Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member for Acadie—Bathurst for his excellent speech. I also want to thank the member for Joliette for bringing forward the motion before us today, which says that we should set up an assistance program for the softwood lumber industry and its workers. I will support this motion. It is an excellent motion. A month ago, I proposed a motion that said that the House should set up a new program to build houses for aboriginal and Inuit communities in Canada. We heard comments on that subject, but today we are dealing with another issue.
We are going to war against the Americans. What President George W. Bush is doing is trade terrorism. He is killing forestry jobs in Canada and in Quebec, and it is important to say so.
I have a question for the member. Following his excellent speech, does the member agree that we need social housing, housing for the homeless, as well as for aboriginals and Inuit? It will cost us $2 billion. If we do nothing, people are going to go back home.
I must say that I was once a forestry worker. Does the member agree that we need a program as soon as possible, in the next few weeks and not a year from now, to keep softwood lumber in Canada for a year or two? As the FTQ was saying at a meeting I attended last week along with the BQ member for Témiscamingue, we must find a solution quickly. We, the government, with the co-operation of members opposite, must get this new program. Does the member agree that we need a new program to keep softwood lumber in Canada without retaliation from the WTO and NAFTA?