in high-risk areas.

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