OTTAWA, May 24 /CNW Telbec/ - The head of the Forest Products Association
of Canada (FPAC) today criticized the Bank of Canada for its short-sighted
approach to managing the rise of the Canadian dollar and called on the
Government of Canada to take urgent action to improve Canada's business
climate in defense of Canada's manufacturing sector and the millions of jobs
it supports.
    "While a narrow view of national economic data may create the impression
that the Canadian economy is running at its theoretical capacity, ground level
experience within the manufacturing sector shows evidence of a southward
migration of capital and jobs," said Avrim Lazar, President and C.E.O. of
FPAC. "The Bank must take into consideration Canada's need for a robust
manufacturing sector. This requires addressing the dollar's rise by
undertaking an interest rate reduction. At the same time, to encourage
investment in the Canadian manufacturing sector, governments at all levels
must work to reduce and restructure the current tax framework for industry."
    In a mere four years, the dollar has risen by over 40%. This has placed
enormous pressure on Canada's forest products industry and Canada's
manufacturing sector more broadly. In the forest products industry alone some
11,000 jobs have been lost while the manufacturing sector has shed over
100,000 jobs over the same time period.
    "Canada's forest products industry has aggressively and successfully
responded to the dollar's rapid rise to the point that it has increased its
productivity more than any other manufacturing sector. However, the speed and
relentlessness of the dollar's rise has had the perverse effect of undoing all
of the industry's progress and driving jobs south of the border," concluded
Lazar.
    FPAC is the voice of Canada's wood, pulp and paper producers nationally
and internationally in government, trade and environmental affairs. Canada's
forest industry represents 3% of Canada's GDP and exports over $40 billion of
wood, pulp and paper annually. The industry is one of Canada's largest
employers, operating in hundreds of Canadian communities and providing almost
900,000 direct and indirect jobs across the country.