Madam Speaker, I rise in this House today in support of Motion M-181 put forward by my hon. colleague from South Shore.
Motion M-181 suggests that the government should instigate a study of non-tariff trade barriers to the European Common Market, specifically the ban by the ECM of Canadian forest products that have bark or needles attached.
The Canadian forest industry is one of the most dynamic industries in the country. It generates $58.7 billion in revenues every year. In addition, Canada is the largest exporter of forest products in the world, with $38.3 billion in exports in 1996. This industry is also important in that it contributes both directly and indirectly to the creation of 842,000 jobs across the country. It is from this job creation perspective that I will argue the importance of the study suggested by my hon. colleague from South Shore.
The non-tariff trade barriers imposed by the European Union on Canadian lumber have dubious origins. Having to kiln-dry Canadian pine wood, as required, to kill potential bugs costs the Canadian industry $780 million.
Steam treatment of wood is an expensive process affecting Canada's competitiveness with respect to forest products. I consider that imposing such criteria is necessary when there is a high probability that some bugs will be transmitted from one country to another. However, there does not seem to be a high probability of transmission in this particular case.
The hon. member for South Shore emphasized the absence of an international consensus about how the said bug is transmitted.
Moreover, a Canadian study shows that 1,157 shipments of Canadian forest products were totally free of pinewood nematoda. This means there is only a 0.3% probability of finding this parasite in Canadian shipments.
Given that international experts are unable to reach a consensus, and given the low probability of finding pinewood nematoda in Canadian shipments, the Canadian government must review the issue. One of the objectives of the Canadian Forestry Service is the promotion of international trade and investment. Protecting Canadian interests is an integral part of this mandate.
The study proposed in the motion would allow us to reassess the scientific findings in this case and eliminate the confusion that seems to prevail within the international community. The study is all the more important since it could lead the European Community to reconsider its criteria on kiln drying for Canadian forest products. This could, in turn, promote job creation in Canada, to meet the renewed demand from the European Union.
We often talk about the monetary costs of non-tariff barriers, but we tend to forget that these barriers also impede job creation. The Canadian labour force in the logging industry is extremely skilled.
In my riding of Acadie—Bathurst, logging is vital to the region's economic prosperity. Unwarranted non-tariff trade barriers affect not only logging companies, but also the workers of these companies, who find themselves out of work when the European market becomes less accessible.
As legislators, we have a responsibility to see that any non-tariff barrier that adversely affects the logging industry is carefully reviewed, to make sure that the resulting loss of jobs is absolutely justified.
Perhaps the study will show that the criteria imposed by the European Community are fully justified. However, given the current lack of consensus on pinewood nematoda, we must protect the interests of Canadians and take a very close look at the issue.