The president of a Swan River, Man. sawmill said the announcement of a duty on Canadian lumber is another challenge for the forestry industry.

In anticipation of the announcement, Ward Perchuk said Spruce Products Limited began minimizing shipments of softwood lumber products into the U.S. in November 2016 to avoid retroactive duties.

Ever since the last softwood lumber dispute, the sawmill concentrated on selling product in Canada, Perchuk said.

Perchuk said the duties will likely mean larger mills in places like British Columbia will sell more lumber domestically, which he expects will bring down lumber prices in Canada.

The lumber announcement comes on the heels of the near closure of the paper mill in The Pas, which was eventually saved and is now being operated by Canadian Kraft Paper Industries Limited.

Forty per cent of Spruce Products' business comes from selling wood chips to the paper mill.

Perchuk doesn’t expect the U.S. lumber tax to result in any staffing changes at his sawmill.

He said Spruce Products has relied less on selling lumber in the U.S. ever since the last softwood lumber dispute.