The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that Canada's lumber industry is raising alarms over a crisis as the B.C. government and Ottawa prepare for a softwood summit to address the enduring trade dispute with the U.S. The Globe's Brent Jang writes that key groups like the BC Lumber Trade Council and the Forest Products Association of Canada report that sawmills are operating below break-even levels. The 2006 Canada-U.S. softwood agreement expired in October, 2015, and Canadian producers have faced U.S. lumber duties since April, 2017. B.C. Premier David Eby and B.C. Forests Minister Ravi Parmar are urging Ottawa to move faster on the softwood file. They want the federal government to be more aggressive in trying to resolve the cross-border fight over lumber, which dates back to the early 1980s. American import taxes on softwood from Canada now total 45.16 per cent for most Canadian producers. Last week, the Business Development Bank of Canada started offering loan packages to Canadian lumber companies. The B.C. government also launched a digital ad campaign for the U.S. that highlights Canada's higher import taxes on softwood compared with Russia and the impact on American home construction costs.