Mr. Chair, the forests and everything surrounding them are under provincial jurisdiction, as you very well know.
We are very uncomfortable discussing a subject—even though it is important and even though we think it is valid for other provinces—that is not under federal jurisdiction, which encroaches on a provincial jurisdiction. Moreover, you know very well that perhaps the most important meeting that has ever been held on forests is currently taking place in Quebec over three days. So Quebec is taking charge of its forests.
We would therefore be very uncomfortable studying a topic that would be in contradiction with an established jurisdiction that is generally respected by the federal government. If there is some open-mindedness toward Quebec, we feel we should not consider the forest sector as a Canadian subject.