The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that the U.S. decision to increase softwood lumber duties to nearly 15 per cent is a blow to Canada. The Globe's guest columnist William Pellerin writes that the transfer of wealth from Canadian forestry companies and workers to the U.S. government is staggering. Since 2017, Canadian lumber producers have paid more than $9-billion in duties. Many Canadians would be surprised to learn that Nova Scotia bears a heavy portion of blame. The United States requires a crucial piece of information to determine whether Canadian provinces undercharge for the right to harvest timber. This benchmark informs the amount of subsidy duties applied against Canadian lumber at the U.S. border. Nova Scotia has been supplying this information to the U.S., effectively building the U.S. case for imposing duties on Canada. In fact, Nova Scotia invests considerable effort to produce the benchmark information that it then shares with the U.S. Few Canadians know that softwood lumber produced in Nova Scotia is exempt from the U.S. duties. U.S. lumber producers use Nova Scotia's timber pricing data to support their allegations that other Canadian provinces were subsidizing producers.