Tariffs top agenda as N.S. forestry leaders meet

A trade war was on the agenda as members of Nova Scotia's forestry sector met Monday in Halifax, with many wondering how hard their industry could be impacted by tariffs.

Forest Nova Scotia, which represents woodlot owners, sawmills, contractors, and pulp and paper companies in the province, kicked off its annual general meeting while bracing for tariffs slated to take effect the next day.

Hours later, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said U.S. President Donald Trump would hold off on levying tariffs on Canadian goods for at least 30 days.

Todd Burgess, the executive director of Forest Nova Scotia, said tariffs are the last thing his industry needs.

"I don't have to tell you this, but forestry's been on a low for a couple of years now," Burgess told those gathered for the annual general meeting. "Everything from the hemlock woolly adelgid to hurricanes and wildfires and lack of markets.... How can it get any worse?

"I don't have to tell you how badly timed a tariff is."

Much of the opening remarks focused squarely on how the industry, which employs more than 6,000 in the province, could weather the storm coming from the United States. Burgess said the AGM's agenda was adjusted to address the developments south of the border.

Trump has promised to hit Canadian exports with a 25 per cent tariff. Late Saturday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada would hit back with retaliatory 25 per cent tariffs on a list of U.S. goods, including tires used on forestry equipment.

'We don't have all the answers'

Robin Wilber of the Elmsdale Lumber Company said the industry should be able to avoid buying products from the U.S.

"Canada is known worldwide for forestry, and because of that, a lot of sawmill equipment is engineered, designed and produced in Canada — and same with forestry equipment," he said in an interview with CBC News. 

"We don't have all the answers of how it [tariffs] will affect Canada as a whole, our forestry sector in Nova Scotia, that'll be told in the next few months."

Wilber said it should be noted the U.S. used 51 billion board feet of lumber — an industry volume measurement — and almost a quarter of that came from Canada. He said that is key because the United States, like Canada, needs to build more housing, and tariffs stand to drive up prices for Americans. 

"It's not an easy thing to try to figure out just what's going to happen or what our strategies can be to try to make it through this," said Douglas Ledwidge of Ledwidge Lumber.

"Maybe there'll be solutions coming down the road."

Ledwidge, who is on the Atlantic Lumber Board, said Ledwidge Lumber has tried to explore U.K., Italian and Israeli markets before, but over 70 per cent of the sawmill's product flows to the U.S.

There is optimism from many in the sector that the provincial government's plan to embrace natural resource development is the right attitude ahead of a trade war.

Last week, Premier Tim Houston said his government would focus on developing local natural resources and becoming more self-reliant by pursuing untapped opportunities, including re-examining bans on uranium mining, for example.

Wilber said he believes Houston "is on the right track."

"Yes, we need to do things sustainability," he said. "We need to do it right, but we have to be able to do it."