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July 2003 The latest proposal by the U.S. government brings into the open the agenda which was always present, if disguised. What the U.S. lumber industry really wants is free access to our logs and the eventual elimination of Canadian wood manufacturing. If this is allowed, we will really become hewers of wood and haulers of water to the United States. Following the report of a Royal Commission in 1947, Ontario eliminated the export of raw wood. The result was a steady expansion of the pulp, paper and lumber industry. I was privileged to work for three years in a small
tropical country as a forester. Logs were being exported at the
time. Since then, this has been stopped, and the export of rough
sawn lumber has been prohibited. A small plywood plant is in operation,
and other processing is developing. The result is increased employment,
and an increase in The majority of the value of products manufactured from wood results from the manufacturing and handling processes, with the resulting employment and wealth. For any country to export raw logs is economical and social insanity. This must be stopped. John A. Usher, B.Sc.F. (Bachelor of the Science of Forestry) |
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