Mr. Speaker, the member knows full well that there is far more important work done by the members of parliament than that which takes place in question period. If he wants to simply stand in question period and make some great point, fine, but we have had a trade critic who for at least two years now has been actively meeting and talking with people in industry, who has been talking with U.S. government people, who has been talking with stakeholders and who has been asking the government behind the scenes what its plan is.
The very fact of the matter is that it is the government's responsibility to come up with the plan. The government knew this agreement was expiring. It knew full well that something had to be in place. Yes, it is true we did not want to see another agreement as had been struck earlier. It was not working for Canada. However, it is the government's responsibility to negotiate with the Americans to make sure that something is in place so that we do not have these punitive tariffs that are destroying our industry.
If the constituents in my riding were asked the question, they would say, and we maintain, that it is the government's responsibility to do that kind of negotiating. It failed to do it long before this agreement expired. It is responsible for putting our industry into the kind of position in which it is today. It is not the opposition. It is the government. That is where the buck stops.