Mr. Speaker, last night, while defending his inadequate aid package for softwood lumber, a package he did not have the nerve to introduce in this House itself, the Minister of National Resources said “We want to make sure it is not countervailable”.
The minister just does not get it. What the forestry workers facing job loss and the communities facing devastation needed to hear was that their government was going to stand up and fight for them. Like so many other times, vulnerable Canadians were not supported by the government.
The minister needs to stand up for Canada and to show the Americans that he will not kowtow to their obstructions. The Canadian government needs more than short term solutions. We need long term action on this important issue.