Mr. Van Loan, first of all, thank you for your kind and very objective comments.
I have watched this softwood file for nearly 25 years. The first issue with softwood lumber was I think in 1982, and as I indicated earlier, we're now hopefully concluding Lumber 4. What we don't want to have is Lumber 5; we're trying to set in train here the opportunities to achieve that objective.
One of the concerns we did have and do have, because we still have to conclude this agreement with the legal documentation, is if we didn't get a negotiated settlement here, there was a very real risk that once the litigation process had completed its course, we could well have been into Lumber 5. That is the last thing this industry needs.
What it needs is an environment in which it can move ahead knowing what some of the parameters are, and some of the parameters set out in the agreement are very clear. At this point in time there would be no border measures--in other words, no limitations on exports, no tax measures. They come if the price goes lower.
So there is opportunity now for the industry to go ahead in a positive way and develop the markets in a normal fashion.
When we completed the agreement, we said our job was to negotiate the best possible settlement that we could. Then it was over to the provinces and to the industry to tell us they liked it or didn't like it.
I said in an earlier response that some of the things in this agreement aren't perfect, but in a negotiation they're never perfect. What I think is clear is that the more objective observations of people who weren't directly involved in the negotiation, but who are impacted by the result, are that by and large it's not a bad deal. It's not perfect, but it's not a bad deal, and they can accept this.