Quebec Announces “Mini Reform” of Forest Regime to Support Sawmills

Quebec’s Minister of Natural Resources and Forests, Jean-François Simard, has announced what he described as a “mini-reform of the forestry regime” aimed at supporting the province’s struggling forest industry, Radio-Canada reported (2-24-26).

Simard said the changes are intended to help prevent further factory closures and job losses, which have increased in recent months.

The government will abolish the annual royalty for sawmills, a measure the minister said will inject approximately CA$20 million per year into the sector. “We were the only Canadian province to impose this,” Simard said, acknowledging that provincial revenues will decline by about $20 million annually as a result.

Quebec will also eliminate its auction system on a portion of harvestable timber, with volumes now allocated annually to provide more predictability. “People didn’t know if they were going to win an auction, and then they didn’t know at what price they were going to win the auction,” Simard said.

In addition, Quebec wants to revise the pricing of timber from public forests by introducing a more flexible mechanism. The proposed approach would be “based on a minimum rate and adjusted monthly according to the average profitability of companies and market conditions.”

The province will also allow the creation of regional and local pilot projects to test new approaches to forest management, with the goal of informing a broader overhaul of the forestry regime.

“Everyone dreamed of this kind of decentralization, even during the consultations on Bill 97. People had mentioned it in parliamentary committee. Now, it is being realized for us,” Simard said.

When asked about broader reform, Simard said his priority since taking office has been to implement urgent measures to support the industry.