May 30, 2006. /Lesprom Network/. Ontario's forest industry warns 20% of the province's sawmills will close under the federal government's tentative softwood deal with the US, according to BN. The Ontario Forest Industries Association says the deal also threatens jobs in other softwood producing regions. It says the government must hammer out a commercial agreement - not a political one. The proposed seven-year deal replaces US lumber duties with a Canadian border tax or quotas and returns about 80% of the duties collected since 2002. But critics say too many Canadian jobs are at risk. They also say the deal gives Washington a say in Canadian lumber policy from now on.