Mike Holland

A New Brunswick cabinet minister says the punishing duties the United States has imposed on Canadian softwood lumber over the last six years did not figure into the province’s new forest strategy, despite their importance to the tree-cutting industry. Mike Holland, minister of natural resources, said that the American complaints about unfair practices had already been addressed. “We didn’t build this strategy to fix that,” Holland said. “That wasn’t the factor. We knew that balance had to be put in place for a variety of other reasons.” The minister has sold the strategy as a new chapter in the way the province’s public forests are managed. His department, he said, will no longer give the most say to the powerful wood-cutting industry, but will also try to satisfy the demands of First Nations, conservationists, recreational enthusiasts, and maple syrup and blueberry producers. …New Brunswick’s forest industry has been silent about the strategy.