Thank you, Madam Chair.
I want to start by underscoring how important the forestry industry and softwood lumber are to Quebec, which exports approximately $10 billion a year in forest products and supports more than 65,000 direct jobs in the province, and many more. I should mention they are well-paying jobs.
It is also important to note that Canada and Quebec are at the international forefront of sustainable forest management, with some of the strictest legal and policy frameworks in the world, as the Minister pointed out.
The softwood lumber trade dispute between Canada and the U.S. is nothing new. It's a long-standing problem that goes back to the 1980s.
Actually, Minister, I remember studying the softwood lumber disputes while I was in law school studying international trade dispute resolution. It's really important to remember that this is a disagreement that spans many different Canadian governments and many different American administrations.
Could you let us know a bit more specifically the approach this particular government has taken, since coming into power, to defend the Canadian softwood lumber industry?