Louise Rousseau’s office looks out across Grosvenor Square to the American Embassy. But the Canadian High Commission’s first secretary (commercial) can’t afford to let the impressive view distract her from her work promoting Canadian Forest Products in the UK.
The “glory days” of Canadian west coast softwood and plywood exports to this country may be over, thanks to intense competition from European and tropical substitutes, but Canada still has a vast timber resource with 10% of the world’s forests – 120 million ha of which are environmentally certified. The combination, the Canadians clearly feel, gives them the opportunity to reassert themselves in the UK market.
Ms Rousseau joined the Canadian government’s Foreign Service in 1990 and had a tour of duty in Japan before arriving for a four-year stay in the UK in August 2003. “My job is to promote the economic interests of Canada, by assisting Canadian companies in the UK and by monitoring market access issues on regulation and ease of trading,” she said.
Recently this included following the deliberations of the UK government’s Central Point of Expertise on Timber, as it reviewed environmental certification schemes, including that of the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), to decide which were acceptable evidence of timber’s “legality and sustainability”.
“We do not promote any particular certification scheme and so while we’re pleased that the CSA scheme, which has 69.2 million ha certified, has been highly rated by CPET, we’re also pleased that the Forest Stewardship Council, the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative have also been recognised as giving assurances of legality and sustainability. We felt that the whole CPET process was transparent and fair; they did a great job which could be a model for other governments.”
Huge strides
Creating a cohesive message for such a wide ranging industry has been challenging, but as Ms Rousseau explained, the Canadians have made huge strides. “In May 2002 the Canadian government launched the Canada Wood Export Programme [Canada Wood] in partnership with the domestic wood industry. It has brought all the different wood product associations together to develop our overseas markets; we’ve created a united front. Some companies have competing products, but when working overseas they want to see a Canadian product winning and, with over C$35m of funding over five years, we’ve been very successful.’
To deliver this harmonised approach, a Canada Wood UK office was opened in 2000. By 2004 the promotional drive could be witnessed at events such as Interbuild where a Canadian House showcased the vast array of products and services available. This year’s Interbuild featured no fewer than 39 Canadian companies.
In November 2005 Canada Wood Days brought specifiers, architects and end users up-to-date with developments in timber frame construction in Canada.
But has it paid off? “I really think it has,” said Ms Rousseau. “It brands Canada and we’re bankrolling it through thick and thin. In the ‘good old days’ Canada shipped high volumes of lower value product. Now we’re looking for value-added business. Western red cedar, Douglas fir, engineered timber, windows and prefabricated housing are just some of the products we’re shipping in ever increasing quantities.”
The future
So, what of the future? “It’s my job to monitor issues surrounding timber products going to market and we’re in a very strong position on sustainability,” Ms Rousseau explained. “Housing, for the Olympics and for communities across the UK, will be a tremendous vehicle to promote our products.
“You need to take a very long-term view; it’s not jam today, that’s for sure. Every month we have pre-fabricated house companies calling here, to check that their UK customers are satisfied. It’s going well, because they’re nurturing their customers.”
“Whenever I talk to UK traders and importers they have a very positive view, especially on our forestry practices. Any negatives relate to history and they realise that we’re now promoting value-added, sustainable products.”
Ms Rousseau and her husband have settled well in the UK. “We have three children, who are all at school here. They love the history of Britain and, as we enjoy rambling, it all fits together. We’re fascinated by footpaths, where you can just walk and see the real country.”
Time has flown by and Louise Rousseau’s term is over halfway through. Is the job done? Is it just a Case of letting it roll? “No, definitely not. We’re here for the long term and that means we have to keep up with every change in the UK market. The High Commission of Canada and Canada Wood UK will continue to do that.”
