VICTORIA, CNW – A forestry roundtable convened to deal with the crisis caused by U.S. tariffs on five Canadian paper mills has resolved to protect affected communities and recruit the federal government to fight back.
“President Trump’s tariffs on paper mills are grossly unfair and may cause several mill closures,” said Scott Doherty, executive assistant to the Unifor National president, who was at the meeting. “The federal government needs to act now to protect forestry communities and good Canadian jobs.”
Attended by Premier John Horgan, Unifor and industry representatives, area mayors, and the Public and Private Workers of Canada, the roundtable discussed strategies for assisting workers, their community, and the industry during legal challenges later this year.
“Stopping Trump’s tariffs is clearly a top priority for the Horgan government,” said Joie Warnock, Unifor Western Regional Director. “We call on the federal government to begin taking these tariffs seriously and fight for B.C. forestry communities.”
Unifor says the Trump government’s combined 28–32 percent countervailing and anti-dumping tariffs on products produced by Kruger Inc. in Newfoundland and Québec and Catalyst Paper in British Columbia will force the mills out of business.
Unifor is Canada’s largest union in the private sector, representing 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy.