Madam Chairman, I am somewhat pleased to rise on debate today. I wish I did not have to. I come from a riding that has been hit very hard by this. Contrary to what the parliamentary secretary and the minister have inferred, we know that this is a far bigger issue than just British Columbia. We know it affects many people across the country.
However, after all, I am a member of parliament from British Columbia and I have been elected to represent my constituents. I think my hon. colleagues in the House need to know that people are phoning me to tell me about the hardships they are now enduring because they have been laid off.
We had nine major mills in my riding. We now have eight. One has closed completely, four are in a stage of lay off and are not producing at the moment. The other four are not by any means at capacity in terms of production. The people calling me are feeling, and I have to say this, that their government has failed them on this issue. That is about as blunt as I can be about it. They are the people who are directly affected by this. They are the people having to go on social assistance or EI and who may not have a job when this thing is settled. Their mills may not re-open. They are the people who are having to turn to help from family, churches, food banks and every other kind of support system that we have in the country when a major industry like the softwood lumber industry goes into such a serious position.
It is not unusual, then, for us to be standing and fighting on behalf of our constituents who find themselves in such a terrible state. I make no apologies for it at all.
It is on this basis that we believe the government has failed Canadians on this issue. This is a huge part of our economy, as has already been stated in the House during this debate. In 1995 it employed 100,000 people. It contributed $14.5 billion to our economy. Those are big statistics and mean that this industry has a significant contribution to make to the total economic well-being of the country.
I live in a riding that is a major producer of softwood lumber. It covers approximately 3,837 square kilometres. Any people going to my riding would agree, I am sure, that there they would be able to see some of the most beautiful tree covered mountain scenery to be found in the world. Anyone standing at the top of the mountains to look out over the riding would get an understanding of how dependent we are upon this industry.
There are approximately 115,000 people in my riding. Of those people, over 20%, or almost 23,000 of them, depend upon forestry as their primary income. That is 23,000 individuals plus their families. By the time the economists extrapolate the family members, the circulation of the dollars through the local community and so on, it is certainly crystal clear that forestry is a major industry in my riding. Until recently it has been the number one economic stimulator in the riding of Nanaimo--Cowichan.
Therefore I cannot just stand idly by and watch in silence as the government allows our forestry sector to be stalled due to the whims of a few American lumber barons, primarily in the American southeast.
The minister accused us of not having said anything about this in the House during the last three weeks. It is quite clear that international events have overtaken us in the House. It is still appalling for us to even think of the terrorist acts that took place and the loss of life. What we have done today is simply make sure that this issue does not go off the radar screen. It is at this point that we felt it was timely to bring it up. It ought not to slide.
The U.S. trade representative, Mr. Zoellick, stated that U.S. needs to join in with more free trade agreements around the world, that the U.S. needs to "advance the causes of openness, development and growth". He acknowledges that NAFTA has led to gains for the average American family of approximately $1,300 to $2,000 annually in income.
I believe that it is time, then, for our government to stand up to the American tactics and clearly say to them that it is time for them to act on their own words, if that is what they believe. Simply put, softwood lumber should be a freely traded commodity.
The devastating effect of the recently imposed 19.3% tariff on our softwood lumber exports has really negative consequences. In B.C. alone there are already an estimated 15,000 forest workers laid off. Without any changes it is estimated that this number will double to 30,000 by the end of the year. This, then, is a very serious issue and I hope the minister can see beyond the rhetoric, beyond all of the meetings and everything else that he has done and see that these are real people who are in a really desperate situation.
What can we do? I have several thoughts. Some of them have already been shared in the House. The first thing that must be done is to send a clear and consistent message. So many times Canadians have watched the evening news and have heard different government representatives make wildly diverse statements around this issue. That simply cannot continue. We need to hear clearly and unequivocally from our government what it is doing.
Part of the problem and the reason why we are having this debate today is that the government has failed to communicate to us as legislators and certainly to the ordinary British Columbians who are losing their jobs exactly what it is doing.
Therefore I would ask the minister and his department to make sure that he clearly shares with Canadians what he is doing. Somehow he has to get those communication tools working better so that Canadians understand that the government, the party in power, is doing something about this.
The second point is to negotiate from a position of strength. A weak bargaining position is tantamount to a losing position. Simply put, the Americans not only want our natural gas and other energy sectors, they need them. If we have something that the Americans want, let us make sure that we get something that we want, namely free trade in the softwood lumber sector. There should be no shame or any kind of hesitation for us to bargain hard with the Americans in terms of energy. In spite of three senior cabinet ministers at some point offering their support to the linking of free trade and softwood lumber to the energy sector, the Prime Minister has flip-flopped on this issue several times. He did it not too long ago on a trip to Alberta. Simply put, if the Americans want our energy they must allow free trade for our softwood lumber.
Third, the government must make a strong representation to the U.S. trade representative on behalf of all Canadian companies, stating our concerns and our position unequivocally. To date we have not seen the government helping this to take place in Canada. I urge the government to stand up and act in the interests of all Canadians whether they be in British Columbia, Quebec or any other place in the country.
Fourth, the government must work quickly to remove those parts of the forestry industry that should not be included in the U.S. 19.3% tariff, specifically in the case of a number of producers in British Columbia, from where I come, in the cedar industry. The stakes are high and more jobs are at risk if those things do not happen.
This is a very serious issue for us. We want to have the government continue to act boldly and decisively on our behalf. We want it to communicate with Canadians clearly what its position is. We want the government to get tough with our American friends. They can be nice, but they can be tough. We need to be able to say that at the end of day we truly have free trade in this commodity as well as any other.