Alberta hires Gary Doer, former ambassador to U.S., to help in softwood lumber dispute

Alberta has hired Gary Doer, Canada's former ambassador to the United States, to act as its advocate in resolving the softwood lumber dispute with the Trump administration.

Doer will help Alberta "draw on its efforts to resolve the softwood lumber dispute and reach a fair resolution for the industry," the Alberta government said in a news release Monday.

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Last month, the United States imposed countervailing duties on lumber imported from Canada. The American lumber industry contends Canadian products are unfairly subsidized.

The Canadian government is pondering several courses of action, including imposing a ban on thermal coal exports shipped through British Columbia. Most of the coal comes from the United States and is sent to Asian markets.

In an interview with The Canadian Press, Doer said the desired result is a single negotiated deal for all provinces. 

"We're going to try to be as effective as we can and use our own unique contacts with the United States, but at the same time at the end of the day it's going to be an agreement between Canada and the United States," he said.

"All of us can put leverage on to get that agreement, particularly with customers."

Deron Bilous, Alberta's minister of economic development and trade, says Doer's experience will ensure that Alberta's position is heard during any negotiations. 

Bilous said Doer's experience is more important than the fact that he is aligned with the NDP.

"He is a former politician," Bilous said. "He is great at building and developing relationships but most importantly, he's the former Canadian ambassador to the U.S. He knows this file, and he has contacts that we will absolutely leverage."

Doer served as Canada's ambassador to the U.S. from 2009 until 2016. Before that, he was the NDP premier of Manitoba from 1999 until 2009.

He is now a senior business adviser at global law firm Dentons, where he works on Canada-U.S. cross-border matters.

The government is paying Dentons a $10,000 monthly retainer fee for Doer's services.