Last year’s undercover investigation Liquidating the Forests has fresh legs here in Canada. Saturday’s Global News 16×9 episode here is worth watching. There are several angles to the story. As we learned last year, it shows how illegal logging in Russia is making its way to China, where it’s manufactured into hardwood flooring with toxic chemicals before being sold in the United States and Canada. The issue explored further here is the fact Canadian logs are also being shipped to China for processing into flooring, then shipped back and sold in Canada. As a result, more domestic manufacturers have reportedly stopped making Canadian hardwood flooring and instead are simply re-branding foreign products to give the appearance of the product being made here. We’re told that In 2000, Chinese hardwood flooring exports to Canada amounted to $3 million. In 2013, Chinese flooring exports to Canada totalled $84 million, a 2700 per cent increase. “China is now neck and neck with the U.S. in hardwood flooring export into Canada, followed by Brazil, Malaysia and Indonesia.”

“With Chinese manufacturers now producing so much of North America’s flooring, doing the right thing could mean losing out on saving money.”
– Global News 16×9 – 4 Oct 2014