Returning from six-day mission to the United States, Quebec’s Minister of Forests, Fauna and Parks, Luc Blanchette, feels his visits will have positive effects for the forest sector.

Minister Blanchette said he is confident this mission will have positive spin-offs for the Quebec forest sector and the negotiations for a new softwood lumber agreement. He said it allowed him to learn more about the stakeholders, and that the groups he met with were open to Quebec’s position. “I am convinced that the links we have created during these visits will be fruitful for the future.”

The minister met with hardware retailers, builders, forest products companies and various U.S. senators. His trip extended to Illinois, Indiana, Georgia and North Carolina.

According to the Ministry of Forests, Fauna and Parks, 60,000 jobs and more than 220 municipalities in Quebec depend on the forest sector. Eighty-two per cent of the sector’s exports are destined for the United States market.