Loan guarantees are a fair deal for forestry

HALIFAX – Forestry is in crisis and Canada’s New Democrats are calling on the government to provide loan guarantees to viable companies so that no more jobs are lost or communities threatened.

“We’re not calling for a bailout. These are loan guarantees so that forestry companies can obtain the finance they need to make it through difficult times when access to private credit and loans is severly limited,” said New Democrat Forestry critic John Rafferty. “What we want is certainty for the forestry industry so that their operations can be maintained and jobs can be saved. Forestry communities have been in recession for years and this economic crisis has only made things worse.”

New Democrat delegates gathered in Halifax for their national convention passed a resolution today calling on the federal government to acts as a guarantor for loans at commercial market rates for Canadian forest companies who need to refinance their debt.

“The auto sector received billions in federal assistance, but regressive trade deals like the Softwood Lumber Agreement have paralyzed the Conservatives into thinking that they can’t help this sector,” said Rafferty. “As a result workers are getting laid off and communities face an uncertain future. Today’s resolution demonstrates that New Democrats will always stand with workers and families in hard times.”

According to the Forestry Products Association of Canada, the forestry industry in Canada is an $84 billion a year industry that directly or indirectly employs 863,000 people in all provinces of the country. According to Industry Canada, the auto industry in Canada is of a similar size but employs 463,000 Canadians. In the most recent federal budget, the auto industry received $4 billion in assistance but just $170 million was earmarked for the forestry industry.