Interfor has halted operations at its Grand Forks sawmill in British Columbia “indefinitely,” though local officials emphasized the shutdown is not a permanent closure. Grand Forks Mayor Everett Baker confirmed during the Oct. 6 city council meeting that the decision was driven by difficult market conditions and the latest increase in U.S. duties on Canadian softwood lumber exports, which now stand at 45 percent. “I have spoken to mill management, and I’ve been assured this is not a permanent closure,” Baker said. “This is strictly a temporary shutdown, though it includes contractors and mill workers.”  ...