Brian Hawrysh
BC Wood CEO Brian Hawrysh welcomed 400 buyer and specifier delegates to the 15thannual Global Buyers Mission and thanked the weather gods for the looking down on the event so fondly. Before introducing the guest speakers, BC Wood Chairman Greg Stewart thanked outgoing Chair Rob Mitchell
for his leadership over the past two years and particularly with the association’s strategic plan renewal and establishment of key metrics.
Greg Stewart
The first guest speaker was the BC Minister of State for Trade, the Honourable George Chow. Mr. Chow spoke of the government’s commitment to responsible forest management and investments in the job-creating value-added sector. A Chinese-born Canadian, Chow talked first-hand about the challenges and successes of opening up Asian markets to BC producers, referencing his recent Asian trade mission with Premier Horgan.
George Chow
Chow spoke positively of his government’s support for the GBM event and encouraged the delegates to take advantage of the impressive array of wood manufacturers present.
The second guest speaker was the Parliamentary Secretary to the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Honourable Pamela Goldsmith-Jones. Ms. Goldsmith-Jones spoke passionately about the importance of the forest and wood product industries to the identity and economic prosperity of Canada.
Pamela Goldsmith-Jones
She also spoke of our export dependency and thus the importance of recent trade and tariff gains achieved by her government, such as the CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership), and the importance of achieving a renewed trade agreement with Canada’s perennial friend and ally, the United States. Finally, she spoke of Canada’s cadre of in-market commissioners whose job it is to assist export trade and then officially declared the trade show floor open for business.
Each year the GBM generates about $45 million in new direct sales, but according to Brian Hawrysh, “the larger benefit lies in the number of quality leads and relationships fostered for future sales, as well as the time and money saved by smaller firms who lack the critical mass to market overseas”. Developed and managed by BC Wood, the GBM is supported by funding from government, industry and attending delegates. The government supporters include BC’s Forestry Innovation Investment and the Government of Canada; both Natural Resources Canada and the Ministry of International Trade.