Madam Speaker, probably the best way we could help Saint John is to have the hon. member return and be mayor again. Clearly she is renowned for having done a marvellous job in that regard.
I do not have a simple solution. There is not one. I think I made the point that there is a simple solution for all major problems in government which is usually the wrong one.
What we have to do is appeal to the good common sense of people like President Bush and others in the United States to recognize that Canada is a sovereign nation. It is interesting to see us go from the opposition wrapping itself in the American flag one day to trashing it the next and saying we have to fight them, man the turrets and do all that stuff. The reality is the U.S. is a friend and a business partner in many different relationships.
We have to impress upon the Americans that 25% of their exports come into our country and 87% of ours goes into their country. This is truly a partnership. There is a bit of an imbalance in the percentage. Yet we do much better on the dollar side of that equation having a very strong balance in our trade relation with the Americans.
It is a win-win. We have to say to President Bush and to all Americans that we do not need to be fighting among each other over these things. We can work together. We can provide good quality products in wood or in steel. Their consumers, home builders and taxpayers can benefit from them. In turn we will take many different products from them and people in Canada will benefit. There has to be some quid pro quo. There has to be co-operation. I am confident that is where we are headed.