Mr. Speaker, without question, whenever we are dealing with the U.S. especially on trade, it is a tough sell. The Americans are ferocious negotiators and are totally protectionist, which should not have come as a surprise to us.
When I say that the government dropped the ball on the file, I mean that it dropped the ball on the file. In the middle of an American election the Prime Minister made comments on the outcome of the election. That was a huge mistake regardless of who was going to win. The Prime Minister was linking trade. That was a big mistake. We cannot link trade. We cannot link softwood lumber to oil. We cannot link fish to softwood lumber. That was a huge mistake. That is what I meant when I said the file was not handled properly.