On January 9, Hans gave us a very enlightening (if somewhat sobering) talk about the history of the softwood lumber dispute and the impact of the recent huge increase in tariffs on BC lumber and lumber products on the BC Forest Industry and indeed on the BC economy as a whole.
As a member of our Probus club, and with an extensive and continuing career the BC forestry industry, Hans is well positioned to tell this story, and he did so with impact and clarity. The impact of his message (shock for some of us!) started with one of his very first slides, where he showed the historical decline in stock prices for a number of BC Forest Companies, followed by the opinion from Industry analysts that the BC Forest Industry is now “uninvestable”.
Declining Stock Prices – Past 2 years
Hans went on to skillfully lead us through the underlying basis of the dispute, and the decades-long history. Fundamentally, the private ownership of forests in the US, versus public ownership in Canada (Crown versus Private Land models) is at the core of the dispute. The dispute persists, despite numerous historical rulings in Canada’s favour, including WTO, WTO Appeal Panel and NAFTA Dispute Panel.
However a key message is that the Trump tariffs are not the cause of the decline in BC’s Forest Sector. Employment in the sector has been declining for decades, and the following graph shows the significant decline between 1991 and 2011. There are many factors that contribute to this decline including natural disturbances and the escalating cost of operations.
The bottom line is that we can’t blame Trump and the US for the collapse of the B.C. industry, but we can blame the U.S. for trying to finish it off. The BC Forest Industry is going through a transition, as industries inevitably do. It will emerge smaller, but it will be there.
About Hans:
Hans DeVisser graduated with a forestry degree from UBC in 1978. Hans has had an extensive career in the BC forestry industry. He owned private logging and road building companies; he was with the BC Ministry of Forests for 5 years where he managed the stumpage system in BC and he has participated in various forestry related committees advising the Provincial Government on such matters as the log export policies and the fairness of the policies to all stakeholders involved.
Hans is currently the CEO of Coastland Wood Industries of Nanaimo which employs approximately 300 people on a 24/7, year-round basis. Coastland’s primary product is veneer for plywood and various other engineered wood products using second growth Douglas Fir.
