Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his questions and his kind remarks. Let me say it is very good to see him back in the House and looking so well.
Having said that, I have to disagree with him. I know he is a student of Canadian history, and so am I. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the first great French Canadian prime minister of the country, was a free trader. He was not always successful in convincing Canadians that it was the way to go. In fact, it cost him severely at the polls. A quick read of Canadian history tells us that Sir Wilfrid Laurier was the leader of the Liberal Party and the first French Canadian prime minister of Canada. He was an inveterate free trader. I say that just to help a bit with Canadian history in this regard.
I am not sure as to why the lack of vigour. I understand the member is on that side of the House and I am over here. As the hon. member knows, the government has made representations on the issue. The Prime Minister raised it personally with the new president of the United States, President Bush. The minister raised it personally with the U.S. trade representative Bob Zoellick. The representations on behalf of our softwood lumber industry by the government has been consistent. I think vigorous would be the right word to use.
The hon. member asked why we are slow to move into the dispute settlement on this issue. Let me clarify. As we all know the current agreement ends at the end of the month. At that point free trade takes over. Canada just says fine, that is great. Now that the current deal is over, if everybody lives up to what they say they are on both sides of the border, free trade becomes the norm. End of problem.
Hence my point that it is the United States and its senators in their protectionist mode who will take it to a different level. Our government need do nothing but live up to the free trade agreement that both countries signed. It is they who will cause the dispute. Unfortunately they have made it clear they have every intention of doing that.