I would now like to move the first motion:
That the Standing Committee on International Trade hear testimony from those organizations, businesses and municipalities that have recently written to the Committee to request to testify on Bill C-24, and that they be heard either in person, or by video, or telephone conference before the beginning of clause by clause consideration of Bill C-24 by this Committee.
I'm moving this motion because on Monday of this week the government started making payments to the EDC. It's taxpayers' money, but it provided the support to the softwood industry that we've been advocating for many months. For nine months we've been saying that the government has the ability to do this. On Monday, the government made an initial payment of $950 million. We credit the government for doing that. It would have been better if it had been six or eight months ago. The important thing is that those funds from taxpayers are now going to the softwood industry. This allows the committee the opportunity to do our due diligence on Bill C-24.
As we heard from witnesses on Tuesday, there are some critical aspects of this bill that need to be considered. On Tuesday we received an important bit of information from the only witnesses we brought in, aside from departmental witnesses. Credible as government witnesses are, it's important to hear from outside folks. We heard that there is a risk of double taxation in clause 18. That's one element that we heard about on Tuesday.
The second element, which is a very important one, was the question of the actual language of Bill C-24. Mr. Pearson provided strong testimony that if we have loose language, or language that is vague or incomplete, we may be setting ourselves up for litigation that would happen almost immediately.
So the few witnesses we have heard informed us of important risks. If we don't do a measured, complete due diligence on Bill C-24, we could well end up provoking a further crisis in the industry, either through continued litigation, because Bill C-24 hasn't been drafted with the required exactitude, or through double taxation components or other perverse impacts. If we don't do our due diligence, we may indeed find that we're doing more harm than good.
These were the only witnesses we invited. Members around this committee table were invited to submit names, and I did so. Some colleagues haven't, but that may be understandable in light of who we requested. This is a different situation. We're talking about folks across the country who have indicated their interest in coming and speaking to us on Bill C-24, providing their expertise. Whether they come from industry, whether they're workers in the softwood industry, or whether they're municipalities, they're impacted by Bill C-24. There is real concern across the country about what this committee may be doing. From the letters we've received, we've gotten a clear indication that these groups, these folks who are experts in the area of softwood lumber and understand the impacts of Bill C-24, want to be heard. And they want to be heard before we enter into clause-by-clause consideration.
Let's look at who's asked to appear before us. We have Russ Cameron, the president of the Independent Lumber Remanufacturers Association--