History
THE HISTORY OF THE CANADIAN LUMBERMEN'S ASSOCIATION AND TIMBER
HOUSE
 The
Canadian Lumbermen's Association was founded in 1907 in Ottawa and
incorporated in 1931 "to promote the interests and conserve the
rights of those engaged in lumbering or in the manufacture, sale
or distribution of lumber" and took ownership of Timber House in
1947.
The four previous owners of Timber House have made their places
in Canadian history and have each contributed to the heritage, which
this house celebrates.
The first owner of Timber House was a Consul-General of Belgium
who resided here in 1903. (Note the date engraved on the back wall
above the garage) The second owner was Lt.-Col Francois Goudreau,
a Government deputy minister and accomplished singer. The third
owner was the most historically significant person to ever reside
here. His name was the Hon. Napoleon Antoine Belcourt, M. L.L.D,
an Ottawa lawyer and businessman, who in 1906 held the office of
Speaker of the House of Commons.
 In
politics N.A. Belcourt was a Liberal. He supported the Catholic
separate school concept and is credited with the idea in the first
place. He was fluently bilingual and in 1894 was appointed Crown
Attorney and Clerk for the Peace of Carleton County. His first marriage
was to Hectorine Shehyn, the eldest daughter of the Hon. Mr. Joseph
Shehyn, ex-Provincial Treasurer of Quebec in 1889 and they had two
daughters. In 1891, he was a Faculty of Law professor at the Université
d'Ottawa. He was married a second time to Mary Margaret Haycock
of Ottawa.
After the Belcourt's came the Canadian Legion War Services, Incorporated,
who in World War Two, was a precursor to the present Royal Canadian
Legion and was responsible for educating and entertaining the troops.
They often served as liaison in Dependent pay disputes and rescuing
veteran families from the loss of their homes through foreclosure.
CLWS also provided personal supplies to the troops in Canada and
overseas. The CLA began occupation of the premises in September
of 1947.
The CLA has a very important place in the lives of Canadians.
It represents its members on such matters as quality control programs,
import and export regulations, plant health regulations, tariffs,
building codes, product standards, tax structures, transportation
legislation and freight through its dealings with various government
departments, with other organizations, boards and sister organizations.
CLA has an affiliation in Europe with the Wood Products Promotion
Bureau (BPIB) in Bristol, England, which provides CLA with representation
in the European Union.
The Association operates a lumber quality control service which
permits softwood producing mills to grade-mark lumber and has Canadian,
American and UK standard accreditation and certification privileges.
Every February, the Association hosts, in Montréal, QC, the largest
and one of the most comprehensive and informative forest and wood
product conventions in the industry.
This house was named after Timber of Canada, a monthly trade publication
distributed to approximately 12,000. This publication's purpose
in the 1940's was to keep the forest industry informed of then current
issues and activities. J.F. McCracken, former Executive Director
and CLA's longest serving director, was instrumental in its production.
Research was conducted by Mary Halbert, Caretaker of Timber
House, 1994 to 2001
|
