Don't forget about softwood lumber sector, B.C. premier tells Mark Carney
CBC
Liberal Leader Mark Carney was in Victoria Monday, meeting with Premier David Eby to talk about strategies to protect B.C.'s softwood lumber industry.
Eby and Carney spent 20 minutes talking at the legislature during Carney's visit to the province on week three of the federal campaign.
"We've got a lot to talk about today," Eby told Carney as he welcomed him near the front steps of the legislature. "We got some bad news on tariffs for our softwood lumber industry."
The bad news is that the U.S. plans to more than double the duty it charges on softwood lumber imports from Canada. The planned new rate will be set at 34.45 per cent, up from 14.54 per cent.
"This is another unjustified tariff. You can expect us to fight against it," said Carney, at a news conference at Sea Cider Farm & Ciderhouse on the Saanich peninsula.
The forestry industry is bracing for higher duties amid the growing trade war between Canada and the U.S. It's the latest blow to the battered sector, which has seen thousands of workers laid off over the last few years.
Carney said the increased duties could hurt more than 50,000 workers, and any government response has to have workers at its centre.
He said he would ensure more of B.C.'s softwood lumber is used to build more affordable housing units in Canada but admitted it would not be enough to offset B.C.'s trade south of the border.
In a statement after the meeting with Carney, Eby said the two talked about the softwood lumber industry, reducing interprovincial trade barriers through a national transportation corridor for goods and services and expediting major infrastructure projects and affordable housing.
Eby said Trump's "renewed assault on our forestry sector needs the same Team Canada response as the manufacturing and auto industry jobs in Ontario and Quebec.
"The prime minister confirmed his understanding of the seriousness of the softwood issue and his commitment to work with us to address it proactively."
Forests Minister Ravi Parmar was more direct in his criticism of the federal government, saying it has been "absent" in its support for B.C.'s softwood lumber industry.
"What I understand was raised between the premier and the prime minister today is, if this was the auto sector, there would be more on the table," Parmar told reporters after the meeting.
"We need the federal government and the prime minister to take this seriously. We need to ensure this is being given the same priority they're giving the steel industry or the auto industry."
The union president called it a rally for solidarity as Iqaluit Housing Authority employees gathered Friday while negotiations are ongoing between the Nunavut Employees Union and the employer.
The federal government is stoking Quebec separatism by walking back its climate commitments — including in its recent deal with Alberta — Liberal MP and former cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault says.
Four more Alberta MLAs are facing recall petitions organized by their constituents, including the first NDP representative to be caught in the province's ongoing wave of recall efforts.
Frank Gehry, the Canadian-born renegade architect behind some of the world's most recognizable buildings, has died at 96.
Hundreds of P.E.I. parents can't find child-care spaces, especially for infants. The provincial government says expanding those spots remains a top priority — and it recognizes the concern.
An Alberta judge says a referendum proposal on Alberta separating from Canada goes against Charter and and Treaty rights, in a decision given less than 24 hours after the provincial government introduced legislation that would have ended the court proceeding.
The architect of Alberta's politician recall legislation says it was never meant to be used as a political weapon, but as an "ultimate tool of accountability" if a politician engages in illegal or unethical behaviour.
The Government of Saskatchewan has introduced its long-promised involuntary treatment legislation on the final day of the fall sitting.
The Law Society of Ontario has suspended the licence of Deepak Paradkar, one of seven Canadians arrested in connection with alleged drug lord Ryan Wedding’s cocaine smuggling ring.
London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is getting rid of unlimited mental health benefits for staff, blaming ballooning costs and former administrators for implementing it without proper due diligence or oversight.
Netflix has agreed to buy Warner Bros. Discovery's TV and film studios and streaming division for $72 billion US, a deal that would hand control of one of Hollywood's most prized and oldest assets to the streaming pioneer that has upended the media industry.
CBC Calgary kicks off its annual Make the Season Kind campaign this morning at Fratello Coffee Roasters.
CBC Newfoundland and Labrador is kicking off its annual holiday campaign, helping to raise money to support local food banks.