Bringing LBM Industry Challenges and Recommendations to the Government

HILL DAYS ARE BACK

Chris Allinotte, WRLA

LET’S GET READY TO … RESPECTFULLY BRING OUR CHALLENGES AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE GOVERNMENT!

This November, WRLA hosted parliament days with members ahead of meetings with MLA’s in both Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

We are planning to increase the frequency of our meetings with government and encourage you to help us connect the industry and join the planning meetings ahead of time. In these sessions we discuss the issues affecting members most from a regulatory or legal standpoint. WRLA then presents these concerns and recommendations directly to the provincial MLA’s. Having the full support of our members behind our advocacy work makes a huge difference, as seen recently when our efforts in Saskatchewan led directly to the province implementing the home improvement tax credit.

UPDATE ON GYPSUM ANTI-DUMPING REGULATIONS

The Canadian International Trade Tribunal conducted an expiry review on its initial finding from January 2017, concerning the dumping of gypsum originating in, or exported from the United States, subject to certain specifications and exclusions. The tribunal sent out questionnaires in May of 2022. The results of these were reviewed in the public hearing, held in August. On October 24, the official order was issued, rejecting the motion to expire.

The statement of reasoning was released on November 3, which we passed on to members in a dedicated email.

WHY ADVOCATE?

Advocacy is one of the four key pillars of the WRLA Mission. Together with, and on behalf of our members, we facilitate engagement and development of government policy by directing the industry’s prioritized needs to all three levels of government.

Within this pillar, we prioritize issues that affect the industry as a whole, support environmental sustainability, and develop trusted relationships with senior government officials. The final piece of advocacy is returning to our members with timely and accurate information about our efforts with the government, which in turn informs the next round of planning for continued talks.

UPDATES AND UPCOMING

Be sure to watch your email in November for more news about our advocacy efforts. WRLA held meetings on November 18 in Winnipeg and November 22 in Regina ahead of meetings with MLA’s. We’ll be updating our members on the progress of these meetings in our Winter Yardstick magazine, as well as dedicated Advocacy eblasts.

Our thanks to all of you who have participated in our strategy sessions. Please keep an eye out for announcements about our next round of meetings which, in turn, will prepare us for subsequent meetings with the government. You can also email Liz Kovach at lkovach@wrla.org with your request to join in on future advocacy meetings.