: Flooding the market with cheap goods has been a standard Chinese business tactic. It has hollowed out Canadian manufacturing of everything from nuts and bolts to clothing and furniture.
Some may celebrate cheap plywood goods now, but history tells us the rebound will negatively affect the forestry sector and northern communities. Mill closures are not new; consider the historical softwood disputes with the United States. This new Chinese threat only compounds the risk to our forestry sector.
Unable to compete in the face of cheap Chinese mill products, Canadian mills closures would open the door for China to pick them up at a discount along with huge tracts of land. The same process occurs in the mining sector, rare earth minerals being the most current example. The Canadian lumber industry needs the Liberal government to listen and support their concerns. There can be no compromise.