Mr. Speaker, the government has failed Canadians through its incapacity to obtain a uniform Canadian position in advance of the softwood lumber dispute despite the fact that it was very easy to predict that at the very least this would be a very contentious issue.
Now the Liberal government is squandering an opportunity to address something that the premiers, congressional leaders and the industry actually agree on.
In Monday's announcement, a congressional leader stated:
The softwood lumber products that are the subject of these Petitions are produced in Canada. As explained in section VII...petitioners do not allege that softwood lumber production in the Atlantic Provinces benefits from countervailable subsidies.
By not moving forward immediately with respect to a maritime accord, the government is intentionally and deliberately putting Atlantic Canada into the mix on countervail.
We call on the government and the Liberal members to be vocal and ensure that we get a maritime accord so we can protect softwood lumber.