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B.C. wins on timber pricing policy ■ Softwood
Kidz Carnival
Teresa MA LLA M/Free Press
...and they make great earrings too. Natalie Klauzer, 2, enjoys playing in a pool filled with colourful plastic balls Sunday at Huble Homestead’s Kidz Carnival Days.
A ruling handed down Wednesday on B.C.’s timber pricing policies is being hailed as a victory on this side of the border. The London Court of International Arbitration ruled that the province’s timber pricing policies are consistent with the Softwood Lumber Agreement, which was signed in 2006. “This is a total victory for British Columbia and Canada and is great news for B.C.’s lumber workers and their families,” said Pat Bell, minister of jobs, tourism, and innovation, in a press release. “Our government has worked hard to defend and create jobs for British Columbians and to demonstrate that the U.S.’s complaints were unwarranted and groundless.” A 2011 complaint filed by the U.S. alleged that B.C. was selling softwood at less than market value, given an increase in the harvest of low-grade timber. The increased amount of lowgrade timber in B.C. is the result of the unprecedented and devastating mountain pine beetle infestation. B.C.’s auction-based pricing system ensures that the full value of timber has been captured by government, said Bell. “We are extremely pleased with the panel’s decision dismissing all of the United States’ claims in their entirety,” said John Allan, president, B.C. Lumber Trade Council. “The arbitration process was lengthy and thorough and the outcome dem-
onstrates that the B.C. timber pricing system is not in breach of the Softwood Lumber Agreement as the U.S. had claimed.” B.C. and Canada have maintained it would have been far more productive for the U.S. lumber industry to join them to increase demand for wood products across North America, such as what B.C. is doing with its Wood First initiative. In the meantime, British Columbia has diversified its lumber export markets during the arbitration period. B.C. has focused on developing Asian markets, experiencing tremendous growth in recent years. For example, B.C. has more than doubled its lumber exports to China each of the past three years, said Bell. B.C. will continue to support the Softwood Lumber Agreement to create a predictable trade environment and to provide stability and certainty to producers and consumers on both sides of the border. Canada has signed an extension to the agreement to October 2015. The London Court of International Arbitration Tribunal was a threeperson panel presided over by Dr. Klaus Sachs. Canada appointed Professor Albert Jan van den Berg and the United States appointed Mr. V. V. Veeder. The decision dismissing the U.S. claims was unanimous. The 131-page final award will be released in public form in about 10 days.
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