Rick Doucett says the private woodlot sector in New Brunswick is on the verge of economic collapse, a troubling situation that the province’s new forest strategy fails to address.
Softwood lumber prices in North America this summer have been hovering at levels up to 50 per cent higher than they were eight and nine years ago. But under a complex new timber royalty system set up this year by the New Brunswick government, forestry companies are paying lower royalties for wood the lumber is made from than they did back then.
A provision to cut provincial taxes for owners of New Brunswick forest properties by $500,000 per year quietly made it into last week's provincial budget, although it is not clear who, if anyone, asked for the benefit.
New Brunswick’s attempts to fix its system for calculating private woodlot sales to sawmills have failed to persuade the U.S. government that the province has a free market in timber pricing.