Coleman in Town

By 250 News

Minister of Forest and Range, Rich Coleman will addres the Prince George Chamber of Commerce today.  The luncheon address at the Coast Inn Of the North is expected to focus on the softwood lumber agreement and mountain pine beetle mitigation.

Coleman has stated the softwood deal is a good one that it will  ring stability to the industry. 

Lumber and sawmills in eastern Canada, and in Manitoba have  announced  shutdowns because of a glut of lumber on the market, and the current 15% tax on exports. The shutdowns have impacted thousands of employees.  Industry analysts predict it will only be a matter of time before B.C. producers announce "downtime".  The analysts say  before the deal kicked in, mills were shipping the product to the U.S.  at prices that were cheaper than the production costs because they knew they would get their duty returned. 

The tax is a different scenario, as that 15% is non refundable, so  producers can no longer afford to  ship the product at a loss.  

Coleman has said in the past, the new agreement will allow Canada and the U.S. to eventually experience a free market system and that will be good for business on both sides of the border. 

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