Mr. Speaker, I will begin by answering the question, and then I will make comments. The answer is simple. What we are asking the federal government is nothing complicated: true free trade and nothing else. It is the basis for the best solution.
I will pick up on some of the points raised by the Canadian Alliance member. The lumber industry is a highly productive industry, both in Quebec and in British Columbia. I am pleased to be able to repeat this. There has been much talk of the new economy over the past 10 years or so, but our traditional resource sectors are now consumers of new technologies. These are highly productive sectors and perhaps among the best adapted to the integration of these modern new development concepts.
These are, therefore, highly productive sectors. It is not our problem that the Americans cannot compete with us. In the case of Quebec, we know that the figure was, if I remember correctly, 0.01%, the last time we checked the industry subsidy. We are talking of something that is marginal to say the least.
If our prices are lower, it is not because of a subsidy but because of our efficiency. The federal government needs to tell the American government now that there will be no more foolishness of signing agreements right and left, and thus hindering trade in this area.
I remember how the Minister of Industry took pride in announcing, in connection with a trade dispute with Brazil, that it was high time that Canada stopped acting like a Boy Scout in the conflict between Bombardier and Embraer.
It is the same in this case also. It is time for Canada to start acting like a true partner to the industry, to move to true free trade once and for all, and not to bow to the pressures exerted by the Americans during the period of turbulence that is coming when there will be but one objective: for free trade to start up on April 1 and just keep on going and going.