Posted on 08/22/2006 7:58:34 PM PDT by NorthOf45
Softwood deal with U.S. will go ahead: Harper
Canadian Press
August 22, 2006
OTTAWA — The federal Tory government will move to implement the Canada-U.S. softwood lumber deal after getting a clear majority of support from all parts of the country for the controversial trade agreement, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Tuesday.
Harper said the government will go ahead with legislation this fall to push the deal forward but he didn't specify what percentage of lumber companies backed the agreement, which would put to rest a four-year trade dispute that has devastated Canada's lumber industry.
However, he threatened to call an election if Parliament fails to adopt the bill to be tabled once the House of Commons resumes sitting next month.
"This agreement will end years of costly legal wrangling, and allow us to move on to build a stronger, more prosperous Canada," Harper said in a brief appearance in the foyer of the House of Commons.
"As such, and because of its fiscal measures, the vote on this will be a confidence measure."
The government had served notice earlier this summer that it would consider the lumber deal a confidence matter, which would mean an election as early as September, just eight months after the last one.
That scenario would be averted, however, if just one opposition party -- including the leaderless Liberals -- supports the deal.
However, all opposition parties have taken turns criticizing the agreement as a sellout to U.S. interests and a capitulation to President George W. Bush.
The deal repays to Canadian producers about 80 per cent of the more than $5 billion in punitive duties collected by the United States on lumber shipments from Canada in the last three years. It also sets up a system of sliding duties and managed market access for Canadian companies, who now account for about a third of the U.S. market.
However, the agreement could impose significant hurdles for Canadian producers shipping wood into the U.S. if lumber prices fall, as they are now starting to do because of a weakening U.S. housing market.
Tuesday's announcement by Harper follows weeks of hard lobbying by Trade Minister David Emerson and others to get the major players in the softwood industry to back the deal. But now that the forest companies have accepted the agreement with some reservations, the ball is now in the politicians' court.
The NDP declared within minutes of Harper's announcement that it would vote against the deal, which leaves its destiny in the other parties' hands.
"Any enlightened parliamentarian will be voting against this deal," said NDP industry critic Peter Julian.
"As enlightened politicians, we're going to vote against it. We've read the agreement, we've seen the capitulations, we know it's not in Canadians' interests. . .
"This sellout is Stephen Harper trying to cozy up to George Bush. It is not about standing up for Canadians."
Julian said lumber officials have warned that the deal will mean severe job losses in certain sectors of their industry.
The Bloc Quebecois would not show its hand Tuesday but said it would continue to push for improvements to the deal.
Bloc critic Pierre Paquette said his party wants to see several changes, including an improved quota system and a clearer definition of the provincial role in forestry policy.
"There is still wiggle room -- even if Mr. Harper says it's `take it or leave it,'" Paquette said in an interview.
"He's been saying 'take it or leave it' since April -- and we've seen a number of changes to the deal since then."
Harper said the deal, which some critics call a sellout to Washington, has won support from British Columbia, Quebec, Ontario and the Atlantic provinces as well as major segments of the forest industry.
He noted that lumber companies will get $4 billion in refunded duties collected over the last few years, and that the deal will bring stability and predictability to the industry. The remaining $1 billion collected from Canadian companies will remain in the U.S.
Harper says that's the best deal that could be achieved and will be a boon for Canadian companies.
"While the other parties have been vocal in their opposition to this agreement, its passage is in the interest of our lumber industry, Canada's regional economies and the Canada-U.S. trade relationship," the prime minister said.
The seven-year, renewable deal was first announced in April after years of on-and-off bargaining and litigation. A final version was unveiled July 1.
In Washington, a lumber lobby group hailed the decision to implement the deal by Oct. 1.
"The U.S. lumber industry continues to have significant concerns about certain aspects of the agreement, but nonetheless supports the initiative of both governments to settle this issue," said a statement from the Coalition for Fair Lumber Imports.
David Gray, a western spokesman for Canada's Free Trade Lumber Council, said he was disappointed the government "chose to play politics with the industry" on the confidence vote issue.
"If I was in politics what I would suggest to the opposition is that they just walk out and refuse to vote and leave this for the Conservative government to wear," said Gray, who runs family owned Mill and Timber Co. Ltd. of Vancouver.
"The reality of the thing is going to come home to roost in six to eight months and that's about when they're going to want to try and get re-elected."
Ping
The opposition parties have lost all sense of focus! This is exactly what Prime Minister Harper and President Bush have wanted all along!
Here I am in the middle of one of the largest pine forests in north America - Hot Springs Arkansas - where "lumber is king".
When I built my wife her potting shed/hobby room, all the wood (all pine) bought here locally was marked ... Product of CANADA!
Something is W R O N G with this picture.
Please send me a FReepmail to get on or off this Canada ping list.
Lumber yards like that quality and if there is no really big price difference, so do builders.
From my somewhat limited personal experience, I would say the very best framing lumber in NA comes from the smaller and slower growing trees around Prince George, B.C.
I will say that the beams, 2x4s, 2x6, all were clear and straight. Made building a lot easier.
Now ... where in the hell did Lowes and the other discount yards find their cinder-blocks? From a children's sandpile? They are so thin and brittle, I had to go back, insert rebar and fill them with cenment to keep them from crumbling from the weight of five-foot wood walls above them.
That's generally the standard operating procedure of your typical garden-variety liberal and kook tree hugging leftist. They have no workable solution except to hinder progress and become an inconvenience to everyone else, and all they can do is sit there and cry, and kick their arms and legs like a little spoiled brat.
Your lumber might have been mostly spruce and not pine. It is usually whiter in color than pine and very light and strong. I know clear spruce from big trees is really expensive now and is bought by guitar makers.
IMHO the dippers and libs are responsible for shrinking the potential investment community in BC and in Canada. And then they claim their policies will help Canada diversify the economy and not be as dependent on the US for something like 85% of exports. Riiiiiight.
IMHO, the last thing Canada needs right now is any more enlightenment from moonbats who believe Canadian Conservatives are fat, mean, kitten eaters.
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