Madam Speaker, I quite agree with my colleague from Alberta. This is very unfair to cowboys. I worked as a cowboy many years ago and I know cowboys. They would be horrified to think that they were being compared to what is happening here this morning. It is very unfair to cowboys of both genders, no matter where they work in Canada.
I will be sharing my time with the Secretary of State for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec. Unfortunately, I will be speaking only in English. However, I believe my colleague will speak only in French, so that will even things out.
I am very pleased to rise on the motion of my friend opposite on the softwood lumber dispute with the United States. All of us in the House, everyone in the lumber industry and Canadians across the country, cowboys included, are extremely frustrated by the American attitude on this issue.
The Prime Minister and the Minister for International Trade has spared no effort to find a solution. My colleague, the Minister for International Trade, has worked with all stakeholders, provincial governments, the industry, the unions and the communities involved to develop a unanimous position to take into the negotiations. The Prime Minister spoke with President Bush about it on several occasions, as colleagues know. Our government has been solidly behind the industry, the communities and the stakeholders in the fight for free and fair trade with the United States, but as yet to no avail.
The Americans have rejected all fair and reasonable offers for a settlement and have imposed this outrageous tariff. It is a pure and simple case of protectionism on behalf of the American lumber industry. Our government has taken its case to the World Trade Organization and we will also be taking it before a NAFTA panel. We are pursuing all legal remedies in support of the communities and the industry. There continues to be a good team effort by the government ministers, ministers in provincial governments, union representatives, industry representatives and community representatives. What we all want is for Canadians who are in the business of shipping lumber to stay in business.
It seems that every few years the American industry feels the pinch of competition and runs to its government for protection. What is truly outrageous to many of us is not that the industry would do that but that the government of the United States would follow its wishes every time, even though it has lost the case so many times before. Some of our government to government negotiators have even commented that they have felt that they are negotiating with the U.S. industry instead of its government.
We have won the case before and I have no doubt that we will win it again. We are not without allies in Washington. Members of congress are also urging the administration to support free and fair trade. We all hope that the administration will start to listen. I also believe that Canada's case will have a great deal of support at the WTO which after all has been set up to ensure that there is fair and free trade among all the nations of the world.
In the meantime there are several different programs in place to support individuals, businesses, families and communities which are most affected. The Minister of Industry has pointed out that for those who face unemployment as a result of this unfair U.S. decision, the employment insurance program will be available, as it is for all Canadian employees. Human Resources Development Canada also offers worker adjustment programs to, among other things, help individuals make the transition to other industries when the ones they are in face limited opportunities. The Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development supports development among our first nations communities where this decision is having a particularly negative impact as well.
In addition, the government has been working with provincial governments, the industry and communities across the country to provide support and assistance. For example, the Western Diversification Office, as members will know, is working with local partners to help smaller businesses with such things as value added wood processing. The idea is to help those companies develop other products for markets in Canada and around the world, including many in Asia-Pacific such as China.
There is the WoodTEK Business Development Centre in Prince George which serves as a local incubator for entrepreneurs. It provides access to things like kiln drying, subdimensional cutting and fibre mixtures as well as technical and business training, management and marketing assistance.
Another value added wood manufacturing facility has been set up in Quesnel, B.C. where entrepreneurs can use leading edge wood manufacturing equipment. It also offers help with developing the commercial potential of new products. Western Diversification also works with the Western Canada Business Service Network to provide a wide range of financial and other services to forest related businesses.
There are also projects to help diversify the economies of several communities in the area through initiatives to create greater tourism as well as to encourage national and international filmmakers, for example, to develop their projects in the area as well as a host of other initiatives.
As some members will know, we have established community futures development corporations which are locally run, independent, non-profit societies that deliver programs and services on behalf of many levels of government and several different private and public sector agencies.
Western diversification continues to work with local forest communities to help develop and commercialize different products, to encourage entrepreneurship as a viable alternative to working for someone else, providing seed funding for local diversification within forest dependent communities and investing in forest product research and development.
The federal government intends to use all existing programs to help these communities and, if need be, shall do what is required to make sure that they are protected from this unreasonable American action.
I would point out that there are different initiatives now in place to support the employees in the industry. All levels of government are working together to address the fallout.
Discussions are underway at the present time with provincial governments to develop further ways to ensure that the communities are protected as best we can.
As has been said many times in the Chamber, the problem is not here, it is in the United States. It has rejected negotiations. It has rejected binding dispute resolution which is a bedrock of a rules based trading system. It continues to take “a my way or the highway” approach to the matter.
I believe all 30 million Canadians are rallying around our industry because we know this is yet another patently unfair attack by the Americans on an industry that is consistently better run and more competitive than their own.
The Government of Canada is fully focused on the problems that this is creating in many communities and is taking action and will take further action.
At the same time, I think all of us in the House should continue to speak out at every chance we get to tell the American industry, congressmen, senators and the American government that what they are doing is not only unjust and unwarranted but that it is greatly tarnishing their reputation as one of the world's leading proponents of free and fair trade.