Reply #1: CP: Ottawa shelves softwood deal for up to a month [View All]

[tuvor]

(No longer "indefinitely," I guess.)

VANCOUVER — An international trade spokesman says the federal government is shelving implementation of the Canada-U.S. Softwood Lumber Agreement for no more than a month.

Bob Klager speaks for Trade Minister David Emerson and says Canada and the U.S. have agreed to extend the implementation date to no later than Nov. 1.

Canada negotiated the seven-year lumber agreement with the United States over the summer and it was supposed to be implemented starting Sunday.

But some Canadian lumber companies have refused to withdraw their legal cases against the U.S. over punitive lumber duties — a key condition for the deal coming into force.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060929.wsoftwood09291/BNStory/National/home