A government source says Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr is about to unveil close to one billion dollars in financial supports for softwood lumber producers and workers. The package is expected to include employment insurance enhancements for laid-off workers, loan guarantees and funds to help companies find new markets. The move follows the U-S Commerce Department’s imposition of duties as high as 24 per cent on Canadian softwood. A Conference Board of Canada report says Canadian softwood producers would pay 1.7 billion dollars in duties a year and that 22-hundred jobs would be lost over the next two years before the dispute is settled