I must stress that this is not an issue for only large or major timber-owning companies. Smaller companies must also find a way to participate. Just as an agency grade stamp has been an essential path to markets in the past, an environmental stamp will share that role in the future. I do not think it will be renewed. It is difficult to predict the impact of lifting the quota.
Data exist to support just about any viewpoint.
We do know the structure of the quota encouraged Canadian producers to produce and ship even in bad markets. I for one am not convinced that the quota led to rational economic behavior in the short term. I am optimistic that the removal of the quota will improve the situation for all of us. In closing, I would like to return to a comment that I made earlier - that annual housing starts would average 1.6 million in the upcoming decade. For that to happen, the underlying economy would have to be very healthy.