The Alberta Forest Products Association wants the Town of Hinton to help push the provincial government for support amid the threat of U.S. tariffs.
Nicole Galambos, a representative with the Alberta Forest Products Association, told Hinton council on Tuesday (Feb. 18) that their sector supported more than 30,000 forestry jobs in Alberta.
“The good, the bad and the ugly about that is that 50 per cent of our products are exported to the United States,” Galambos said. “The rising barriers and threats of trade are really challenging our sector, risking the livelihoods of many rural communities, including Hinton, where we do rely upon the forest industry for a lot of our employment opportunities.”
Softwood lumber duties, which are currently 14.54 per cent, are now projected to exceed 30 per cent by the summer. President Donald Trump’s 25 per cent tariffs could push trade barriers past 50 per cent.
“I think anybody can see that that will have major effects and make it really impossible for some operators and our mills to compete,” Galambos said.
Galambos outlined six steps the provincial government could take to support Alberta’s forest industry amid this threat. The first was to advocate for Alberta forest products in the United States.
“A lot of folks maybe don’t understand that the U.S. doesn’t produce enough lumber to meet their domestic demands, and then the U.S. home building requires Canadian lumber with or without tariffs, and so to have tariffs this magnitude imposes on America essentially a tax,” she said.
She added thousands of American manufacturing jobs were dependent on Canadian pulp.
The other step was for the provincial government to keep regulatory costs low, such as keeping timber duties competitive and streamlining the permitting process.
“If we look west to the province of B.C., we can see the impacts of excessive and strict regulation and what that can do in terms of mill closures and job losses,” Galambos said.
The Alberta Forest Products Association also wants to diversify the domestic market and is calling on the government to adopt a “Build with Alberta Wood” act similar to the one in Quebec.
Another recommendation was for the provincial government to advocate for federal financial assistance. Galambos noted that $10 billion in duty deposits were currently locked up in the U.S. Treasury. The hope was for the creation of a federal loan backstop program.
The fifth step was market diversification to reduce the reliance on the United States. The Alberta Forest Products Association has identified markets with growth potential in India, the Philippines, China, Japan and Korea.
“We’re hoping that the provincial government can help us on trade missions promoting our own sustainability of Alberta’s forest products and to join us in international developments of opportunities,” Galambos said.
The final ask was for a forestry manufacturing tax credit to encourage investment in new products and technologies.
“The Government of Alberta is aware of this initiative, is supportive of this initiative, but we need action now,” Galambos said.
The Alberta Forest Products Association has already penned a letter to Premier Danielle Smith outlining these recommendations, and it is now asking forestry communities such as Hinton for letters of support.
Council directed administration to draft a letter to the provincial government in support of these six recommendations. It also directed administration to draft a resolution supporting the recommendations for the Municipal Leaders’ Caucus in March.
