The problem is that we're experiencing two crises in Quebec. That's the dilemma. It's even worse than in the other provinces of Canada. We were going through a structural crisis before the economic crisis that the United States is experiencing. In Quebec, our fibre was considered to be the most expensive. We had a study conducted by Pricewaterhouse Coopers. The consultants concluded that Quebec was experiencing something structurally impossible with regard to the competitiveness of the other provinces and U.S. states. In that case, you don't turn to the federal government, but rather to the Government of Quebec, which has to correct the elements of the structural crisis. Under section VI of the Constitution, I believe, forests are an area of provincial jurisdiction. International trade, on the other hand, is a federal jurisdiction. As Mr. Lazar said a little earlier, the federal government, which was the negotiator and signatory of the softwood lumber agreement, has a very important role to play. Industry promotion is the responsibility of the federal government, which plays that role with our agencies, such as FPAC or QWEB in Quebec and British Columbia. We already have structures in this field.
The major problem right now is credit. Do you know how an industry is experiencing two crises at the same time is perceived by the financial institutions? They aren't too happy to see us. If we want to pay interest of 25% or 30%, they guarantee the risks no problem, but at prohibitive rates. We think money should be lent at a commercial rate. That's what I argued before the Standing Committee on Finance the last time I testified there. That was interpreted as a dangerous point with regard to the softwood lumber agreement. We didn't ask for interest relief. We didn't ask for preferred interest rates. We asked that the door be opened to reasonable credit, based on a percentage of commercial loans. We read the arguments submitted by the Americans to support their complaint and in favour of arbitration for non-compliance with the agreement. They said precisely that we didn't have a commercial rate. In any case, this isn't the same agreement. But we know that a commercial rate couldn't be a factor in breaking up the agreement, particularly since the lawyers at all levels—the Government of Quebec, the Government of Canada and even our personal U.S. consultants—simply say that a loan at a commercial percentage interest rate does not constitute a violation of the softwood lumber agreement. One might call that access to credit. If the vocabulary is lacking, there's a dictionary of synonyms. If we're afraid to talk about loan guarantees, let's talk about access to credit. Mr. Day, Mr. Lebel and Mr. Blackburn told me that there was credit. Let them organize things so that we don't have to visit 20 places at a time; so that there is a single window and a fast track. This is urgent; the government knows it's urgent; there are companies that will be going under. Ministers know that it's urgent for certain companies. So there has to be a fast track, to avoid overlap with the provinces and to concentrate everything in an identifiable envelope. That way, they will have done a useful job. Moreover, I think yesterday's vote was proof of that.