Spray Lake Sawmills (SLS) isn't directly affected by the latest round of the softwood lumber dispute between Canada and the United States but could be further down the road should the impasse be prolonged. The company stands behind the efforts being made on behalf of lumber producers by both the federal and provincial governments

Yesterday, the United States Department of Commerce announced final duties on softwood lumber and duties between 20.83 and 23.76 per cent will be applied to Alberta lumber shipped to the United States. As has been the case several times in the past, the only path that seems available to fight the duties appears to be through litigation.

Time and time again the Canadian position has been upheld by various international tribunals, points out Paul Whittaker, co-chair of the Alberta Softwood Lumver Trade Council, who voiced disappointment in the decision.

"While duties have come down from those imposed in the preliminary judgement, they are still wholly unjustified, punitive, and harmful. Lowering of the duties is a partial admission by the American side that these duties are unfair and the logic behind them is flawed.," states Whittaker. "Unfortunately, there is a repeated pattern of US industry and government taking advantage of US trade law to impose exorbitant duties on Canadian producers and restrict the supply of lumber."

SLS woodlands manager Ed Kulcsar echoes the stance taken by the softwood lumber industry and says SLS stands behind efforts being made by softwood producers and governments to overturn the duty.

"We're supportive of the work that the Alberta government and the Canadian government have done to defend the industry's position and Alberta jobs and we continue to support the Government of Canada in the bargaining process," says Kulcsar.

"It clearly appears the only way we're going to get a resolution is to go back through the litigation process, which does take time and resources, but anytime we go through that the Canadian softwood industry has been vindicated. It looks like we're headed there again."

Because SLS sells in the Canadian domestic market, the American decision doesn't direct impact their sales, at least in the short term. But should the discussions be elongated it could wear on the Canadian domestic market.

"As it extends outward in time, because of the litigation, if the result is lumber sales to the US at some point becoming severely restricted that could impact SLS indirectly in our domestic market. So we'll continue to monitor it."

Currently, any of their products that make it to the American market are subjected to a duty of approximately 20.83 per cent.

The lumber industry directly and indirectly employs 19,000 Albertans and annually contributes about $5 billion to the economy.