Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Vancouver Quadra whose contributions to this very difficult file have helped the government a lot. I thank him for his work on this file.
I am pleased to rise in the House today and to respond to the opposition day motion brought forward by the hon. member for Joliette. Since the beginning of the 37th parliament the member and his party have often brought up the issue of softwood lumber in the House of Commons.
I have already given an overview of Canada's position on lumber during oral question period in the House and from time to time to the media, but I am very glad to know that today all parliamentarians will have the opportunity to discuss one of the most important business issues for Canada, one that touches hundreds of communities across the country.
Canadian softwood lumber products are the largest group of products exported from Canada to the United States. In fact one out of every sixteen Canadians works in our forestry industry and is dependent, for his or her income, on the production and export of our forest products.
Across Canada, from British Columbia to Newfoundland, at least half of the economic well-being of over 330 communities is dependent on the forest products industry.
Canada's role in the production and export of lumber is unique. It represents 20% of lumber exports worldwide and 34% of lumber exports to the growing U.S. market. Our plants not only employ 64,000 Canadians. They also provide housing to millions of people on this continent and around the world.
In fact last year we exported $10 billion worth of lumber to the United States, which is no small feat.
The agreement has had its good sides for our industry, but after five years we have come to realize that it also had its weaknesses. The industry in Canada and the U.S. have now agreed not to renew the 1996 agreement.
It is time to move away from managed trade in this industry and to turn toward what should already have been in place for a long time: free trade in softwood lumber.
This is what Canadians want and deserve. Regrettably it is also what the United States softwood lumber industry fears the most. We have recently seen American legislators propose resolution after resolution calling for further restrictions on Canadian exports to the United States. I take this opportunity today, therefore, to put the issue into perspective by addressing what is really behind the U.S. industry's attack on our exports and the nature of the challenge we face.
The U.S. industry and some supporters in congress have long been mesmerized by their own rhetoric. U.S. claims of subsidization are in fact no more true today than they have ever been. Today I would like to focus on what are actually the five essential facts of Canadian softwood lumber trade with the United States. These hard facts, which we all need to keep clearly in sight, will form the foundation of the Canadian position on softwood lumber.
First, the U.S. industry's position on softwood lumber is not based on any legitimate claim of unfair practices by Canada. It is based on protectionism, pure and simple.
Second, Canada has a right under our trade agreements including a right of access to the United States softwood lumber market which the United States must recognize.
Third, Canadian forestry programs do not constitute subsidies to the Canadian industry.
Fourth, Canada is a leader in sustainable forest management practices.
Fifth, the role of the Government of Canada is to safeguard the Canadian interest in the face of U.S. protectionism and to work toward free trade in this vital sector.
Let me take each of these five points in turn. First, it is good old protectionism that has always driven the United States industry position on softwood lumber. We have heard U.S. claims that there will be a wall of wood coming from the north when the softwood lumber agreement expires.
Traditionally Canadian lumber shipments to the United States arrive in April as demand for wood increases due to spring housing starts. This is normal and is not a wall of wood from the north. In reality what we could face is a wave of protectionism from the south washing over us on April 2. This has been going on for nearly a century. United States softwood lumber producers have always wanted to restrict Canadian exports. They have always wanted protectionism from Canadian competition.
However there are now interests in the United States that have taken a position against another round of protectionist measures in this sector. American homebuilders and other consumers of softwood lumber are also calling for free trade, pointing to the adverse effects in the United States of reducing access to Canadian wood and the price.
U.S. homebuilders claim that protectionism costs United States consumers $1,000 for every home built in that country. This is a steep price to pay to protect the United States lumber industry. The fact is the United States needs and relies on our lumber. It is not self-sufficient. Second, et me talk about our rights.
A second essential point has to do with the protectionist threats currently being uttered by the U.S., which go directly against our trade agreements, those of NAFTA and the World Trade Organization.
The government has already taken steps. We have initiated two major dispute settlement proceedings at the WTO against the U.S., proceedings that directly affect lumber. What counts is that we are not prepared to allow the U.S. to concoct its own version of the rules established internationally or to choose which of their trade obligations they are prepared to honour.
The most central point in the softwood lumber issue is as follows. Throughout all our discussions about lumber, the U.S. has always alleged that the Canadian industry is subsidized. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Canadian industry is not subsidized by cutting rights or by any of our policies.
This is why despite several tries the Americans have never managed to get their subsidy allegations to stick. In fact, their subsidy allegations have never been proven. If they build another countervail case, we will defend ourselves against such allegations as we have in the past.
Fourth, let me address the question of forest management practises and the environment. Once again the facts speak for themselves. Canada, with 94% of forest land under public ownership, controls harvest levels so that forests are not depleted. Canada grows twice as much wood as is harvested annually. Less than one-half of 1% of Canada's commercial forests are harvested each year, well below sustainable harvest levels. Canada, with more commercial forest land, cuts less than half of what is harvested in the United States each year.
The simple truth is that Canadian harvests are limited by annual allowable cuts that are based on the sustainable growth rate of the forest. As recently as January, a joint survey conducted by the University of British Columbia and Yale University ranked Canada as one of the top three nations in environmental sustainability.
Fifth, the Government of Canada's role is to safeguard Canadian interest. During the past year I have consulted with Canadian industry from all regions of our country to hear its views on how to proceed next. I have asked Canadians at large through open dialogue their thoughts and ideas. I have brought our stakeholders together to listen to what they had to say about our trade with the United States.
Recently I met with representatives of all provincial and territorial governments in Ottawa to discuss their specific concerns and to determine together how we should proceed. In an effort to bring all views forward and to continue our dialogue with our neighbour to the south, I met with United States trade representative Bob Zoellick in Washington a little more than three weeks ago. At that time I presented Canada's case to the United States and proposed as a way to avoid our recent history of trade dispute on softwood lumber that both countries appoint envoys to provide governments with non-binding recommendations on solutions to this dispute.
We will continue to work with all the stakeholders in Canada and to ensure that the interests of all of Canada's regions from British Columbia through Quebec to the Atlantic provinces will be taken into account.
Furthermore, even though we are working toward finding solutions, we will also affirm our rights under our trade agreements. We are entitled to free trade. We want free trade.
In conclusion, I support a vigorous Canadian lumber sector, as do all members on both sides of the House. This is why I will support the motion by the member for Joliette. I encourage all members on both sides to do the same. We must send a clear signal to the US that our House of Commons is united in its support for the Canadian lumber sector and let it be known that we will defend our rights under the international agreements.