My understanding is that during the CUSMA negotiations softwood lumber was a priority for the government, but it became very clear during the negotiations that the United States was not ready to meet with us to discuss a fair and equitable agreement for the Canadian softwood lumber industry. Because of that, we did not include softwood lumber in the CUSMA. We wanted an agreement that would be fair to industry, workers and communities.
On February 7th, 2022. See this statement in context.