Mr. Speaker, the Atlantic provinces, which produce 7.5% of the softwood lumber in Canada, have had a long tradition of free trade in softwood lumber with the United States dating back to the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842.
In my riding of Tobique--Mactaquac the forest industry accounts for thousands of jobs. For several small communities such as Plaster Rock, Juniper and Hainesville, their very existence depends on the survival of these sawmills.
Could the Minister for International Trade update the House on the status of softwood lumber negotiations, particularly as they relate to Atlantic Canada?