President of union predicts lumber duties will affect 25,000 jobs

MONTREAL — U.S. duties on softwood lumber imports helped drive the Canadian dollar to its weakest level in more than a year on Tuesday, with the U.S. move expected to inflict job losses on rural communities in coming months.

The loonie ended the trading session at 73.72 cents US — its lowest closing level since February 2016.

“It’s an absolute disaster for Canada,” said Unifor president Jerry Dias. The union represents 24,000 forestry workers at 134 companies.

The U.S. Commerce Department levied countervailing duties ranging between 3.02 and 24.12 per cent on five large Canadian producers and 19.88 per cent for all other firms effective May 1. The duties will be retroactive 90 days for J.D. Irving and producers other than Canfor, West Fraser, Resolute Forest Products and Tolko.

Anti-dumping duties to be announced June 23 could raise the total to as much as 30 to 35 per cent.

Dias anticipates that 25,000 jobs will eventually be hit, including 10,000 direct jobs and 15,000 indirect ones tied to the sector.

He said the federal and provincial governments need to act to shore up companies and avoid a repeat of the early 2000s, when it took more than a year for Ottawa to react with an aid package.

Bob Matters, chairman of the United Steelworkers union wood council, said the cumulative impact of duties will be particularly harsh on small familyowned operations in Central Canada and New Brunswick that don’t have the deep pockets of big international firms.

While the tariffs will hit forestry, National Bank senior economist Krishen Rangasamy said the impact on the broader Canadian economy will be limited.

Lumber accounted for only 1.2 per cent of all exports and less than 0.3 per cent of all Canadian jobs last year.