Ravi Parmar in Tokyo, Japan

Forests Minister Ravi Parmar is in the midst of an eight-day trade mission to Asia to forge some new ties for B.C.’s forestry industry, blaming U.S. tariffs for recent mill closures and trying to find new places to sell B.C. wood products. “The reason these mills are curtailing and closing is not because of government policy, rather because of the actions of Donald Trump and his assertive tactics on forestry workers in our forest sector in British Columbia,” said Parmar. But B.C. Conservative Forests critic Ward Stamer [argues] that the B.C. government has hampered the province’s forestry sector through excessive rules and regulations. …Parmar’s mission to Asia includes stops in South Korea and Japan…. Stamer doesn’t deny that the tariffs have some impact — saying it’s good that Parmar is over in Asia trying to strike some new deals — but he doesn’t think that will get the fibre moving in the short term.