Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the hon. member for Fraser Valley.
I am privileged to have the opportunity this evening to lend my voice to the members who have spoken previously on the need for immediate government action and intervention to protect the jobs, and more important, the way of life for Canadians who earn a living in the softwood lumber industry. I consider this opportunity to speak a privilege in that not only am I the elected member of parliament for Prince George--Peace River, but it is also the riding I am pleased to have called home for my entire life.
For me the debate is not about the North American Free Trade Agreement or the World Trade Organization. It is about helping the families and towns that are being devastated by outrageous and punitive trade sanctions levied against the Canadian softwood lumber industry. My only regret this evening is that the debate is not being heard and participated in by all 301 members of this Chamber.
I am reading my speech tonight because this issue is so upsetting that if I were to ad lib I would become so emotional and angry about it I would miss some of the points I want to place on the record. The crisis that is crippling our softwood lumber industry is not a partisan issue nor is it a regional issue. It is a Canadian issue, a matter of national sovereignty and one that should supplant our previous political affiliations.
There is a harsh reality before the House this evening. It is the affirmation that as a result of government inaction on this file, Canadian families are losing their homes. Towns are losing their only employer. The only fault of those affected is that they believed the government when it said it was working on a solution, that they would have to be patient because it would take time. These families do not have the luxury of time. Rarely does the bank heed a request to be patient before it forecloses on a house or repossesses a car. Patience does not pay university tuition. It is difficult to feed a family on patience. While the government continues on its path of negotiation, discussion and raising the issue, Canadian families are going bankrupt.
The members opposite are often quoted as defending their vision of Canada. I find it hard to believe that their vision includes impoverished Canadian families losing all of their worldly possessions just weeks before Christmas.
In my riding of Prince George--Peace River the feelings of anguish and despair over government inaction have given way to feelings of anger and frustration. The residents of Prince George--Peace River are angry that their government has allowed this situation to deteriorate to a point where innocent Canadians are being punished for the failure of their government to resolve the dispute over softwood lumber.
The frustration has inspired many of my constituents to take the time to share their comments with me. I would like to read just a few of these letters so that members present can get a feel for the anger that these people are experiencing.
Steven Shier, in a letter to the Minister for International Trade and copied to my office, wrote:
How can you let this happen? It is shameful. When will you or (the) Prime Minister stand up to the Americans and say “You go too far”. I realize that you are pursuing judicial means against the U.S., but really, in the short term you must be more reactive. We are being set up for a slaughter and still you seek only judicial changes. Don't be so naive. This is economic warfare and we are being badly beaten.
Trevor Chan of Fort Nelson, up in the northern reaches of my riding, in a letter to the Prime Minister and copied to my office, wrote:
Please show leadership and ensure that this dispute gets resolved as quickly as possible. The WTO rulings will take too long and by then any wood cut in western Canada will have to be sent to the northwestern states because the majority of Canadian mills will have been mothballed. Frankly, someone has got to show some guts and finally stand up to this economic bullying, why not this government and why not now?
Finally, Cassandra Muir of Prince George, B.C., wrote to me and to the Prime Minister as follows:
Please keep Canfor running. Without Canfor Prince George will go downhill. Canfor is one of the biggest mills. There will be many families without jobs, and without paycheques. So many people depend on the paycheque they get from Canfor... for example, my Dad.
I am not sure how old Cassandra is but she is old enough to appreciate the severity of the impact that the punitive American sanctions will have on her family, her town and her country. This is only a sampling of the letters that my office received and their concerns are valid. They are probably representative of letters that have been sent to all members from all parties. That is why I say this not a partisan issue.
It is not as though this crisis snuck up on the government when it was not paying attention. The previous agreement, after all, had an expiry date. Now in the face of 32% protectionist penalties the inaction continues with weak assurances from the Minister for International Trade that he will give the Americans an earful at the earliest opportunity. It is unfortunate the government is not as strong on action as it is on words.
Strong action would require the Prime Minister to acknowledge that the Minister for International Trade made no progress in the six months since the previous agreement expired. Strong action would be for the Prime Minister to use his personal relationship with the president of the United States to influence his intervention in the dispute and to overturn the sanctions levied by the U.S. department of commerce.
Unfortunately strong action is not a trademark of the government. Nor does the Prime Minister have a strong personal relationship with the president of the United States. Would Canada find itself in this predicament if our Prime Minister had spent a sufficient amount of time cultivating a worthwhile relationship with the leader of our most important trading partner?
Earlier this evening we learned that the Prime Minister raised the issue of softwood lumber with the president but that lately he was spending less time on the issue. This is hardly the time to be giving up the fight.
The residents of northern B.C. will attest that government inaction on softwood lumber is not only limited to economic disasters. The government failed to take action on an equally severe environmental disaster that our province faces. The interior of British Columbia is under attack from a relentless predator, the mountain pine beetle. At last count 5.7 million hectares of working forest, an area twice the size of Vancouver Island, had been infested.
The lumber industry presented a very comprehensive plan to combat the infestation that would require government action and funding to make the plan workable. Despite assurances from the government that it was taking infestation seriously there has been no action to assist the industry with this equally damaging crisis.
There are still some optimistic northerners in my riding working hard to make the best of a bad situation even in the darkest hours for the softwood lumber industry. One example is the value added wood incubator initiative that was launched by community futures in Prince George in partnership with the College of New Caledonia, the city of Prince George, other governmental agencies and the private sector. Community futures is intent on having this business incubator running at full steam as soon as possible.
What needs to happen? The Prime Minister needs to become engaged in the negotiations. He needs to make softwood lumber his number one priority. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice referred to these terms: let us get engaged. On an issue as important as this to Canadians, it is not good enough to have a two minute conversation as a friendly aside while standing around at a photo opportunity at the APEC conference in Shanghai.
The Prime Minister should go immediately to Washington and remain there until this issue is satisfactorily resolved. The Prime Minister is famous for his so-called team Canada trade missions to China, Italy and Cuba. If there ever was a need for a high priority trade mission, it is now and the destination should be the White House.