Industry targeted continued from page one negotiated in 1996. he DOC has decided to hit Canada with retroactive tariffs, saying that Canadian lumber exports have surged since the expiry of the SLA, a claim Canada hotly denies. The result is that Canadian lumber producers will have to post retroactive bonds for covering exports back into May, a move which may shut some producers down. The DOC ignored data from the U.S. Census Bureau which showed an 11.3 percent increase in Canadian lumber imports over the second quarter of 2000, well below the 15 per cent water mark that the U.S. usually uses to define surges in exports. That elevation in shipments was due to an increase in U.S. lumber consumption, a growth in housing markets and stronger lumber prices. Pettigrew said the American government is imposing a tax on U.S. consumers and is giving in to protectionist measures. A final decision on the CVD by the DOC is not expected until December 7, 2001. That decision will be reviewed by officials from the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) before a permanent CVD may be put in place. t’s the ITC that decides if the American forest industry, in its view, has been injured or even threatened with injury by “subsidized imports.” Also coming soon (probably by October 15) will be a DOC decision on “anti-dumping” charges. The Coalition says Canadian companies are dumping lumber into the U.S. below the costs of production, a position which every province rejects. uch an additional charge may vary from province to province. “The U.S. Commerce Department is a politicized body that reacts to heat and lobbying from American politicians and industry leaders,” said Haggard. “On one hand certain congressmen and senators support protectionist measures and another ange group doesn’t.” n July 19, 2001 a group of 103 congressmen petitioned U.S. president George W. Bush to oppose any sanctions on Canadian lumber. They joined with the American Consumers for Affordable Homes, a national organization which has expressed concern that restriction of Canadian softwood could hurt the U.S. economy and slap an additional $2,000.00 to $4,000.00 to the price of anew home. The association noted the number of jobs that rely on Canadian lumber is 25 times greater than jobs in the U.S. lumber industry. The U.S. National Association of Home Builders chief economist said U.S. furniture and cabinet makers will see increased prices if the duty sticks. After the preliminary CVD was announced, B.C. Forests Minister Mike de Jong called it “a form of economic blackmail that is very unseemly in our closest neighbour.” “When you've got a rigged process you usually end up with a biased, self-serving result,” he later noted. He told The Globe and Mail, “The possibility of this escalating to a full- scale trade war is there. Our long- standing good relations are at risk.” Up to the weekend prior to the poe decision, companies were applying for exemptions from the ruling. Many cases are pending. However, during the 1990’s only 20 of 334 companies in Canada were excluded by the DOC. Cedar producers are applying for an exemption. They argue that cedar is a high-value appearance product used for ppplentions like siding, trim and deck work and is not a structural product the same as dimension lumber. Hi e I.W.A. national president Dave Hagard and Local 1-80 president Bill Routley dropped the union’s statement of claim in the B.C. Supreme Court on May 4th, 2001. Union sues B.C. government over loss of Youbou clause On May 4, in the midst of the provincial election, the I.W.A. filed suit against the B.C. government regarding the closure of the TimberWest Cowichan Lumbermill in the Vancouver Island community of Youbou, as a report investigating why a clause was left out of the Tree Farm Licence was taking place (see story page 9). In 1997 a clause, which tied public timber harvested from TFL #46 to the mill, mysteriously disappeared. It was a clause that was put in by the same government in 1991 to give workers at the Youbou mill security. The union’s statement of claim, filed at the B.C. Supreme Court, claims that certain bureaucrats, either in bad faith or negligently, deleted the Youbou clause (Clause 7) from the replacement TFL when it.was issued in 1997 or that the Minister of Forests, either in bad faith or negligently, deleted the Youbou clause (Clause 7) from the replacement TFL. The sawmill closed on January 26 and the planer kept going until February 27. By May and June the company was carving up and auctioning off equipment. At a press conference outside the B.C. Supreme Court, national union president Dave Haggard said the union believes the government has to be held responsible. He also charged that TimberWest’s “callous attitude towards workers in that community is unacceptable.” “It’s unacceptable to the I.W.A. ‘that we would be faced with that type of action with a company that has made more profits in the last 2 years, exporting logs off their private lands than most companies have in the last 5 years,” said Haggard. “We’re going to take it to the courts to try to get restitution for our membership that have paid the 8/LUMBERWORKER/SEPTEMBER 2001 ultimate price with job loss and the community of Youbou — which has paid a high price.” added the I.W.A. president. “We believe that the TFL should be given to the people who deserve it and that the people in Youbou and the people in Lake Cowichan have worked there and derived their living from the Tree Farm License,” he added. Haggard said the union is going to fully find who or what took the protective “Clause 7” out. aE a In early supporters when they tried to stop TimberWest from disassembling the _ mill in Youbou. The national president added that, after a court case, if the union is successful, the timber on the TFL should go to a company that is prepared to employ I.W.A. members. Local 1-80 president Bill Routley told the media that TimberWest’s treatment of the workers in the Cowichan Valley has been “outrageous,” and that the company has refused to work with the community in selling just the mill. continued on page nine arrested some union members community a‘