The Vancouver Sun reports in its Wednesday edition that B.C. Premier Christy Clark has hired David Emerson as the province's trade envoy to Washington. The Sun's Derrick Penner writes that Mr. Emerson, a lumber trade expert for the Paul Martin and Stephen Harper governments, was chief executive officer of Canfor in the 1990s. With the 2006 softwood lumber agreement now expired, B.C. and other Canadian provinces favour continuing the old deal, which had an export tax on Canadian lumber that was adjusted based on market prices for lumber at any given time. On the U.S. side, however, American lumber producers favour quota restrictions on Canadian imports, "which would be quite punishing," Mr. Emerson said. "To be candid, the U.S. government has rarely, if ever, gone against the wishes of the (U.S. Lumber Coalition) because it's so powerful with congressmen. At this stage, I can't really tell you what it's going to take to resolve (the dispute)." However, with lumber exports to the U.S. worth $4.5-billion in 2016, and direct employment of some 60,000 in the sector, it is an important dispute for the province to see resolved. "Defending those jobs for British Columbians is our absolute priority," Ms. Clark said.