The federal government is offering loans and credit lines through the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) as part of a relief package for sawmills, lumber mills and remanufacturers reeling from U.S. tariffs. Prime Minister Mark Carney first announced the package in August, which includes another $500 million in grants to develop new products. (The Logic)

Talking point: The loan offering comes as Ottawa faces increasing calls to support the sector. Canada’s softwood lumber industry, concentrated largely in B.C., has absorbed an outsized portion of the pain from U.S. tariffs, and now pays an estimated 45 per cent in extra taxes on its exports—a higher rate than Russia currently pays. B.C. Premier David Eby recently said softwood companies are on “the razor’s edge of survival.” In a press release, BDC said the loans were “not intended as a cure-all for the sector’s considerable challenges” but said they are instead a “complementary tool” to lessen cash flow losses.