Thank you, Mr. Moen. I appreciate that.
Mr. Chair, in B.C. alone there are 150,000 jobs at stake. In Canada, it's 360,000. I can appreciate that there's been a considerable amount of work to this point done by both Global Affairs and the minister. I'm heartened to hear that she has committed to getting a deal done even though softwood lumber is not even mentioned in her mandate letter.
This represents jobs in my riding. Just to the south of us, we have two mills at stake. Mr. Chair, they represent upwards of 400 jobs and one quarter of the tax base of that community is at risk. With that, I would like to put forth a motion:
That the Committee recommend to the Minister of International Trade that a roundtable (to consist of the Minister of International Trade, officials from each province and industry representatives) be struck prior to August 31, 2016, for the development of a national position on a new Softwood Lumber Agreement to ensure the highest opportunity for a balanced agreement to protect Canadian jobs.
It's the right thing to do. It's not a one-size-fits-all approach. I think Mr. Moen has admitted that. We need to get industry and the provinces around the table, in a round table, in an open and transparent way so we can move forward with a national position.