Panel data provided by Madison's Canadian Lumber Reporter.

van Dongen Brings Home Inside Tips

By 250 News

On his way home from talks in Washington D.C. Minister for Intergovernmental Relations, John van Dongen took time to talk with Opinion 250 News about his trip to the U.S. Capital.

He believes he’s made some good connections to help deal with the softwood lumber issue. “Clearly B.C. stands with the Federal government in saying it will not return to the negotiating table unless the United States makes a reasonable offer, however, I did sense a lot of frustration on the part of the public servants who believe this matter has gone on too long. I did make some contacts that I believe could be helpful in helping us to understand the U.S. position and may give us some leads on where we can go from here. I will be taking that information to Rich Coleman (Minister of Forests and Range), and the Premier.”

van Dongen also carried a message about cattle. “I think the U.S. realizes it has lost a fair amount of jobs because of the border closure to our cattle, we need to have the border opened to cattle over the age of 30 months, and to breeding stock.”

The two days of talks were part of a session set up by the Pacific Northwest Economic Region, which includes five States, the Yukon, Alberta and B.C.

van Dongen says there was a lot of focus on the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiatives, which means people will have to have better documentation to go across the border. He says there is a real concern this new system will not only slow the transportation of goods across our border with the U.S., but that it will hamper the flow of people during the 2010 Olympics.

Previous Story - Next Story



Return to Home